Quality of image with DVI from PC

asutherland · 11-17-2008, 11:14 PM

Hi everyone!

I did a quick search, I hope this is not a noob question. (as I'm new to this forum!

I have my PC output to my HDTV via DVI to HDMI cable. The resulting image when watching videos is pretty good, or at least I thought until I saw the quality of my friend's Shaw HD box on his high def TV.

The images coming from my PC to my HDTV are good...but they don't "pop out" like the high def TV broadcast from the Shaw digital box.

My specs are below:
Dual core Intel PC w/Vista
ATI Radeon HD 3600 (with dual DVI-out)
NCIX mid range $45.00 DVI to HDMI 25" cable
Sharp Aquos 42" 1080p LCD TV (bought at Christmas last year)

The video output is: 1920 x 1080
Windoze sees it as a "generic pnp monitor"

I've tried playing around with settings, but nothing seems to make a difference. again, the image isn't BAD... it's just obviously not as good as it can be.

Thank you in advance folks!
Andrew

asutherland · 11-17-2008, 11:16 PM

Ahhh.... soooo... I guess the question would be, what do I need to do to obtain that quality of image? A more expensive cable? (I read a lot about how monster cables and the such are a rip off) A better video card? Shorter cable? Different setting on TV?

thanks

Nded · 11-18-2008, 12:53 PM

What content are you watching from the PC and what are its characteristics?

asutherland · 11-18-2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nded

What content are you watching from the PC and what are its characteristics?

Hmmm...ya I guess that would help! 720p TV shows, like CSI or House (.mkv) or even 1080p movies (.mkv) via VLC player.

ah802 · 11-18-2008, 06:29 PM

Well I guess that's the trick... If you're comparing compressed 720p (the lowest form of HD at 1280x720 pixels) and a heavy compression algorithm.. you can be sure to get less 'pop'. I doubt cables will get you much difference.. but a Blu-Ray player with an HDMI connection will not only give you the best image you will see on this set-up, but should be superior to any 1080i broadcast.

You might also have a look at your settings, a good colour correction might be in the cards. I know from experience that download movies vary widely in colour, gamma, sound and have to be optimized for each, a bit of a pain. Either get a better player that allows for quick adjustment or buy Blu-Ray disks. At least with pixel mapping, you can be sure of pixel sharpness.

asutherland · 11-18-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah802

Well I guess that's the trick... If you're comparing compressed 720p (the lowest form of HD at 1280x720 pixels) and a heavy compression algorithm.. you can be sure to get less 'pop'. I doubt cables will get you much difference.. but a Blu-Ray player with an HDMI connection will not only give you the best image you will see on this set-up, but should be superior to any 1080i broadcast.

You might also have a look at your settings, a good colour correction might be in the cards. I know from experience that download movies vary widely in colour, gamma, sound and have to be optimized for each, a bit of a pain. Either get a better player that allows for quick adjustment or buy Blu-Ray disks. At least with pixel mapping, you can be sure of pixel sharpness.

Ah. Thanks for the reply! Even the .mkv 1080p movies are not as high quality as the shaw broadcasts though. What is pixel mapping? A function of the video card?

thanks!

ah802 · 11-18-2008, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asutherland

Ah. Thanks for the reply! Even the .mkv 1080p movies are not as high quality as the shaw broadcasts though. What is pixel mapping? A function of the video card?

thanks!

Yes .mkv files for the most part are not quite up unless they have the data.... most of the stuff I see on the internet are ~ 1 gig some ~ 4 gigs are pretty darn good, but capturing 1080i can be double to ten times the information, so the loss is all in the compression and how it's handled. Don't look at the resolution as much as the size vs time.. If you're close to a HD broadcast tower, put an antenna up and you'll see broadcasts that will best Shaw. That graphic card from ATI is of the 3000 series which has hardware decoding for some .mkv, files... You need Media Player Classic Home Cinema from http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/ ATI Radeon HD series for H.264 and VC-1 decoding :Windows XP users, select Overlay Mixer, VMR7, VMR9 or VMR9 renderless and you'll be able to free up your CPU for other tasks.

I've eclipsed most HD broadcast PQ with selective files if the data is present.

Pixel mapping is basically... for ever given pixel on your PC, it should also be reflected on the panel display....

Does your HDTV support 1:1 pixel mapping?

asutherland · 11-18-2008, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah802

Yes .mkv files for the most part are not quite up unless they have the data.... most of the stuff I see on the internet are ~ 1 gig some ~ 4 gigs are pretty darn good, but capturing 1080i can be double to ten times the information, so the loss is all in the compression and how it's handled. Don't look at the resolution as much as the size vs time.. If you're close to a HD broadcast tower, put an antenna up and you'll see broadcasts that will best Shaw. That graphic card from ATI is of the 3000 series which has hardware decoding for some .mkv, files... You need Media Player Classic Home Cinema from ... ATI Radeon HD series for H.264 and VC-1 decoding :Windows XP users, select Overlay Mixer, VMR7, VMR9 or VMR9 renderless and you'll be able to free up your CPU for other tasks.

I've eclipsed most HD broadcast PQ with selective files if the data is present.

Pixel mapping is basically... for ever given pixel on your PC, it should also be reflected on the panel display....

Thanks again. I don't think we even have Hdtv broadcasts (over the air) here. (Victoria, BC)

I usually have 1080p movies (~ 1.5-2 hour) at 8.1 GB, and the 720p movies at 4.3 GB... and 720p TV shows (45 min) at just over 1GB.

The tip about Media player classic is good...thanks. I usually use VLC, but don't seem to have any processor issues. Media player classic is a great program too though... my second choice. Or my first, if it's on my old P3 sony vaio laptop.

ah802 · 11-19-2008, 03:43 AM

The video you watch will be no better than the source, and in a lot of cases that's a substandard system and handled worse. I'm actually surprised you can play 1080p files without your cpu studdering, it takes a lot of horsepower to play those and if you had a bu-ray drive with that video card you could play them.

shawtyten · 11-28-2008, 11:19 AM

I agree with the replies here. The files you have are probably compressed versions of their HD counterparts.

JohninTenn · 12-10-2008, 09:50 PM

Do you have cable or Dish? I know this is going to sound stupid but why are you useing your computer?

11-17-2008, 11:14 PM	#1
asutherland My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5	Quality of image with DVI from PC Hi everyone! I did a quick search, I hope this is not a noob question. (as I'm new to this forum! I have my PC output to my HDTV via DVI to HDMI cable. The resulting image when watching videos is pretty good, or at least I thought until I saw the quality of my friend's Shaw HD box on his high def TV. The images coming from my PC to my HDTV are good...but they don't "pop out" like the high def TV broadcast from the Shaw digital box. My specs are below: Dual core Intel PC w/Vista ATI Radeon HD 3600 (with dual DVI-out) NCIX mid range $45.00 DVI to HDMI 25" cable Sharp Aquos 42" 1080p LCD TV (bought at Christmas last year) The video output is: 1920 x 1080 Windoze sees it as a "generic pnp monitor" I've tried playing around with settings, but nothing seems to make a difference. again, the image isn't BAD... it's just obviously not as good as it can be. Thank you in advance folks! Andrew

11-18-2008, 06:29 PM	#5
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	Your TV support 1:1 pixel mapping? Well I guess that's the trick... If you're comparing compressed 720p (the lowest form of HD at 1280x720 pixels) and a heavy compression algorithm.. you can be sure to get less 'pop'. I doubt cables will get you much difference.. but a Blu-Ray player with an HDMI connection will not only give you the best image you will see on this set-up, but should be superior to any 1080i broadcast. You might also have a look at your settings, a good colour correction might be in the cards. I know from experience that download movies vary widely in colour, gamma, sound and have to be optimized for each, a bit of a pain. Either get a better player that allows for quick adjustment or buy Blu-Ray disks. At least with pixel mapping, you can be sure of pixel sharpness.

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11-17-2008, 11:16 PM	#2
asutherland My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5	Ahhh.... soooo... I guess the question would be, what do I need to do to obtain that quality of image? A more expensive cable? (I read a lot about how monster cables and the such are a rip off) A better video card? Shorter cable? Different setting on TV? thanks

11-18-2008, 12:53 PM	#3
Nded Rocket Surgeon Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 192	What content are you watching from the PC and what are its characteristics?

11-19-2008, 03:43 AM	#9
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	The video you watch will be no better than the source, and in a lot of cases that's a substandard system and handled worse. I'm actually surprised you can play 1080p files without your cpu studdering, it takes a lot of horsepower to play those and if you had a bu-ray drive with that video card you could play them.

11-28-2008, 11:19 AM	#10
shawtyten A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 11	I agree with the replies here. The files you have are probably compressed versions of their HD counterparts.

12-10-2008, 09:50 PM	#11
JohninTenn High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 593	Do you have cable or Dish? I know this is going to sound stupid but why are you useing your computer?