Best PC Video Graphic Card for viewing movies on HDTV???

[hulinning]

Hi,
My PC is Dell GX280 2.8GHz with 512 MB memory (I can upgrade cpu or mem if needed) Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Ultimate Eidtion. My JVC HDTV is 61 inches 720 P native resolution with HDMI HDCP NTSC.

I am looking for a PCI-E video graphic card that allows me to view all of movies ( DVD, AVI, DiVx, etc...) on my HDTV set.

I would like to buy the video card that provides best quality for playing back movie on HDTV set (not for playing game though).



Thanks for all comments.

[redwudz]

No specific recommendations for the card, but I would up your memory to 1GB for XP or 2GB for Vista. Memory is inexpensive at present. For Vista, Home Premium may be the better choice. A lot cheaper than Ultimate and has all the required features for video.

There are a lot of graphics cards that would probably work well for you. I use my motherboard video for HDTV with no problems. You could get one with a DVI output and use a DVI to HDMI cable to the TV. Run the sound as a separate cable.

[edDV]

NVidea 7600GT or better
ATI AVIVO x1950 or better

Lower cards will do MPeg2 but these cards help with MPeg4.
You will still have considerable CPU load at HD resolutions but 720p should work well.
Your CPU is on the weak side for 720p MPeg4 and memory should be increased to at least 1GB.

[edDV]

NVidea 7600GT or better
ATI AVIVO x1950 or better

Lower cards will do MPeg2 but these cards help with MPeg4.
You will still have considerable CPU load at HD resolutions but 720p should work well.
Your CPU is on the weak side for 720p MPeg4 and memory should be increased to at least 1GB.

PS: Just looked at a GX280 Desktop picture.

You should consider a new computer for this. Your power supply and cooling are inadequate for these cards and you will find AGP selection limited and more expensive.

[hulinning]

thanks for all comment.

I think I will go with NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT for my PCI-E 16slot. I would upgrade to 1GB memory for Windows XP.


I got a GX280 mini Tower version, though. So I think It would be ok to support this type of graphic card.

Thanks a again.

[edDV]

thanks for all comment.

I think I will go with NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT for my PCI-E 16slot. I would upgrade to 1GB memory for Windows XP.


I got a GX280 mini Tower version, though. So I think It would be ok to support this type of graphic card.

Thanks a again.

Tower is much better. Make sure your power supply is adequate.

[jagabo]

I think I will go with NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT for my PCI-E 16slot.

I'm currently using an Asus EN8600GT Silent in my main media computer. This is a silent, fanless card -- good for a media PC. I use a DVI-to-HDMI cable to connect to my HDTV at 1080p. I have the HDTV set up as the main monitor and a lower resolution computer monitor in mirror mode on the second DVI output. So the computer can still be used when the TV is otherwise in use. My HDTV has a "just scan" mode where a 1920x1080 input can be mapped pixel for pixel with the LCD display. Every pixel of a 1920x1080 image can be resolved. No overscan problems. No blurring or moire problems from scaling within the TV.

The only real problem with this setup is that it requires separate audio handling since the DVI port doesn't output audio.

There are graphics cards with HDMI output ports and S/PDIF inputs. These allow digital audio over HDMI. That might be a consideration on your part. Here's one such card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127301

[Bondiablo]

The 8500 series cards are garbage, get at least an 8600.

http://futuremark.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

[edDV]

This PDF compares PureVideo features (important for HDTV)
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_43029.html

[hulinning]

This PDF compares PureVideo features (important for HDTV)
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_43029.html

To edDV,
Thanks for the document.

This is what I need to pick out the best video card for viewing movies on my HDTV set but not for gamming.

I would rather spend more money for 1 time than changing the video card later for better viewing on tv set.

From this document, it seems that 8600 GT/GTS and 9500 GT got all the listed features.

I wonder if someone can give me any good reason for buying nvidia 8600 GT/GTS card for my needs instead of 8500 GT.

I would like not to pay extra money for extra features that I do not need besides viewing movies on hdtv set.

But I am willing to pay extra bugs if it would improve video quality on hdtv set.




Thanks all again.

[edDV]

They appear to be equal for Purevideo HD features.
The 8600 has a faster GPU but that won't affect TV output.

[jagabo]

If the GPU is used for h.264 decoding, deinterlacing, etc, the faster clocked card may work out better. The faster card might be a little snappier with Vista's Aero interface too.

[Bondiablo]

If you had looked at the links I gave you, you would have found this.

"Excellent HD IQ, although 8500 and below are only mediocre."
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3047&p=3

[edDV]

And the 8600GT is much cheaper now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150230

[jagabo]

It was pretty stupid on Anandtech's part to make claims about the 8500 GT video performance when they didn't even test it.

Unfortunately, few reviews cover the video handling abilities of graphics cards. Most concentrate soley on games. I did find one review that claims the 8500 only scores 45 on the HQV-HD test whereas the the 8600 scored 100:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/452/11

(I wonder if this is simply a matter of nVidia not enabling some of the features for marketing purposes?) Other reviews I've seen that compare the 8500 to the 8600 have said HD-DVD looks the same on both.

The 8500 doesn't support HDCP (at least the cards I've seen tested) -- a possible problem if you plan to watch BD or HD-DVD.

[hulinning]

It was pretty stupid on Anandtech's part to make claims about the 8500 GT video performance when they didn't even test it.

Unfortunately, few reviews cover the video handling abilities of graphics cards. Most concentrate soley on games. I did find one review that claims the 8500 only scores 45 on the HQV-HD test whereas the the 8600 scored 100:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/452/11

(I wonder if this is simply a matter of nVidia not enabling some of the features for marketing purposes?) Other reviews I've seen that compare the 8500 to the 8600 have said HD-DVD looks the same on both.

The 8500 doesn't support HDCP (at least the cards I've seen tested) -- a possible problem if you plan to watch BD or HD-DVD.

Thanks for your note on hdcp

I do need hdcp support for my jvc hdtv set. It has a hdmi hdcp port at 720p input.

So I think I need to go with 8600 series.

And thanks all again

[[_chef_]]

AMD/ATI HD 2400/2600 pro/XT are still better.

[hulinning]

]AMD/ATI HD 2400/2600 pro/XT are still better.

You mean that it is better for gamming or HDTV or both comparing to NVIDIA 8600

I just look for something that provides best playback movie on my HDTV 720p for the bucks.

Thanks

[jagabo]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3047

[hulinning]

]AMD/ATI HD 2400/2600 pro/XT are still better.

I agree and I did buy ATI RADEON HD 2600 XT card from Lagoon.com for 131 with free shipping.

I picked this based on the review http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=426&type=expert&pid=21 and other related reviews for this card.

Thanks all

[joytimeday]

That's a good choice .