best graphics card for s-video out?

[Statick]

hi, my current HTPC has a geforce 6200 card with s-video out. the quality is not great - it looks like 16-bit colour even though it's set to 32-bit, so i can see banding in colour gradients etc. i've googled this and found plenty of people with the same problem - it appears to be common.

so, i'm looking for a replacement graphics card, the only requirement being that it has good quality s-video out!

does anyone have any recommendations?

i have tried to search the forums, but not managed to come up with anything...

[jeremyofmany]

www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=13347

As you can see, S-Video out is included on dirt-cheap cards.
Happy hunting.

[MOVIEGEEK]

I doubt a nVidia 5200 would have better color than a 6200, you might try a VGA to S-Video converter:
http://sewelldirect.com/pc-to-tv.asp

[Statick]

yes, the point really is i'm looking for a card with excellent quality s-video out, not simply any card that has it as a listed feature.

unfortunately it seems with nvidia cards at least, that the s-video out is very underpowered. i've asked this same question on other forums and had plenty of people suggest nvidia cards, one guy even suggested the exact card i've got saying "i use this and it looks fine". i think when people say that they mean that it works and doesn't look broken (its not black and white, extremely dim, grainy, etc). so this time i made a point of saying i've got this card, and the quality is poor - i want better!

the other main requirement is it must be passively cooled - i don't want any more fans in my media PC.

i've never seen a VGA to svideo converter before - are they even available in the UK? i can't seem to find any for sale here.

[MOVIEGEEK]

i've never seen a VGA to svideo converter before - are they even available in the UK? i can't seem to find any for sale here.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/universal-VG...2816647&sr=1-5

[ocgw]

hi, my current HTPC has a geforce 6200 card with s-video out. the quality is not great - it looks like 16-bit colour even though it's set to 32-bit, so i can see banding in colour gradients etc. i've googled this and found plenty of people with the same problem - it appears to be common.

so, i'm looking for a replacement graphics card, the only requirement being that it has good quality s-video out!

does anyone have any recommendations?

i have tried to search the forums, but not managed to come up with anything...

I have had many gfx cards w/ s-video out, and component out, and I was never happy w/ any of them, NTSC outs from PC's always sucked, they are an "after thought"

Anyway, you do realize there are 3 parts to this equation?, the gfx card, the s-video cable, and the TV, try a diffferent cable and then on a different TV just to see if the is any difference

If it were I, I would instead of buying a new gfx card, save my money, and then get a new digital TV @ one of the next big sales

Then you take the gfx card right out of the equation, it is just passing on the bits for the TV to decode

ocgw

peace

[jagabo]

In my experience, color depth usually isn't the problem with s-video, resolution is. There's not much you can do about resolution, s-video is just a low bandwidth signal. About all you can do is run the graphics card at low resolution (640x480) so text is bigger.

A VGA to s-video scan converter is likely to have worse quality than the s-video output on your graphics card. Unless you buy an expensive one. In which case you would be better of just buying an HDTV and connecting with VGA, DVI, or HDMI.

[themaster1]

Someone knows if there is a reliable VGA to component converter box out there. S-video sucks i'd need component for my retro projector tv.

[ocgw]

Someone knows if there is a reliable VGA to component converter box out there. S-video sucks i'd need component for my retro projector tv.

both ATI and Nvidia make DVI to component adaptors for their gfx cards

ocgw

peace

[jagabo]

Matrox cards always had the best s-video output. Never any banding issues. Resolution is always a problem of course, s-video is just a low resolution system. But if you play games you definitely don't want a Matrox card. They have not kept up with 3D graphics. I don't know how well they will do with Windows 7 -- it might be too graphics intensive for them.

[stiltman]

Best out put I've seen are from Osprey cards...However this is a specialty card and not a graphics card per say