[mythtv-users] PC to HDTV : GHV-1000 : Opinions anyone?

[Preston Crow]

I'm not an expert, but I've just been dealing with this, so I'll jump in
with my experience:.

> >  From what I've seen not all DVI connectors are straight up DVI for 
> > PC's.  Many of them (like my Sony's) only accept some TV flavor of DVI 
> > that require HDCP (blah blah copy protection).  Does your TV's DVI 
> > connector accept PC DVI output? 

My understanding is that this isn't quite correct.  I have a new Sony
with a HDMI connector.  HDMI is essentially a combined DVI-D cable with
digital audio and a different connector.  You can get a DVI-to-HDMI
cable that doesn't supply audio, which is what I'm using.

The TV supports HDCP, but it's perfectly happy with a non-encrypted
signal.  This should be the case with all TVs, though I'm not certain
that's true.

Now when I configure X, I have to tell it:
    Option  "NoDDC" "1"
That's because the DVI spec allows the computer to query the display to
get its capabilities, but the TV lies and says it won't do 720p.  I just
got off the phone with Sony, and they said they don't support a computer
connection because computers generally don't support EIA-861, which is
the spec for the timings of HDTV over DVI.  I think the upshot of this
is that the specs for reporting capabilities don't allow a display to
list the specific modes (only ranges for the various sizes and timings),
so the TV has to lie.  I don't know enough about how that communication
works to confirm this.

Anyway, I have it working just fine with my nVidia FX 5200 and a
DVI-to-HDMI cable.  From what I've read, the DVI cable includes analog
and digital signals, and what most TVs care about is the digital. 
Apparently some video cards only put out analog.

So if your video card is has DVI-D, and you've carefully set your
modelines to the exact HDTV specs, there's a good chance your TV will
process the signal and display it.  It took three different web sites
before I found a 720p modeline that really works, so it can be a bit
frustrating.  Most posted modelines are good enough for the poster, but
may not be exactly right, and not good enough for your video card and TV
combination.

--PC