Progressive Component vs. PC DVI

chriswhiteuk

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Hi all

I have a Panny ae500 running a progressive component feed from a Sony 930V - the picture is great!

However, sitting about 8 metres away in the next room, I have my PC with a DVI output -

2.8ghz, 1gb DDR ram, GeForce FX 5900, Raptor SATA, ABIT mobo

I was wondering, how much would the picture quality increase if I were to use the PC to playback DVDs ?

Can you get DVI leads that long ? If so, where from ?

Cheers

Chris
 
I compared a DV27 via progressive component against my HTPC via DVI to my HS10. The HTPC was a very clear winner, it was not even close.

I consider that my HTPC is quite sorted and refined. It takes time and patience to get the bvest out of them and ideally needs to be a dedicated machine or at least a dedicated partition for a dual boot arrangement.

DVI runs just about to about 7.5m, anything over that generally doesn't work.

Does the ae500 do 1:1 pixel mapping via dvi, I know that the ae300 didn't?
 
Usually you'd expect an HTPC to give you a better PQ than your 930, not least because you avoid conversion to analog and back ... ideally you'd want a Radeon but the FX should do okay as long as it'll accept the resolution you need to get 1:1 mapping.

How much better PQ is impossible to say except by those with pretty much exactly the same hardware as you have, IMX my Radeon HTPC noticeably beat my Sony 730 for detail and lack of noise.

You can get 10m DVI cables though the general consensus seems to be to avoid the Lindy ones .. I have 2m and 5m Lindy's and they're fine, but over Christmas when the Z2 was getting popular there were several reports of people having problems with 10m cables from them .. I'd suggest drop Joe atThe Media Factory an e-mail, he deals in a couple of brands and can probably advise as well as anyone. :)
 
I suppose for the price of the cable and suitable software, I can't really loose but to try it out ?!

What's the recommended DVD software player ?

If it IS better, I can sell my DVD, rack, QED leads and make a profit !!

Cheers

Chris
 
Not sure for nVidia-based systems, for ATIs TheaterTek is often touted to be the best, it certainly proved a lot better than PowerDVD with my ATI/AE300 pairing. However, they don't have a free trial version, you may want to try PowerDVD or WinDVD, two of the more widely used players.

There are freebie ones like ZoomPlayer you may want to look at first.

You'll also possibly need Powerstrip to set the custom resolution, depending on whether your nVidia drivers recognise the PJ's resolution and Windows allows you to set it or not.
 
Hi, just tried the pj at 1280x720 (the LCD size) but I think I'm getting too much noise over the analoge lead.

I think my keystone correction introduces a lot of noise as well . . .

The DVI won't suffer from this noise however - as it's digital - this correct ?

Do you reckon PC world will have a DVI lead ?

Lol

Chris
 
hmm, seems my DVD Rom has decided not to spin DVDs anymore ! Haven't used it in a while, mainly CDs.

Looks like the DVD player is staying, lol.

But I still wanna find a DVI lead and try it out.

Chris
 
I doubt PC World will have a lead, better to get a Lindy if its not too long, my 7.5m is fine.

If you get the lead you will see how sharp the picture has potential for by the desktop, then try it without keystone correction;)

Theatertek was miles better than PowerDVD4 but I haven't tried anything else since.
 
Originally posted by chriswhiteuk
The DVI won't suffer from this noise however - as it's digital - this correct ?
No, incorrect, any length of cable will be susceptible to noise, the fact it's carrying digital rather than analog data doesn't matter, although of course the effects will be different signal quality will be affected. The issue is how well the cable is made, the materials used to make the cores etc. determine the resilience to noise injection.
 
Just thought I would say my lindy 7.5m DVI cable is still going strong after 15 months. Great service from Lindy aswell.

Good luck

Rob
 
IIRC the 7.5m version was about the limit which seemed reliable, I seem to recall several members using those okay but 10m users had problems.
 
I had problems with 10m but 2 different 7.5m ones were fine
 
Got Theatertek and swapped out my sis's DVD rom, hehe - the picture playback on my computer falt screen was very clear and free of noise - also movement across the screen was less jerky.

I've ordered a 10m lead from Lindy (fingers crossed).

Just wanted to clear something up in my mind -

IF the PC is set to 1280x720 res (the same as the Panny LCD panels) will the DVD be decoded by the PC then sent directly to the LCD panels via DVI connection with no other scaling up/down involved ?

Surely this will be better than the DVD player ? As said the conversion from digital to analogue to digital and the picked up noise from the 5m component lead would add to picture noise etc.

Hoping now that the DVI output will be good ! Would have a minimalist cinema setup ! room for an extra PD1200 sub methinks !

Chris
 
Being off work today, I've had more time to fiddle !

Using the SVGA lead, setting res to 1280x720 with TTek, I can comfirm that the picture is easier on the eye, with more fine detail and less artefacts - this even with the noise on the long cable!

I've decided to come to a compromise, as in keeping my good DVD to use on the 32" and for music CDs.

Then for good home cinema nights, I can use the HTPC DVI !

Cheers for the help guys, it's been appreciated !

Chris
 
Originally posted by chriswhiteuk
IF the PC is set to 1280x720 res (the same as the Panny LCD panels) will the DVD be decoded by the PC then sent directly to the LCD panels via DVI connection with no other scaling up/down involved ?
As you figured, that indeed is the case and what the Holy Grail of 1:1 mapping is all about. :)
 
got my DVI and as said, the desktop is pin sharp.

DVDs look somewhat forced though, might just be my tastes, but I prefer the progressive DVD output after long viewings.

That said, using the projector for PC games is shear madness - Call of Duty with the sound on the homecinema kit is brilliant.
 
Originally posted by marcus2704
Is it normal for Plasmas to have DVI-in?

Denends on the manufacturer/make although many newer panels do have DVI input. They'll start appearing with HDMI now too :eek: (if they haven't already).
 
My Fujitsu plasma doesnt have one it would appear. I connect my PC via VGA, the results are nice although I dont think the display is as good or vibrant as my Component DVD player. I use Power DVD software. I feel like Im missing out from what I can tell by not having this.
 

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