Re: Picture quality

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I did some tests tonight and I think I might have figured some things out.
I built another MCE box and had a different video card in it. I used a
nVidia GeForce MX 440 with AGP8X along with my new Hauppauge 500MCE tuner
card. I then went back and setup my XBox Extender and watched TV from it to
see how things looked. The nVidia card is not on the compatibility list,
but the Xbox now looks very compareable to my DirecTV Tivo box. I am pretty
happy about this and now I need to go back to my other system and take this
nVidia card and replace my ATI 8500 DV card and see if that also works in
that machine. If it does I will know the problem is with the ATI 8500 DV
card. If this works I can then move forward with this setup and I should be
good to go. I'll keep everyone posted when I have my results.


"Peter Near [MCE MVP]" <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:unItyr1dFHA.2520@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Very true.
>
> Derek R. Flickinger wrote:
>> I think you want to clarify the type of tuners. You can use three
>> without any hacks if the one is an OTA HD tuner.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> =D-
>>
>> Derek R. Flickinger
>> Interactive Homes, Inc.
>>
>> "Peter Near [MCE MVP]" <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:O4jSiW1dFHA.3492@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>>>I have MCE hooked up to 3 TVs in the house, so I can tell you what I do.
>>>Actually, it's not really an issue for us. We have everything we would
>>>ever want to watch getting recorded by MCE. When I want to watch TV I go
>>>to "Recorded TV" and select the program I want.
>>>
>>>The only time I use Live TV is:
>>>- to watch the weather channel
>>>- to watch live news if something big happens
>>>
>>>So my workaround is basically "make it a non-issue". Not sure if you'll
>>>like that or not.
>>>
>>>FWIW, you can't officially add a third tuner to MCE but there are some
>>>hacks you'll find on thegreenbutton.com that will allow you to add
>>>multiple tuners beyond the standard 2.
>>>
>>>Pete
>>>
>>>Scott Micale wrote:
>>>
>>>>Peter,
>>>>
>>>>Thanks for all you help. I have read about the XBox 360 coming out in
>>>>Nov. and I am going to purchase that once it is available. Hopefully
>>>>the technology in it will help.
>>>>
>>>>On another tangent what are most people doing with a setup like I have
>>>>were they are using Extenders. If you have 3 TV's and a set-top that
>>>>can receive to feed, that third TV would have to be watching the same
>>>>program as one of the other one's. From my understanding the only work
>>>>around would be to add another receiver to that setup with another feed
>>>>so the 3rd TV could watch what it wants. Am I correct in how I am
>>>>saying this?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>"Peter Near [MCE MVP]" <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>>news:eFqLG20dFHA.3880@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Scott:
>>>>>
>>>>>I continue to recommend the Hauppauge cards, they are the best value
>>>>>overall (price, support, hardware). Only in the case where someone is
>>>>>willing to sacrifice some of these items for picture quality do I
>>>>>recommend the ATI.
>>>>>
>>>>>I don't have any information I can share with you about future versions
>>>>>of MCE. The XBox 360 has been announced and will include the extender
>>>>>functionality. Based on the fact that the HP Extender has better
>>>>>picture quality than the XBox (newer hardware components) I can guess
>>>>>that the XBox 360 will deliver better picture quality than the current
>>>>>XBox as well. Kind of circular logic I know, but if HP can make a good
>>>>>looking picture then surely Microsoft can too given the chance to work
>>>>>with new hardware.
>>>>>
>>>>>At this point, I'm not sure there's much more you can do to improve the
>>>>>picture quality on your setup. I mentioned the ATI because it might
>>>>>help, but personally I don't think that the amount of improvement you'd
>>>>>see is worth the extra cost.
>>>>>
>>>>>Pete
>>>>>
>>>>>Scott Micale wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Peter,
>>>>>>I just bought this card and everyone said get the Hauppauge. Now you
>>>>>>are saying the ATI is better. I really don't want to have to switch
>>>>>>cards. You mentioned there might be an upgrade to MCE coming out. How
>>>>>>soon may that happen? Would it fix any of these problems I am having?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>"Peter Near [MCE MVP]" <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>>>>news:eYbSRczdFHA.1036@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Scott:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>This came up on another thread as well recently. Unfortunately, your
>>>>>>>DirecTivo has somewhat of an unfair advantage over MCE. It gets the
>>>>>>>digital signal from the satellite and records it straight to disk.
>>>>>>>Directv will not allow the digital signal to leave their box, so the
>>>>>>>only option for MCE is to take an analog feed.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>MCE takes an analog feed off of SVideo from the Directv box. It then
>>>>>>>encodes it to digital in order to write it to the hard drive. Then
>>>>>>>is decodes it to analog again to to allow it to be displayed on your
>>>>>>>TV. This accounts for the quality difference between the two.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Primarily responsible for the quality in your setup is the Hauppauge
>>>>>>>PVR-500, which is a decent card. I've noticed some blocky issues
>>>>>>>when playing back Hauppauge video over the XBox. In my tests, the
>>>>>>>ATI TV Wonder Elite performed somewhat better using the XBox
>>>>>>>extender.
>>>>>>>http://www.thenears.com/?p=98
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Cheers,
>>>>>>>Pete
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Scott Micale wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I just finished setting up my MCE and am wondering about my picture
>>>>>>>>quality versus my DirecTV Tivo box. I have a Hughes GAEB0A receiver
>>>>>>>>hooked to my MCE with a Gateway 15" LCD attached to it. The picture
>>>>>>>>quality is ok, but not really clear like my Tivo box that is
>>>>>>>>connected to my 57" Toshiba Widescreen Projection TV. On my TV I
>>>>>>>>have my XBox connected to hit using the XBox Extender. The picture
>>>>>>>>there using the xbox extender is not clear either, like when I
>>>>>>>>switch inputs to my Tivo box. What would cause this and is there
>>>>>>>>anyway to clear it up? On My MCE I am connected to the Hughes
>>>>>>>>receiver via the S-Video port and have my coax coming into the
>>>>>>>>receiver from the dish. I have a AIW 8500DV graphic card (Which I
>>>>>>>>know is not on the MCE compatibility list) and a Hauppauge Win-TV
>>>>>>>>PVR 500MCE Tuner. I was thinking about bringing my Tivo box up and
>>>>>>>>hooking it to my MCE and see if that makes a difference. I am not
>>>>>>>>sure it will. Any help or ideas on this would be great.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Thanks
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>

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