DVI output on a graphics card

J

John Langton

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Not sure if this is the right place to post this but my question is what is the quality of a movie playing on your pc through the DVI output on a graphics card. I have a ATI Radeon 9800XT

John
 
John Langton said:
Not sure if this is the right place to post this but my question is what is the quality of a movie playing on your pc through the DVI output on a graphics card. I have a ATI Radeon 9800XT

John

Looks very good on mine - it also depends on codecs, software players and drivers. I have my HTPC connected to my PW7 panel via DVI and am very happy with the quality.
 
Hi John
DVI is just a digital transfer method, and as such just relays exactly what is sent through it.
Keeping everything digital prevents the loss of information that digital to - analogue - to digital conversion can have, including signal loss in the video cables.
ie DVI doesn't add any improvement to the picture itself, rather it just helps prevent degrading it further.
Connecting direct (via DVI/HDMI) can have dramatic improvements with some displays, but this is mainly down to how badly the "analogue" signal was handled by the source or receiver in the first place!

However, long DVI cable runs (more than 5m) can introduce a corruption to the image.
This can form "sparklies" or "Astroids", or even total loss of image.
Different VGA cards and cables can produce different results, so longer runs can prove tricky.
Well made DVI cables can work well up to 10m and beyond, but normally some kind of signal booster/switcher will be needed if longer runs are needed.
Sometimes the only solution is to "suck it and see"!

As for the actual quality of films/DVDs etc. Well most of that depends the combination of VGA card/Drivers and of course which DVD/Movie software you use!
Get this wrong and you can end up with a horrible mess, that is jerky, low resolution and totally miscalibrated.

However, get it all right and you will be rewarded with images that far exceed what most standalone DVD decks are capable of. (DVI helping to get this greatness to the display device without signal loss and D/A, A/D conversions etc)

Your card seems fine, and should be capable of stunning images.

The flavour of the month for reference quality images from DVD and WMV-HD via DVI seems to be. (and is what i'm using, and has proved stunning)

Windows XP "SP2" (including MCE 2005)

nVidia 6600(GT)/6800(GT) VGA cards (6600 has hardware assist for WMV-HD), using pure video drivers.

TheaterTek 2.0 (+ latest upgrade to renderless mode)

I've no doubt next month, something else will be favourite! :smashin:
 
I second that.

A very good picture.

Most notable for me are a lack of noise in the image and a reduction of what I think of as MPEG artefacts. Plus an increase in picture detail/resolution.

You need to check what resolutions and refresh rates you plasma will accept via DVI. It's best to run your graphics card at the native res' of your plasma and at a refresh rate that's a multiple of your video refresh rate i.e 24Hz for NTSC Film, 25Hz for PAL, or 29.97Hz for NTSC video.

I run 1280x768 @ 50Hz into my Pioneer MXE1 for PAL TV & DVDs.
 
Thanks for the info guys. At the moment Im just using PowerDVD and its not even hooked up DVI yet Im just using the standard monitor cable.

John
 

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