Ken said:
I am looking for what the entry level is and what would be good, solid
mid-range for cards. I have a budget of about $300-350 for this part of
the system.
When you aren't searching for best gaming potential in a card, then connectors
and I/O are something to look for. Whether they're really necessary, depends
on what monitors you plan to connect.
8600GT 256MB $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085
That card has two DVI-I connectors on the faceplate, plus a DIN connector.
A DVI-I connector has both digital and analog pins, to handle the
potential two different kinds of monitor connections.
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/14-130-085-02.jpg
The DVI connectors can be converted to VGA 15 pin connectors, with the
included "dongles". This card includes two dongles in the package.
The package also includes an adapter cable for component video output,
which some display devices (projector?) might use.
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/14-130-085-06.jpg
The digital part of the DVI connector, can support a regular or a
"double width" interface (uses all pins). If this "double width" is
present, you can drive an Apple 30" LCD monitor at 2560x1600 at 60Hz refresh.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/technology_extreme_hd_gpu.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi (see "dual link", for higher bandwidth output)
Nvidia and ATI have various video playback acceleration features. Some of
these features are harnessed by DVD playback programs. The acceleration features
may not be available for more mundane player applications. As long as you have
a decent processor in the system, the acceleration won't matter that much.
http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/11036/PureVideo_Product_Comparison.pdf
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2977&p=4
There may also be slight differences in video playback quality, some of
which is reviewed on the popular web sites.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2551&p=10
There is an example of a TV capture card here.
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1600.html
There are a couple versions. I notice the review comments for
both products are not that good.
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 1178 ATSC/ClearQAM/NTSC TV Tuner PCI w/Remote
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116007
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 1101WB NSTC/ATSC/QAM/FM Tuner (White Box) PCI Interface
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116009
It is an area that really needs a lot more research.
The reviews mention several third-party PVR applications, for getting
the most from the hardware.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16815116007
Wikipedia has many different articles available, if you can think up
an acronym to look up. TV from all parts of the world are documented.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_Standards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB-C
Paul
