Having played with KnoppMyth on a spare computer I am now ready to make a purpose-built box to use in anger. Since I am starting from scratch I want to make sure I get the right components. In order to select a video card I need to know what outputs I want.

I have a Fujitsu plasma P42HHA30W (1024x1024) capable of 1080i. It can accept composite, s-video, component, analogue RGB, and DVI-D. Obviously composite and s-video are not worth bothering with but how would component, RGB and DVD-D compare in quality and usability? The plan is to show SD, HD, photos and DVDs. Component has the advantage that I can switch it through the tuner although this is a minor point because the system runs on a single programmable remote.

1. DVI will give the best quality, but the difference between DVI and VGA is difficult for me to see. (I am assuming that "Analogue RGB" is the same as VGA).

2a. Some TV sets will only accept 1 resolution option via DVI, whereas most (all?) will automatically do any required re-scaling and de-interlacing requried if you send them the signal via one of the analogue inputs. This can be useful if in hardware doesn't have enough horsepower to re-scale and de-interlace a hidef signal.

2b. My original hidef mythtv box fell into this catagory, so I was using the VGA output so that I could let the TV do the de-interlacing. I upgraded my box, so now I use DVI and my myth box does the de-interlacing. The conventional wisdom is that your myth box will do a better job deinterlacing and scaling than your TV will, but I found it difficult to see any difference in quality.

3. I've never used the component out, but I am not aware of any reason you should go this route if you have the choice of VGA and DVI.


Marc

Thanks Marc,
You confirmed my suspicions. I think I will stick with VGA which simplifies the video card selection and no need to get another lead.

Richard

Just remember that VGA is still an analog signal so use a high quality cable!

I could tell a big difference when I went from a lower quality VGA cable I had laying around to a DVI->HDMI cable!

Martian

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ABIT NF-M2 nView | Athlon 64 X2 3800+ | 2GB DDR2 800 | HDHomerun | GeForce 6150 (onboard) | WD 640 GB SATA HD | DVD-RW (sata) | StreamZap IR receiver with Logitech Harmony remote

Vizio 37" LCD HDTV (1080p)

I'm using component out. I tried VGA but couldn't get the computer to sync properly with my TV (vizio 37" lcd). I tried DVI, but my TV has HDMI inputs and will only display at 680x480 unless it detects HDCP, which my computer doesn't generate of course.

I actually started with S-Video, and it looked really good, but component was the only way I could get HD to work with my TV.

Hi Nicom,

If you want to build a tried and tested machine, I suggest you have a look at the Dragon specs on my web site http://www.better-access.com/index.php?dest=specs

These components have been tried and tested (mostly by mythic.tv) and are perfect for Knoppmyth in Australia. You can get most of them at any PC retailer (see Green Guide) or a swap meet. If you have trouble sourcing a component I can tell you where to get it or sell it to you.

These machines are almost silent (they're silent to me) and it's thanks to good, quiet components. If you do want something and are too cheap to pay postage I make frequent trips to Melbourne.

Never use component input: It looks rubbish. I use vga for my HD LCD, which is great for everything so far. Haven't tried HDMI.

Good luck

Mike

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LinHES 7.4
Australian Dragon
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Thanks for that Mike. The Dragon machine is very interesting but has raised a number of questions from me.

1. Do they use a special CPU fan or just the standard one?
2. The choice of the Intel processor adds substantially to the cost. Is the performance significantly better than AMD?
3. Is the Intel MB better than others? I have contemplating an Asus M2N-E SLI. I know the SLI is not necessary but this board gives S/PDIF output direct which is handy for my amp.
4. When you say the machine is quiet is that with the standard video card or the fanless Gigabyte card?

Richard

Hi Richard,

1. The stock fan is pretty quiet, but there are quieter options, like the Zalman.
2. Haven't tried an AMD recently, but they are hotter than Intel E6xx0s. The extra heat causes fan noise.
3. The motherboard has S/PDIF output, yes, but it's recommended that you use the Chaintech card if you want digital output. I assumed from this that the built-in one isn't well supported by Linux.
The Intel M/B is advertised by Intel as a "media motherboard". Don't know why, but it works very reliably and has no northbridge fan (silent heatsink instead).
4. The standard (ASUS) video card is fanless too. The Gigabyte is simply a better card. I don't know why anyone would choose this since it's more expensive - guess there just had to be an option

I'm in front of one of my machines right now (I use it as my everyday HTPC) and can't hear it over the ticking of the clock. It uses the standard PSU (Zalman), stock E6320 CPU fan etc. The HDD is the WD500YS which is also almost silent. It's quite remarkable if you're used to regular PCs. Still, I had to offer the Nexus PSU as an option (presumably for those with (bionic woman style) bionic ears as it's almost 2db quieter than the Zalman (the Nexus is silent).

You won't find the Nexus PSU in Australia, incidentally, but the Zalman is available everywhere.

Mike

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LinHES 7.4
Australian Dragon
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Just confirming what's already been said, but the component option (at least the one on my motherboard) seems to be thrown in as an afterthought, it will do OK if it's the only option you have, but because the internal connections that the component signal passes through are rarely very high quality, the component-out on a computer usually isn't up to snuff. I've gotten the settings tweaked well enough that most of the HDTV I watch over my Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard's component-out looks good, but the bright end of things tends to wash out a little at times. On hardware with high-quality component-out, with high quality cabling, you probably can't tell the difference, except perhaps in how much the cabling costs (digital probably means cheaper, with analog you need top quality cable)...my PS3, for example, looks gorgeous over component, much much better than my PC, because the component wasn't thrown in as an afterthought, they expect a lot of people to actually use it.