Playing Divx on TV, best card with video-out for this?

[Giantsloth]

I'm a bit confused when it comes to playing divx and mpg files on a pc out to a tv set. The resolution difference between the two is what confuses me a bit. First my question would be what card has the best video-out. I was thinking of getting the Hauppauge PVR-350 for capturing, it also has video-out, they still sell this card on Ebay. It seems anything shown on my pc screen would go out to my tv set, but the problem's a lot of divx and mpg files are half or less resolution than a pc screen's resolution, so they show up smaller than your display. You then get the rest of your desktop showing up on your tv set. My second question is are there applications that will utilize your video-out and play a movie file on your tv in full screen even if it's not full screen on your pc screen? The VLC player comes to mind.

[jagabo]

Comparing composite to composite, or s-video to s-video, there's not a huge difference between most of the current graphics cards from major manufacturers.

If you're using a monitor and a TV the best way to use tv out is theater mode (different manufacturers use different names). Whatever is playing in a media player, even if in a window on the desktop, will appear full screen (with the proper aspect ratio) on the TV. The graphics card takes care of scaling, colorspace conversion, etc.

[Giantsloth]

Ahh so that's how it works, thanks for clearing up the confusion.

[Giantsloth]

I've got a little problem, when it seems like all graphic cards nowadays come with tv-out I have a Nvidia Geforce 8600GT with no tv-out It's got 2 DVI out ports only. So I'm trying to figure out what card I can get with tv-out, and it seems like the only choices are the main pc display graphic cards like my Nvidia 8600GT. I don't really want to have to swap my 8600GT with a new one because I didn't get this card so long ago. Will I have to do this or can I get some other type of card with tv-out that I can add on to my pc?

[jagabo]

I think you'll find it's cheaper to buy a new video card than to get a device that can convert DVI to s-video.

Some other possible options (I'm assuming you don't have an HDTV):

If your graphics cards has VGA out on the DVI port (analog VGA is an option on the DVI port) and your TV has VGA input you might be able to use that.

If your graphics card has VGA out on the DVI port you can use an inexpensive VGA to s-video adapter. Picture quality won't be great. You probably won't be able to use theater mode this way. And the adapter won't be much cheaper than a new card. For example:

http://www.svideo.com/vga2video2.html

Some graphics cards include component video on the DVI port (mostly ATI from what I've seen). If your TV has component inputs you might be able to use this.

[neomaine]

Giantsloth,

What brand and model TV are you looking to hook up to? Do you have a manual to take a look at to give you the types of inputs the TV has? This could go a long way to answering your question directly.

[Giantsloth]

Well right now I've got a regular tube but I'm gonna be getting an hdtv soon. I'll probably be doing a little hdtv capturing but more standard definition. I think I'll just sell this card and get one with tv-out, thanks for your help.

[jagabo]

If you're getting an HDTV you can hook up with a DVI -> HDMI cable. Forget composite and s-video.

I have a 1080p HDTV and I use a DVI->HDMI cable (8600 GT like you) and get 1:1 pixel mapping. It's like having a 46" 1920x1080 computer monitor. Crystal clear. Small Divx files are fuzzy when blown up, obviously.

[Giantsloth]

I know it's great for hdtv but smaller resolution divx movies get blown up too much this way. Using a card with tv-out that comes with a theater mode will display it with the proper resolution on screen and in full screen, isn't that right? If my new graphics card comes with an extra DVI-out (or if it's possible to split one) I may use that output to watch hdtv on my hdtv set, while using regular tv-out from my graphics card for smaller resolution divx movies. Sorry if this sounds funny and I've confused the hell out of it, like I said the resolution differences on the displays always wind up confusing me

[jagabo]

If you don't want to see a small Divx file blown up to full screen use a player that allows for smaller sizes. MPCHC can do it -- the full screen goes black except for a small image in the center. You can chose 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x or 2x sizes. So a 480x360 Divx file can appear 240x180, 480x360, 720x540, 960x720, or full screen.

Theater mode with s-video output will result in the small video being blown up to full screen on the TV. A small Divx video will be blurry on a 50" 1920x1080 TV.

Most graphics cards with 2 DVI outputs and an s-video output will not allow you to use all three at the same time. You can only use two. You have to use the setup applet to switch. The Matrox cards are the only ones I know of that can output to three devices at the same time: two DVI monitors and s-video in theater mode (they call it DVD Max mode).

[Giantsloth]

Thanks I'll give that program a try. I think an hdtv set can also handle lower resolutions and fill up the screen.

[jagabo]

I think an hdtv set can also handle lower resolutions and fill up the screen.

HDTVs will take whatever is input and enlarge it to full screen (maybe adding letterbox or pillarbox bars to maintain aspect ratio). But only a limited range of resolutions and refresh rates will be supported. If you plan to use a TV as a computer monitor you want one that has a non-overscan mode (so the entire desktop is visible, Samsung calls this Just Scan) and 1:1 pixel mapping if possible. HDTVs with VGA ports usually don't overscan that input because it's assumed to be from a computer.