[mythtv-users] Re: Recommended PCI video out cards?

[Ray Olszewski]

At 12:35 PM 8/21/2003 -0700, Harold Martin wrote:
>So basically any true video card with s-video or composite out should
>work?

No, no, a thousand times no. I didn't say this, and it is NOT true. All I 
said (quoted below) was that a *specific* nVidia card works just fine, when 
used with a *specific* X driver ... your "basically" in NO WAY resembles my 
very limited comment, and I cannot understand how you infer it from what I 
actually wrote.

As a general matter, with *any* TV-out video card (AGP or PCI), you need to 
consider two things.

1. Is there an X driver for the card that supports the TV-out capability?

2. Does that same X driver support XV (XVideo) when used with TV out?

There is a lot of discussion about these issues in the archive of this 
mailing list, and I think a summary I wrote a few months ago is in the 
MythTV HowTo (have you looked?). As a general matter, nVidia cards seems to 
work well with nVidia's own X driver. Some Matrox cards work weel; others 
do not (they mack XV support for TV-out mode). Anything else is hit or miss 
... you need to check that someone actually has made the *specific* card 
work. Be skeptical of vague assurances; look for recipes.

>My only question is will I need to mess with the BIOS at all?? I don't
>need it to be the primary video or anything, just need X or wahtever
>display software to recognize and use it.

It depends. My only experience is with systems that have only one video 
card in them, so I cannot help you with the issue of running multiple cards 
in the same system, if that is what you are alluding to with your "primary 
video" comment. As to BIOS questions ... I suppose it depends on the BIOS. 
My experience is with systems that will look for a PCI video card if they 
do not find an AGP one, but I imagine BIOSes vary a lot in that regard.

>I'm working on one the old Compaqs that have that weird software-BIOS :(

I don't know what this refers to. Perhaps someone else can help with this part.

>Thanks,
>Harold
>
>
> > Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 09:21:18 -0700
> > From: Ray Olszewski <ray at comarre.com>
> > Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Recommended PCI video out cards? (was:Re:
> >       Output with a TV card?)
> > To: Discussion about mythtv <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>,
> >       mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> > Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.1.20030821091806.01f04d40 at celine>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
> >
> > At 09:12 AM 8/21/2003 -0700, Harold Martin wrote:
> > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=
> > >X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by
> > >bug.trap.mtview.ca.us id h7LGGPWJ023221
> > >
> > >I thought that the VE could only do input, I just wanted to be sure. My
> > >problem is that the box I'm building on only has a PCI slot (no AGP).
> > >Could you recommend a PCI card that does video out?
> >
> > "Recommend" is too strong a word. But I have used an nVidia PCI-slot card,
> > with (SVideo) TV out, that worked fine with the proprietary nVidia X 
> driver
> > and my TV display. My notes identify this card as an "Asylum MX 420 64 MB
> > PCI card." After a rebate, it was pretty cheap, so it was probably a 
> closeout.