[mythtv-users] LCD HDTV recommendations (that are Myth friendly)...

[Mark James]

I'm using a 42-inch Olevia LCD and am very happy. This is a bargain  
brand but for me the results are fine.
I picked it out based mostly on many positive reviews on NewEgg.  
Biggest drawback is only one HDMI input, but I bought a switchbox for  
my rare uses of other devices.

(I think the main problem with lower-cost LCD is the blacks are not as  
black, but I don't really notice it that much.)

For Myth on a Fedora box I'm driving it with a nvidia card (GeForce  
7600 GT but older models probably work as well) with a DVI-HDMI and  
the setup was a no-brainer -- set the TV to do 1x1 pixels,
and the card to do the native resolution of the LCD (1360x768). It  
does not need modelines at all -- it seems to be able to auto-detect  
them just fine.

All HDTV content looks really nice (to my eyes, at least) and DVDs  
played through the Myth look good, too.

I second Stoller's comment -- do NOT test with a Mac Book Pro! I have  
one of these two and cannot get decent output to the Olevia -- for  
some reason it just can't seem to do the TV's native resolution.

When viewing the Mac's desktop there are all sorts of color shadows on  
type and other artifacts that don't appear with the Myth setup.

I don't understand this since the MacBook Pro is able to drive all  
sorts of other LCD displays just fine, but it does not seem to like  
the TV.



On Apr 11, 2008, at 8:00 AM, mythtv-users-request at mythtv.org wrote:

>
> Finally, one thing. My Intel-graphics MacBook gives quite poor output
> on this display, at least it does under OS 10.4, and it's not
> representative of what the Sharp is capable of. Using the Mac's mini-
> DVI dongle and a DVI-HDMI cable I was unable to select a "computer"
> resolution, and was unable to avoid over- or under-scan when
> selecting TV-type resolutions. I think this negatively affected video-
> quality, although I haven't done any side-by-side comparisons since I
> got my PS3. I don't know what the (ATi?) video card is like in your
> MacBook Pro, but this may not be the best platform for test-viewing
> with.
>
> Good luck in your search, and with whatever telly you choose - I'm
> sure it'll provide you with many happy hours of viewing.
>
> Stroller.