Hollywood+ decreases text quality in Windows? (with Elsa Gladiac)

[Mats122]

I have just installed the Hollywood+ hardware decoder with remote. Runs very stable and nice, but I think the text in Windows became less sharp and much darker (looks like printing with an inkjet on sh?tty paper very small fonts). If this is true, I will try to return/sell this card.
Also have to find out how to connect it with a SB Live card not loosing any sound option.
The video card I'm using is Elsa Gladiac GF2 GTS.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

Because of using external analog pass thru cable.
Solution: don't use it or use inlay mpeg decode card (the kind connect to vga card internally or by directdraw api).

No need to pass thru the sound to sound card's line-in.
The sound is played by the sound card.
If you connect to tv, you can connect the audio-out to tv's audio-in too, and get sound from the tv and from the pc speakers at the same time.

 

[RobsTV]

Yep, that's what happens when you use the type of pass through cable system the Hollywood+ has. Doesn't matter which video card you use, you will get same results. With a CPU more than 400MHz, you don't need a seperate hardware decoder card, so it's only benefit is DVD TV out, but that's only for DVD's. You still can't use TV out for any other Windows Apps. Best solution is to get the VIVO module for the Elsa, ($40 retail), which will give you TV out, or a more permanant solution would be to get a PC to TV scan convertor. The worst choice today is a dedicated card like the Hollywood+.

 

[TERMIN8TOR]

Does anyone have any experience of the Elsa VIVO module mentioned above for DVD (or other apps) output to the TV. Thanks.

 

[Playitagainsam]

I will defend hardware decoders, but I have a DXR2 - the CT7160 from Creative, which I connected to my ASUS v7700 Deluxe. I have ZERO trouble with text quality, display brightness or contrast. Don't know about Hollywood +, but I avoided it, because it can't display simultaneously on TV and monitor.

Hardware decoding is still the best! I can compare directly the Video output of the v7700 with the output from the decoder (heh, heh, I have two inputs on my TV!) and the CT 7160 image is clearly superior, while software decoding still has artifacts (and by the way, I have a P3-650, with 192 RAM, so I doubt it's the processor's fault!)

 

[ndee]

Well, the Gladiac, is something else, but can the text quality get worse than a normal GF2? naaa, just kiddin', I never saw a GF2 live in action, but I know a lot who say it's kinda bad.

 

[Yoshi]

Image degration is a well known issue with analog overlay type decoder cards like the Creative Dxr2/3 and Hollywood+. The issue is especially noticeable at resolutions of 1024x768 and above. Creative addressed the issue a while back saying they knew it existed but no solution was in site.

My advice is use software decoding to watch on your monitor and hardware if you need good output to a TV. The Creative Dxr3 and Hollywood+ will function and output to a TV without the pass through cable installed. The Creative Dxr2 does not have this ability.

 

[Jugernot]

Yoshi, the Dxr2 can also function without the passthrough also. I never even unwrapped the passthrough for mine and used it for 1.5 years until I bought my set top box.