[mythtv-users] mythtv-users Digest, Vol 47, Issue 146

[Bart Coninckx]

On Tuesday 27 February 2007 04:43, mythtv-users-request at mythtv.org wrote:

> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:20:41 -0600
> From: "Mike Hoover" <ixarka at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] TV Quality Recommendations (PVR-350 vs.
> 	S-Video	vs. VGA->Composite)
> To: mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> Message-ID:
> 	<ca2ea1670702261420p307177dagc0c99ca0376986b7 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I thought I'd post an addendum in case other people out there are
> faced with a similar decision and stumble across this post.
>
> I've finally completed construction of my mythbox.  It works great and
> I can't imagine how I lived without it.  However, getting the picture
> quality on it to acceptable levels was quite a battle.  Following the
> suggestions of the people here and other places, I initally purchased
> a PVR-150 and an FX 5200.  I got an s-video to composite adapter and
> plugged the s-video out of the FX 5200 into my TV.  The picture
> quality was noticeably worse than that of my TV's internal tuner.  The
> colors seemed less vibrant and everything was blurry.  I spent two
> weeks fiddling with various video controls to no avail.  Suspecting
> the composite link, I tried hooking up a monitor to the VGA out and
> the picture quality was equally bad.
>
> Eventually, I gave up on the 150 and ended up buying a 350.  Yes, I
> know this comes with many limitations and was prepared for an endless
> stream of headaches.  Installing it was relatively painless, and the
> picture quality ended up being almost identical to that of my TV's
> internal tuner . Now, I can happily watch TV and not be driven insane
> by the picture quality.
>
> So, if you're deciding between the PVR-150 and the PVR-350, I'd
> strongly recommend the 350 if you value your picture quality.  It may
> not work with future versions of Myth, the audio setup is definitely a
> hack, and you won't have any OpenGL acceleration, but I spend 90% of
> the time on my mythbox watching TV so I don't really care about all of
> those flaws.
>

Hi Mike,

interesting stuff. I recently installed a Mythbox with a PVR-350 for a friend 
with a plasma TV and his remark was equally that the picture quality was 
not good enough while watching TV. I used the VGA-out of the videocard however 
(the plasma has VGA-in), not the S-Video of the PVR. Would you say that for 
TV-watching the PVR-350 S-video out is that much better than what comes out 
of a videocard (VGA or S-video)?


Thx,

Bart