Getting a monitor and TV setup.. at DVinfo.net

Aaron Koolen · January 13th, 2003, 08:20 PM

I'm going to be looking into getting a tv for previewing my video work and need to know what cards are out there that can handle outputting to the PC's monitor *AND* the TV at the same time?

Failing that, has anyone had success with using two graphics cards and using one for the TV out and one for the monitor?

Cheers
Aaron

Adrian Douglas · January 13th, 2003, 10:22 PM

Aaron Matrox have a range of cards that do this quite well. There are dual and tripple head versions depending on what you need. The new Parhelia gives you 2 monitirs and a tv as well a 128MB or video ram. It's a tuff card but I'd say quite pricey down your way. The G550 is a dual head model that will give you one monitor plus your tele, and it would be quite a bit cheaper.

I'm still using the old 16MB G400 Dual head card and it works a treat. As far as I'm comcerned Matrox's graphics cards are first rate.

Dylan Couper · January 14th, 2003, 12:21 AM

I'm using an ATI Radeon 9000 (I think) that gives me two monitors and 1 TV. I think it cost about $130us with the system I bought.

Robert Knecht Schmidt · January 14th, 2003, 12:28 AM

Dylan, is that two monitors AND one TV, or two monitors OR one monitor and a TV?

Dylan Couper · January 14th, 2003, 12:30 AM

Three outputs total. Two monitor, one TV.

I'm pretty sure it's a Radeon 9000, but it might be an 8500.

Robert Knecht Schmidt · January 14th, 2003, 12:32 AM

And you can output on all three at once? --I'm impressed. Must have a pretty hefty video buffer. What kinds of resolutions and refresh rates can you do on the computer monitors?

Aaron Koolen · January 14th, 2003, 01:29 AM

Thanks Adrian and and Dylan.

Dylan, that Radeon sounds pretty good, but can you do monitor AND TV output *AT THE SAME TIME* like I want for previewing video? Just wanting to clarify cause if It can I think I'll go for that baby.

Also, what NLE's do you guys use as I'm thinking of going with Avid XPress DV but want to make sure whatever card I get will work with that.

Cheers
Aaron

Jeff Donald · January 14th, 2003, 06:26 AM

You can get info on the ATI Radeons here http://mirror.ati.com/products/builtdesktoppc.html At least on the Mac, the cards output any 2 of the 3. Very stable product. ATI, in my opinion , has better drivers than NVidia, and they are updated more often.

Jeff

Zac Stein · January 14th, 2003, 06:36 AM

Correct me if i am wrong, but wouldn't using a video card's tv out pretty much be pointless??

Video cards have absolute crap video out for tv's and wouldn't actually be any good for the kind of use i think people here want.

Wouldn't the natural and best way to get a preview on a tv monitor be use either, a dv deck which has video outs to a tv, your dv camera or a cheap camera as a deck and have all these streaming out via firewire.

I have used tv out on even the most expensive nvidia cards, and matrox for that matter and it was soft and aweful.

zac

Robert Knecht Schmidt · January 14th, 2003, 06:47 AM

Yes Zac, I think you are correct. As you say, a better NTSC/PAL video out for video editing purposes would be a firewire out put through a camcorder/deck/DV-to-analog converter, or a box with a DV codec and an analog out like the Canopus DVStorm.

(BTW, wasn't Chris going to change your user name?)

Zac Stein · January 14th, 2003, 07:12 AM

Robert you tell me, i did email him, and asked Jeff and John L. as well.

Dosn't really bother me either way.

Zac

Derrick Begin · January 14th, 2003, 07:53 AM

I am currently using the 128 MB Radeon 9000 card. It has an digital output for my flat panel, CRT Monitor, and television. The CRT monitor is on the out, so I am only using the flat panel and television.

Configuring Xpress DV is a pain in the ass and I haven't figured out why it doesn't output to the full window on the television screen. I played with resolutions... blahh blahh, its not working like I expected it to work. I'll work it some more...

However, outputting to my XL1S and connecting the XL1S output to a television yields the result that I need. So, I've been using that method...

I hope this helps in your decision making process...

Ron Johnson · January 14th, 2003, 12:09 PM

I have been using a Matrox G450 eTV card (no longer in production) and the video out (S-VHS) is not soft and awful. Though using one's camera to translate the digital out via Firewire also works very well.

(Premier 6.0)

Ron Johnson
Portland, OR

Marius Svendsen · January 14th, 2003, 12:37 PM

Im thinking of buying the DVraptor PAL/NTSC card, it's a really good and cheap card($120). It got all the outputs to for viewing edited material on monitors as well as TV's. Pluss of course a great way to capture your footage, non-dropped frames guaranted. Check it out.

Boyd Ostroff · January 14th, 2003, 04:40 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Kermie Klien : Correct me if i am wrong, but wouldn't using a video card's tv out pretty much be pointless??

Video cards have absolute crap video out for tv's

I have a Radeon 7000 Mac edition (think there's also a PC version). It can output to a computer monitor and TV simultaneously with each port set to any desired resolution. Actually the s-video output looks really good to me at 720x480. There's a control panel that lets you tweak the color, contrast, brightness, sync, flicker filter and image size. If I'm using s-vhs then this gives much better output than my VX-2000 over firewire. One thing I like is that I can set the image size to show the full frame without overscan.

Again, I'm using a Mac with Final Cut Pro, but I suspect the PC version gives you similar abilities.

January 13th, 2003, 08:20 PM	#1
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	Getting a monitor and TV setup.. I'm going to be looking into getting a tv for previewing my video work and need to know what cards are out there that can handle outputting to the PC's monitor AND the TV at the same time? Failing that, has anyone had success with using two graphics cards and using one for the TV out and one for the monitor? Cheers Aaron

January 13th, 2003, 10:22 PM	#2
Adrian Douglas Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chigasaki, Japan. Posts: 1,660	Aaron Matrox have a range of cards that do this quite well. There are dual and tripple head versions depending on what you need. The new Parhelia gives you 2 monitirs and a tv as well a 128MB or video ram. It's a tuff card but I'd say quite pricey down your way. The G550 is a dual head model that will give you one monitor plus your tele, and it would be quite a bit cheaper. I'm still using the old 16MB G400 Dual head card and it works a treat. As far as I'm comcerned Matrox's graphics cards are first rate. __________________ Adrian DVInfo.net Search for quick answers Where to buy? From the best in the business...DVInfo.net sponsors

January 14th, 2003, 12:28 AM	#4
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	Dylan, is that two monitors AND one TV, or two monitors OR one monitor and a TV? __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 14th, 2003, 12:32 AM	#6
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	And you can output on all three at once? --I'm impressed. Must have a pretty hefty video buffer. What kinds of resolutions and refresh rates can you do on the computer monitors? __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 14th, 2003, 06:47 AM	#10
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	Yes Zac, I think you are correct. As you say, a better NTSC/PAL video out for video editing purposes would be a firewire out put through a camcorder/deck/DV-to-analog converter, or a box with a DV codec and an analog out like the Canopus DVStorm. (BTW, wasn't Chris going to change your user name?) __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 14th, 2003, 12:21 AM	#3
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	I'm using an ATI Radeon 9000 (I think) that gives me two monitors and 1 TV. I think it cost about $130us with the system I bought.

January 14th, 2003, 12:30 AM	#5
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Three outputs total. Two monitor, one TV. I'm pretty sure it's a Radeon 9000, but it might be an 8500.

January 14th, 2003, 01:29 AM	#7
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	Thanks Adrian and and Dylan. Dylan, that Radeon sounds pretty good, but can you do monitor AND TV output AT THE SAME TIME like I want for previewing video? Just wanting to clarify cause if It can I think I'll go for that baby. Also, what NLE's do you guys use as I'm thinking of going with Avid XPress DV but want to make sure whatever card I get will work with that. Cheers Aaron

January 14th, 2003, 06:26 AM	#8
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	You can get info on the ATI Radeons here http://mirror.ati.com/products/builtdesktoppc.html At least on the Mac, the cards output any 2 of the 3. Very stable product. ATI, in my opinion , has better drivers than NVidia, and they are updated more often. Jeff

January 14th, 2003, 06:36 AM	#9
Zac Stein Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 730	Correct me if i am wrong, but wouldn't using a video card's tv out pretty much be pointless?? Video cards have absolute crap video out for tv's and wouldn't actually be any good for the kind of use i think people here want. Wouldn't the natural and best way to get a preview on a tv monitor be use either, a dv deck which has video outs to a tv, your dv camera or a cheap camera as a deck and have all these streaming out via firewire. I have used tv out on even the most expensive nvidia cards, and matrox for that matter and it was soft and aweful. zac

January 14th, 2003, 07:12 AM	#11
Zac Stein Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 730	Robert you tell me, i did email him, and asked Jeff and John L. as well. Dosn't really bother me either way. Zac

January 14th, 2003, 07:53 AM	#12
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	RADEON 9000 I am currently using the 128 MB Radeon 9000 card. It has an digital output for my flat panel, CRT Monitor, and television. The CRT monitor is on the out, so I am only using the flat panel and television. Configuring Xpress DV is a pain in the ass and I haven't figured out why it doesn't output to the full window on the television screen. I played with resolutions... blahh blahh, its not working like I expected it to work. I'll work it some more... However, outputting to my XL1S and connecting the XL1S output to a television yields the result that I need. So, I've been using that method... I hope this helps in your decision making process...

January 14th, 2003, 12:09 PM	#13
Ron Johnson Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 103	I have been using a Matrox G450 eTV card (no longer in production) and the video out (S-VHS) is not soft and awful. Though using one's camera to translate the digital out via Firewire also works very well. (Premier 6.0) Ron Johnson Portland, OR __________________ Ron Johnson Portland, OR

January 14th, 2003, 12:37 PM	#14
Marius Svendsen Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Location: Oslo, Norway Posts: 79	Im thinking of buying the DVraptor PAL/NTSC card, it's a really good and cheap card($120). It got all the outputs to for viewing edited material on monitors as well as TV's. Pluss of course a great way to capture your footage, non-dropped frames guaranted. Check it out. __________________ Marius Svendsen Interlaced Media svendsen_ms@hotmail.com

January 14th, 2003, 04:40 PM	#15
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	<<<-- Originally posted by Kermie Klien : Correct me if i am wrong, but wouldn't using a video card's tv out pretty much be pointless?? Video cards have absolute crap video out for tv's I have a Radeon 7000 Mac edition (think there's also a PC version). It can output to a computer monitor and TV simultaneously with each port set to any desired resolution. Actually the s-video output looks really good to me at 720x480. There's a control panel that lets you tweak the color, contrast, brightness, sync, flicker filter and image size. If I'm using s-vhs then this gives much better output than my VX-2000 over firewire. One thing I like is that I can set the image size to show the full frame without overscan. Again, I'm using a Mac with Final Cut Pro, but I suspect the PC version gives you similar abilities.