If You Had To Choose - HDTV - PCI cards

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Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900

http/shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2546404

http/www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp120.asp

I'm having trouble deciding.

Thanks.

--Phil

 

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Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900

Never heard of it. If I were to get a software card today, I'd get the
Fusion III.

> http/shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2546404

This has gotten some pretty bad reviews. The chipset isn't bad, but the
software is horrid.

> http/www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp120.asp

Wait (about a month) for the MDP-130, which will feature digital cable
tuning and an ATI 5th-generation chipset.

--
Jeff Rife | "A rabbit's foot? You slaughtered an innocent
| animal for some silly superstition?"
| "I didn't personally slaughter the rabbit. I shot
| a giant panda out of a tree, and he fell on it."
| -- "Cybill"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:13:11 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:

>Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
>> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900
>
>Never heard of it. If I were to get a software card today, I'd get the
>Fusion III.
>
>> http/shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2546404
>
>This has gotten some pretty bad reviews. The chipset isn't bad, but the
>software is horrid.
>
>> http/www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp120.asp
>
>Wait (about a month) for the MDP-130, which will feature digital cable
>tuning and an ATI 5th-generation chipset.

Thanks, Jeff.

--Phil

 

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Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:13:11 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:

>Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
>> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900
>
>Never heard of it. If I were to get a software card today, I'd get the
>Fusion III.
>

I just downloaded the demo version with the demo clips. Unbelievable.

Thanks for the suggestion.

--Phil

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 12:19:47 -0800, Phil R <screenname@domain.com> wrote:
> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900

It looks like this card only supports DVB, not ATSC. Not sure where in
the world you're located, but if the card doesn't support ATSC, you
can't use it in the US (and probably Canada, too).

> http/shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2546404

The software and drivers for this card are really bad. I have the
misfortune of purchasing the card before any of the bad reviews came to
my attention (I did look for reviews before buying...). DTV freezes at
random when recording certain channels. Re-installing/upgrading the
drivers is also a pain. I have only managed to get that to work by
physically moving the card to another slot.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Millican webboy@somerandomdomain.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 16:18:58 -0600, Eric Millican
<webboy@somerandomdomain.com> wrote:

>On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 12:19:47 -0800, Phil R <screenname@domain.com> wrote:
>> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900
>
>It looks like this card only supports DVB, not ATSC. Not sure where in
>the world you're located, but if the card doesn't support ATSC, you
>can't use it in the US (and probably Canada, too).
>
>> http/shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2546404
>
>The software and drivers for this card are really bad. I have the
>misfortune of purchasing the card before any of the bad reviews came to
>my attention (I did look for reviews before buying...). DTV freezes at
>random when recording certain channels. Re-installing/upgrading the
>drivers is also a pain. I have only managed to get that to work by
>physically moving the card to another slot.

Keep in mind, I'm only interested in viewing HD content only. I'm not
using these cards as PVRs. So with that said, does your opinion
change?

--Phil

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> Keep in mind, I'm only interested in viewing HD content only. I'm not
> using these cards as PVRs. So with that said, does your opinion
> change?

There is zero effort needed to use these cards as PVRs...if you can watch
HDTV with them, you can do recordings. Timer recordings are also simple to
do.

That said, the MyHD software (for the MIT MDP-1xx cards) is absolutely the
best commercial software designed for any of these cards. Currently, it
does timer recordings, one-touch recordings, and "time shift" (watching
behind live TV). In the next major software release (later this year,
probably), it will allow you to watch a recording while recording something
else. This will give it all the functionality of TiVo with respect to
"simple" (possibly repeating) recordings. With the built-in TitanTV
integration, you get some search-based recording capability, although not
automatic.

MyHD will also play DVDs in spectacular fashion, although you need a program
like AnyDVD to disable the CSS encryption on the disk.

--
Jeff Rife | "A rabbit's foot? You slaughtered an innocent
| animal for some silly superstition?"
| "I didn't personally slaughter the rabbit. I shot
| a giant panda out of a tree, and he fell on it."
| -- "Cybill"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 18:56:10 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:

>Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
>> Keep in mind, I'm only interested in viewing HD content only. I'm not
>> using these cards as PVRs. So with that said, does your opinion
>> change?
>
>There is zero effort needed to use these cards as PVRs...if you can watch
>HDTV with them, you can do recordings. Timer recordings are also simple to
>do.
>

I thought, inherently, capturing HD video would be a little more
tricky than just to view it, no?

>That said, the MyHD software (for the MIT MDP-1xx cards) is absolutely the
>best commercial software designed for any of these cards. Currently, it
>does timer recordings, one-touch recordings, and "time shift" (watching
>behind live TV). In the next major software release (later this year,
>probably), it will allow you to watch a recording while recording something
>else. This will give it all the functionality of TiVo with respect to
>"simple" (possibly repeating) recordings. With the built-in TitanTV
>integration, you get some search-based recording capability, although not
>automatic.
>

I'm not sure If I can wait that long. I'm dying to get my hands on
this Fusion HDTV3 card.

>MyHD will also play DVDs in spectacular fashion,

How so? Aren't I getting the best picture possible playing the DVD
through PowerDVD/WinDVD on my monitor? Disabling that function through
AnyDVD does what exactly? Curious.

--Phil

 

[David]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"Phil R." <screenname@domain.com> wrote in message
news:91100159dkhduj6373bclsfd48v1dnfsfl@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:13:11 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:
>
>>Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
>>> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900
>>
>>Never heard of it. If I were to get a software card today, I'd get the
>>Fusion III.
>>
>
> I just downloaded the demo version with the demo clips. Unbelievable.
>
> Thanks for the suggestion.
>
> --Phil

You should see those clips on a native 1080p display, like the Samsung 240t.
_Really_ beautiful.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 19:15:48 -0500, "David" <davey@home.net> wrote:

>"Phil R." <screenname@domain.com> wrote in message
>news:91100159dkhduj6373bclsfd48v1dnfsfl@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:13:11 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:
>>
>>>Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
>>>> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900
>>>
>>>Never heard of it. If I were to get a software card today, I'd get the
>>>Fusion III.
>>>
>>
>> I just downloaded the demo version with the demo clips. Unbelievable.
>>
>> Thanks for the suggestion.
>>
>> --Phil
>
>You should see those clips on a native 1080p display, like the Samsung 240t.
>_Really_ beautiful.
>

I watched them on my flatscreen Sony Trinitron monitor, and I gasped
with amazement. The resolution on my monitor goes up to 1900x1700 I
believe. It's stunning.

--Phil

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> I thought, inherently, capturing HD video would be a little more
> tricky than just to view it, no?

Nope. The bit rate is nothing for modern hard drive writes.

> >That said, the MyHD software (for the MIT MDP-1xx cards) is absolutely the
> >best commercial software designed for any of these cards. Currently, it
> >does timer recordings, one-touch recordings, and "time shift" (watching
> >behind live TV). In the next major software release (later this year,
> >probably), it will allow you to watch a recording while recording something
> >else. This will give it all the functionality of TiVo with respect to
> >"simple" (possibly repeating) recordings. With the built-in TitanTV
> >integration, you get some search-based recording capability, although not
> >automatic.
> >
>
> I'm not sure If I can wait that long. I'm dying to get my hands on
> this Fusion HDTV3 card.

Just get the MDP-130 in 15 days and use the current very good software:
http/www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp130.asp

The new software will just install over the old and give new features.

> >MyHD will also play DVDs in spectacular fashion,
>
> How so? Aren't I getting the best picture possible playing the DVD
> through PowerDVD/WinDVD on my monitor?

Well, first your monitor isn't 42" diagonal, right? The MyHD cards have
built-in component video output, so it's easy to connect to an HDTV. You
can also get a daughtercard with DVI output.

Second, the scaler in the MyHD card is very, very good, so you can watch
DVDs at 720p or 1080i on a big screen. It's also a hardware decoder,
so DVD playback takes about 1% CPU on my P4 2.4GHz.

> Disabling that function through
> AnyDVD does what exactly?

AnyDVD is a "DeCSS on the fly" driver that allows any app to see a
copy-protected DVD-Video disc as if it isn't copy-protected. This is
necessary for MyHD since they could not get permission to play DVDs from
the DVD Consortium because they up-scale and output to "insecure" outputs
(component video and DVI).

--
Jeff Rife | "Ahhh, what an awful dream! Ones and zeroes
| everywhere...and I thought I saw a two!"
| -- Bender, "Futurama"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 23:16:29 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:

>>
>> I'm not sure If I can wait that long. I'm dying to get my hands on
>> this Fusion HDTV3 card.
>
>Just get the MDP-130 in 15 days and use the current very good software:
> http/www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp130.asp
>
>The new software will just install over the old and give new features.

I'll have to think about this. You might want to convince me some
more.

>
>> >MyHD will also play DVDs in spectacular fashion,
>>
>> How so? Aren't I getting the best picture possible playing the DVD
>> through PowerDVD/WinDVD on my monitor?
>
>Well, first your monitor isn't 42" diagonal, right?

No.. but I have friends who do and I can tell you that the resolution
on my monitor is far superior than their 42" HDTV. It looks great, but
man, does HD shine on my monitor. I'm not really in the market for an
HDTV, so this will have to do for me.


>The MyHD cards have
>built-in component video output, so it's easy to connect to an HDTV. You
>can also get a daughtercard with DVI output.
>

Yeah, this is what's going to sell me on this card. Whether or not I
plan on getting an HDTV sometime soon, and it doesn't look like I am.

>Second, the scaler in the MyHD card is very, very good, so you can watch
>DVDs at 720p or 1080i on a big screen.

How can a DVD output at 1080i? I thought the highest resolution is
around 680p/720p?

>
>> Disabling that function through
>> AnyDVD does what exactly?
>
>AnyDVD is a "DeCSS on the fly" driver that allows any app to see a
>copy-protected DVD-Video disc as if it isn't copy-protected. This is
>necessary for MyHD since they could not get permission to play DVDs from
>the DVD Consortium because they up-scale and output to "insecure" outputs
>(component video and DVI).

I see. But how does AnyDVD up-scale the DVD? What I am to believe here
is that DVDs can be stretched to a higher resolution output using
certain programs?

--Phil

 

[David]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"Phil R." <screenname@domain.com> wrote in message
news:cug001llosjjf0ssbrdqlc6ni0hcdgses1@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 19:15:48 -0500, "David" <davey@home.net> wrote:
>
>>"Phil R." <screenname@domain.com> wrote in message
>>news:91100159dkhduj6373bclsfd48v1dnfsfl@4ax.com...
>>> On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:13:11 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
>>>>> http/www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00009900
>>>>
>>>>Never heard of it. If I were to get a software card today, I'd get the
>>>>Fusion III.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I just downloaded the demo version with the demo clips. Unbelievable.
>>>
>>> Thanks for the suggestion.
>>>
>>> --Phil

>>You should see those clips on a native 1080p display, like the Samsung
>>240t.
>>_Really_ beautiful.
>>
> I watched them on my flatscreen Sony Trinitron monitor, and I gasped
> with amazement. The resolution on my monitor goes up to 1900x1700 I
> believe. It's stunning.
>
> --Phil


It sure is. :-0
Are you using DVI with your monitor?
I saw a huge improvement when I changed over to it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 06:14:25 -0500, "David" <davey@home.com> wrote:


>>>
> > I watched them on my flatscreen Sony Trinitron monitor, and I gasped
>> with amazement. The resolution on my monitor goes up to 1900x1700 I
>> believe. It's stunning.
>>
>> --Phil
>
>
>It sure is. :-0
>Are you using DVI with your monitor?
>I saw a huge improvement when I changed over to it.

No. Right now, I'm testing the software and the HD clips that came
with it. I'm not sure which card I will purchase... one with the DVI
output w/optional daughter card or without. I'm leaning towards just
viewing OTA HD on my monitor and go from there.

--Phil

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 14:38:41 -0800, Phil R <screenname@domain.com> wrote:
>>my attention (I did look for reviews before buying...). DTV freezes at
>>random when recording certain channels. Re-installing/upgrading the
>>drivers is also a pain. I have only managed to get that to work by
>>physically moving the card to another slot.
>
> Keep in mind, I'm only interested in viewing HD content only. I'm not
> using these cards as PVRs. So with that said, does your opinion
> change?

No. The problem has occurred while watching live TV as well. I tend
not to watch live TV on the channel that usually causes problems for
recordings, so that may have something to do with it. Keep in mind that
the only difference with live vs. recorded TV with the HDTV wonder is
that recorded means the stream is written to the disk in a more
permanent manner. As far as I can tell, there's no way to disable the
trick play functions in DTV, so it's always writing something to the
disk.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Millican webboy@somerandomdomain.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I downloaded the Fusion 2.6 demo and all the demo clips but none of
them play. Fusion comes up (but with an error about the date), and
then I open folder the clips are in and hit the play button but
nothing happens. Also, in the Config screen the video and audio
decoders pulldows are corrupt - they show various ascii chars. Have
redownloaded and reinstalled, same thing.

Using Radeon 8500 with current drivers, P4 2.8GHz (intel 850emv mobo).
I googled and groups but nothing yet. Any ideas?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Jeff Rife wroteL
> This is necessary for MyHD since they could not get permission to play
DVDs from
> the DVD Consortium because they up-scale and output to "insecure" outputs
> (component video and DVI).

The Broadcast Flag becomes mandatory in the US starting July 2005. Any word
on what changes MyHD and the other HDTV PCI cards will do in order to
remain on the market after July 2005?

Near as I can tell, none of the HDTV PCI cards utilize one or more of the 13
approved DRM methods for handling BF'ed content, as described in:

http/hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250532A1.pdf
http/hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-193A1.pdf
http/hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-193A2.pdf

Take special note that "insecure outputs" and insecure recordings will
become
no-nos starting in July.

I didn't want this thread to become boring ;-)

Thomas Gilg

 

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Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

news.cup.hp.com (thomasDELME_gilgDELME@hpDELME.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> The Broadcast Flag becomes mandatory in the US starting July 2005. Any word
> on what changes MyHD and the other HDTV PCI cards will do in order to
> remain on the market after July 2005?

MIT has said that any MyHD card sold before July 1, 2005 will *never* have
the recordings encrypted on disk.

I don't know what they will do about cards sold after that date.

--
Jeff Rife | "I have a question that could affect our entire
| relationship...did you kill Coach Mattay?"
| "No!"
| "But, you did dress him up like a woman...?"
| "Yeah."
| "Just checking."
| -- Alex Lambert and Brian Hackett, "Wings"

 

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Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Phil R. (screenname@domain.com) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> >> >MyHD will also play DVDs in spectacular fashion,
> >>
> >> How so? Aren't I getting the best picture possible playing the DVD
> >> through PowerDVD/WinDVD on my monitor?
> >
> >Well, first your monitor isn't 42" diagonal, right?
>
> No.. but I have friends who do and I can tell you that the resolution
> on my monitor is far superior than their 42" HDTV.

For standard DVDs, I'm sure that even an EDTV has far more than enough
resolution. I have no problem sitting 5 feet away from my 38" set and
watching DVDs (although that's closer than I normally sit) even though
it has less resolution than my computer monitor. But, from 5' away, it's
a lot bigger.

Basically, the extra resolution of HD is mostly wasted on a small monitor,
even if it can display full HD resolution.

> >Second, the scaler in the MyHD card is very, very good, so you can watch
> >DVDs at 720p or 1080i on a big screen.
>
> How can a DVD output at 1080i? I thought the highest resolution is
> around 680p/720p?
>
> I see. But how does AnyDVD up-scale the DVD?

OK, you seem very confused.

MyHD can play back DVDs as long as they aren't copy-protected. It can
output the DVD video at any "standard" resolution (640x480/60i, 640x480/60p,
1280x720/60p, 1920x1080/60i, 852x480/60p, plus about 8 more). The problem
is that only about 1% of commercial DVDs have no copy protection. This
is where AnyDVD comes it. It is a driver that makes every DVD look like
they aren't copy-protected (because AnyDVD removes the copy-protection on
the fly).

Now, up-scaling DVDs has some advantages. With a good scaler, you can
improve the quality by "filling in" between pixels that actually exist on
the DVD. This makes them appear to have a higher resolution than they
actually have, which is very important when you are viewing on a 40"+
display.

Up-scaling the DVD while still in the digital domain has even more
advantages. Doing the scaling inside the DVD player is even better,
because then you have access to *all* the MPEG information.

Software DVD players can also do this, but they have several drawbacks:
- most have lousy scalers (ZoomPlayer is an exception)
- getting the output to anything but a computer monitor is tough
- calibrating the output correctly (black level, contrast, color) isn't
easy

--
Jeff Rife | "Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But
| then you get to the end and a gorilla starts
| throwing barrels at you."
| -- Philip J. Fry, "Futurama"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Jeff Rife wrote:
> MIT has said that any MyHD card sold before July 1, 2005 will *never* have
> the recordings encrypted on disk.

For a variety of reasons it would be hard to retroactively bring older
systems
into compliance, but fortunately, the mandate only applies to systems sold
after July.

I'll be honest, I'm glad I have 2 "old" MyHD cards so far ;-)

Thomas Gilg