If I could clarify...I do understand, given the size and high res of the
2405, that I am hard pressed to get quality full screen TV. My perception is
not that bigger and better hardware will solve this dilemma, but rather a
hope that there is some video card out there that will handle scaling NTSC
broadcasts in such a way as to provide the highest possible quality. I know
that this "quality" will not be perfect and without blemish, but I'm looking
for "the best I can do" at this point in time. Nor do I believe that
dropping a bundle will resolve the issue, although I am a strong believer in
the philosophy that choosing quality products, even though they may cost
more, pays off in results and longevity.
Yeah its your money and you seem to understand what you are buying so
obviously spend it anyway you want. My neighbor insists on buying ONLY
Sony and Samsung TVs and bought a huge projection screen a while ago
and recently I told him to look at the Olevia and he looked at it and
decide to spend a ton of more money on a Sony and Samsung LCD TV for
his bedroom and his son.
I guess the issue would be ---- most people think most of the new
expensive cards besides some features like DVI , dual DVI or whatever
you might want , are mainly desirable for games. And that 90% of the
power you get from the higher cost is for high powered game playing.
So to most I suppose its kind of an extravagance to buy such a card
for only watching movies and doing spreadsheets and word processing.
In fact I hardly see any reviews talk about that indepth. Its almost
completely about performance measures in terms of graphics for gaming
- one chart after another.
The area where they talk about movies and pictures in reviews
generally tends to be with LCD screens because of their flaws.
With tuner cards they do of course.
And, incidentally, and even though the fullscreen TV quality is not
significantly better than even the AIW 9000 Pro (but it *is* better), the
AIW x800xt really makes this monitor snap in all other areas. This card
obviously shines as a gaming card (I even dug up "Far Cry" and played a few
levels, and in the process understood that my "gaming days" were over...I
was light headed for 2 hours after...), but it is also an excellent overall
card and does quite well on this display. In fact, ATI touts this card as a
"multimedia card", mostly, I think, due to all the I/O possibilities (and
the TV & video capabilities as well).
If you have the money go for it. I think we are biased more towards
the value side as money has a much greater impact on us so the price
performance ratio is weighted more on how much you get for each buck.
It may not weigh anywhere near as much to you as it does for many here
and the card you mention isnt ridiculously expensive. In fact theres a
good deal on it right now. Since the next gen ATI cards have come out
- the 300 to 800 cards have fallen to decent levels. I was just
reading the hype on the ATI 1900 which they rushed out right after the
1800 in a bid to beat Nvidias top card , its awesome but the price was
$600.
See at the moment Im not sure there would be much of a difference
watching movies with a 600 or 800 or even a 300 and a 800 so the extra
money seems like an extravagance that could be spent elsewhere like
the HDTV card which is around 100-150 I think.
Or a better system since I think the the Fusion HDTV card depends alot
on the software and PC CPU so it puts a fair load on your system from
the posts I keep reading about it. Since you are moving to an 800
which is PCI express only last time I checked you either have a new
system or are thinking of buying a new system. Actually if you get
some special DELL deal etc sometimes an extra performance card can be
fairly cheap as an addon so thats a factor too I suppose. I recall
many were getting 6800s fairly cheap relatively speaking as an addon
last year.
I think the 800 AIW was $300 though retal by itself. I guess the most
common response youll probably get unless there are some features we
dont know about , since you arent into gaming you could get the 600
or 700 and save money. The only thing is I dont think there is a AIW
version of the lesser cards so if you wanted an all in one solution
you might have to get that in that generation of ATI cards. You could
buy a separate sapphire 550 theatrix card but they were $75 when they
were first introed but I think increased in price since then.
The Hauppauge is said to be the rival of the 550 cards.
You can get the Hauppauge 150 if you get the barebones version
no software around $60-70 on Amazon and other places online.
Ive never seen the 250/350 but heres what ive read when I was
feverishly reading several sites I came across when I was all hot and
bothered about the "revolutionary" ATI 550 tuner card chip. At these
sites and several people were on all of them and went out and bought
both cards and uploaded clips and still images , lots of them so
people could compare them. There were lots of posts commenting on the
clips and the cards too as more and more people were buying them then
on those sites. Several had the older 250/350. The 150 used a new chip
that drastically reduced the cost of the Hauppauge hardware
compression cards but had the exact same functionality and supposedly
the same quality. Actually the people who owned both claimed the 150
actually looked a bit better, not a big difference. But with the
strangely high cost of the 250/350 everyone was buying the 150 then.
There was also the 500 dual tuner cards which I think used the 150
card chip too.
It should be good enough if you want to use it with a cheaper card
such as the 800 non-AIW which can be as low as 200 and the 700 which
can be as low as $130 or the 600.
It was generally a toss up in quality between the 550 vs Hauppauge 150
from the clips and some said they liked one card or another because of
slight differences. The 550 at the time though cost more and had less
compatibility with software you generally had to use ATI software what
came with the card. Im sure its better now.
And an HD card may well be my next step, although that would mean I had 2
tuners in one machine (not necessarily a bad thing, right?), as HD is so
young and thus limited in its viewing choices. I hear the fusion card is
great, but I still have to check with my cable provider to see what is
available in this area.
Dont know much about the Fusion as I never owned one.
Heres a thread on it where they say they had to buy an analog card to
make MCE recognize the fusion card. Another poster says the HDTV
output looks great with a 9800 card.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-457434.html
I'm not denying that software is a vital part of the equation here (and
again, it is TV that is my biggest problem. I find *most* DVD video quite
acceptable at a res of 1920x1080, although one alwasy hopes for better :-})
However, after removing the AIW x800xt and putting the 9600 pro in, there is
a fairly noticable difference in display qualities.
Hmmm. Well you are the ultimate judge on that. If you notice a
difference and have the money its your call. Im going to test that Ha.
Just curious. I bought all this junk over Xmas and now had the HDTV
LCD on my desk, 19" LCD and the 3 cards and both AMD 64 sytems at my
desk. Im getting my dual core hopefully this month already ordered
it. Im going to compare my 9600 vs my 800XL and see if I can tell the
difference with movies on my LCD and HDTV LCD not exactly a definitive
test but Im just curious now whether Ill see anything.
Im actually stuck with a Best Buy 120 GiftCard so who knows I may end
up buying a HDTV card but then I get HDTV digital cable and can just
feed it into my LCD HDTV so its not that crucial anymore.
Youll laugh but Compusa had this insane deal where you sign up for 180
annual cost AOL signups and they gave you a $250 GC , so tons of
people rushed out and signed up multiple times. I did 3 times and now
have to pay for 3 AOL accounts I dont use but I did get to use 3 x 250
GC.
The colors aren't as
crisp, motion not as smooth. The AIW 800xt card truly is quality (too bad
about the accompanying software...) and does very well with this monitor
(other than, of course, with NTSC). And, as I previously stated, the I/O
capabilities are very extensive, which is very attractive, and while the
x800xl is touted as a gaming card, the AIW x800xt is described as a
"multimedia" card, and rightly so.
I also have been making forays into some kind of external "upscaling"
device. I hope to find at least an acceptable solution to this issue without
dropping a bundle, but, for my purposes, it *is* worth spending the time and
a reasonable sum to acheive acceptable results.
I want to get an upconverting DVD player to hook up to my LCD HDTV.
My first choice is the incredibly hyped OPPO for $200.
This has been getting so much raves. Not perfect some have bashed it
for this and that but there are tons of people who claim you can tell
the difference in the quality of the movie output. Look that up on
Amazon and read the reviews.
My second cheaper choice is the Philips upconverting DVD player which
is less than half the cost and many say its fine too though probably
not as good I assume as the OPPO but its getting good consumer
reviews.
