False promises? 9200se TV out (svideo) color depth at only 8 bits?

[nk271828]

I recently bought a Videotek 128Mb PCI 9200SE videocard. The tv-out
(via svideo) quality is unacceptable even though the picture is

- perfectly stable (as a TV goes)

- renders crisp gray scale pictures

- renders certain colors with great precision

Additionally, the card works very well with the usual VGA output.

The svideo problem is that the color depth is apparently only 8 bits.

For this reason, many colors, such as the light blue colors that
Windows use, are approximated using alternating blocks of the two
closest colors.

The effect is jarring. Even at a distance of 15ft my 32" TV shows ugly
pixelation of uniformly colored areas. Plus, of course, the colors
generally look flat and uninteresting.

I have seen reports that the 9200se tv output is indeed poor, but I've
been unable to gather any specific information. It's hard to believe
that my card would suffer from a defect that somehow prunes the color
depth for tv-out to only 256 colors.

Visiontek tech support claims that the tv-out resolution is greater
than 8 bits. ATI offers no information (so one must assume that the
color resolution of tv-out is the same as that stated for the
monitor). And, brazenly, Visiontek charges $10 for accepting video
cards in the need of repair through an RMA process that is already
extraordinarily complicated. (Is it legal to charge money for fixing
defective merchandise?)

I'd be very interested in hearing from other users whether the 9200se
series of cards is in fact capable of decent tv output. I have not
been able to test the DVI output yet. I hope it works better.

Thanks,

nk271828

Some more keywords: grainy image, poor color resolution, square
pattern

PS: I've done all the driver things, tried the card on two different
computers, under two different operating systems, etc.

 

[mmiserus]

Hello,

I recently bought a Videotek 128Mb PCI 9200SE videocard. The tv-out
(via svideo) quality is unacceptable even though the picture is

- perfectly stable (as a TV goes)

- renders crisp gray scale pictures

- renders certain colors with great precision

Additionally, the card works very well with the usual VGA output.

The svideo problem is that the color depth is apparently only 8 bits.

Very strange indeed.

For this reason, many colors, such as the light blue colors that
Windows use, are approximated using alternating blocks of the two
closest colors.

The effect is jarring. Even at a distance of 15ft my 32" TV shows ugly
pixelation of uniformly colored areas. Plus, of course, the colors
generally look flat and uninteresting.

I have seen reports that the 9200se tv output is indeed poor, but I've
been unable to gather any specific information. It's hard to believe
that my card would suffer from a defect that somehow prunes the color
depth for tv-out to only 256 colors.

Visiontek tech support claims that the tv-out resolution is greater
than 8 bits. ATI offers no information (so one must assume that the
color resolution of tv-out is the same as that stated for the
monitor). And, brazenly, Visiontek charges $10 for accepting video
cards in the need of repair through an RMA process that is already
extraordinarily complicated. (Is it legal to charge money for fixing
defective merchandise?)

Don't know if it's legal (in your country, I am Dutch, but it
certainly is not common.

I'd be very interested in hearing from other users whether the 9200se
series of cards is in fact capable of decent tv output. I have not
been able to test the DVI output yet. I hope it works better.

I too have not been able yet to test my DVI output (Sapphire
'Atlantis' Radeon 9200).
And well, what is *decent* tv-output? I only know my own set's
possibilities. I can tell you that when connected via composite, the
quality of a cloned Windows window is perfectly...unreadably. Only
very big characters can be read. Don't know if this is normal.
My telly is a rather cheap model of Sony's.

1. In my Ati driver there are several possibilities to influence the
quality of the tv image. For exemple: the value for 'composite dot
crawl' can be adjusted and 'sharpness' can be maximized. Also if you
want the screen optimized for dynamics (dvd-play) you can chose
'standard' or for static images (Windows applications) 'frozen'.
You should have these possibilities too, did you try them?

2. How is your comp connected to the tv? By s-video or composite or?
I have not been able to test this, but s-video connections should
improve image quality.

3. Eigt-bit image is of course ridiculous. *Are your connections
right*? I.e. did you use the right cable? And did you push the
connectors hard in order to ensure they fit tightly?

Thanks,

nk271828

Some more keywords: grainy image, poor color resolution, square
pattern
Success!

PS: I've done all the driver things, tried the card on two different
computers, under two different operating systems, etc.

Max M.

 

[nk271828]

The svideo problem is that the color depth is apparently only 8 bits.

Very strange indeed.

2. How is your comp connected to the tv? By s-video or composite or?

I'm using S-video. Fixing "dot crawl" fixes the huge dots that are all
over the screen for certain colors (they are visible from 15ft away as
I mentioned).

3. Eigt-bit image is of course ridiculous. *Are your connections
right*? I.e. did you use the right cable? And did you push the
connectors hard in order to ensure they fit tightly?

Yes.

Thanks,

nk271828