S-Video to Component vs. DVI to Component

[isometrik]

I'm currently planning my next arcade cab build and the graphics card I plan to use (Nvidia 7900gs) has both dual DVI and s-video outs. I will be using a Sont Trinitron 27" flat crt tv in the cab which has both s-video in and component in. So my options are:

1) s-video out from the card to s-video in on the tv
2)DVI out through an aftermarket adapter to component in on the tv
3)s-video out through nVidia's supplied adapter to component in on the tv

Which one do you guys recommend I use?

Thanks.

[MonMotha]

Component will, in general, look better than S-Video.  However, the Sony Trinitrons (at least the models I've played with) seem to have pretty good handling of S-Video inputs.  I've seen them look almost as good as RGB on lower bandwidth signals when adjusted properly.

S-Video out from PCs, however, is subject to lots of pixel mashing.  Basically, the card does "whatever is necessary" to make the signal compatible with a TV.  This tends to result in pixel poop.  It's not a failure of the S-Video connection; it's a failure of the TV out on the card.

Those DVI to Component adapters really only seem to work on certain model ATi graphics devices (the old 9000 series).  I've never heard of anybody making them work with an nVidia device.

The "S-Video to component" cable that you have is probably not actually such a thing.  For a while (7000/8000 series, mostly), nVidia had "HDTV out" on their cards via larger mini-DIN connector.  It looks a lot like an S-Video connector (same connector family), but it has more pins and is often mechanically incompatible with S-Video connectors (fun, huh?).  The good news is that this does give you a real YPbPr component output that you can use, though it's still often subject to some TV out scalers and IIRC some models won't do native 480i TV timings.  Should still look better than your S-Video in any case.

[Epyx]

This tends to result in pixel poop

@MonMotha
  You just made my day with this statement!

[isometrik]

Thanks for the info.

I went and connected the pc up to the tv via the component out on the graphics card. During boot up everything looks perfect on the tv, all of the bios screens show up and the windows loading screen displays clear. However, once it hits the desktop I lose all picture to the tv. I messed about with resolutions in windows but it only resulted in a mild flicker of the tv screen.

What needs to be set up in windows? Are there any settings I need to mess with on the tv?

Edit - Re-installing the drivers seemed to solve it.

[lilshawn]

the vendor supplied (as you call it) "s-video out through nVidia's supplied adapter to component" that port is actually component output.

if you plug an s-video to it, it outputs s-video. when you use the cable, the card outputs component. so it's not really an adapter per se.


soooooo... go with the (not an) adapter. lol

[isometrik]

Yeah that's what I ended up doing. Works perfectly now, however not near as crisp as a computer crt. The desktop seems to fit best on the tv screen with the resolution at 640x480 @60Hz. Is that the standard that most people use when connecting component out to a tv? Would using soft15Hz make any difference?

[lilshawn]

however not near as crisp as a computer crt.

tv's dont have nearly the resolution of monitors...if your looking for better than component you're going to have to go with a monitor.

The desktop seems to fit best on the tv screen with the resolution at 640x480 @60Hz.

that about right. if the resolution is too high, the text gets too small to see on the chunky pixels of the tv. if 640x480 works for you, stick with it.

Would using soft15Hz make any difference?

yes and no. you will be able to attain higher resolutions (800x600 or better), but still, your limitation is the pixel size of the picture tube itself. not with the signal. jamming more on the screen is not going to help much.

[SailorSat]

Please note that NVidia Component Out still is routed through the TV-Out chipset.
So you still get "pixel poop", although higher quality than S-Video