SD TV picture quality

[mastrduke]

Just installed my TV tuner Hauppage pvr 500 MCE


The picture quality isn't up to what I thought it would be, its just standed definition cable on a 27 inch tv. Occasionally there is a line in the middle of the screen. Is this becuase of refresh rates? How do I fix that?


Sometimes the entire screen kind of flickers also.



When I pause or unpause live tv or switch channels it takes it a few seconds to get the video and audio in sync...is this normal?


Running vista home premium


I think a lot of these issues are just due to me not having right drivers, settings, or something along those lines so if you have any ideas help point me in the right direction!


Thanks guys!

 

[jkresh]

do you have the pc hooked up to a monitor as well or just the tv? If you could hook up a monitor and see if you have the same issues that could narrow down the problem a bit.

 

[mastrduke]

The "catching up" still happens on the lcd monitor, but the line is not there. I optimized it for my tv inside VMC and it made it choppy all the time and it was generally worse.

 

[nullpointerus]

The "catching up" is likely due to v-sync being off. Both ATI and nVidia have options to force this to on, or try a different refresh rate.

Changing channels does take a second or two on TV tuner cards. I recommend browsing the integrated guide instead of just flipping channels to see what's on.

Pausing/unpausing live TV should be instantaneous with no synchronization problems. Go into your video drivers, look for the video/overlay page, and try to disable telecine--I forget the exact name--because it can eat a lot of CPU cycles and make the VMC interface unresponsive.

Is the line in the middle of the screen present in only some channels, or the whole desktop including VMC? What color is the line--black, or static? Does it run horizontally or vertically? Can you try a different resolution/refresh rate for the TV? I think SDTV's work best at 800x600.

Please describe your rig in more detail. What video card are you using? What resolution, what cable type, etc.?

 

[mastrduke]

I figured there were some features and options I needed to play around with to make this work. I use the guide and love it, I was just saying that changing channels does the same thing as pausing and unpasuing live tv in that it has to "catch up"

The line is about 3/4 of the way up the scrren horizontally. Sometimes it starts in the middle and moves to there, other times it is just there. It is only when watching live tv. It is not there all the time but maybe half of the time. If I had to say a color I would say it is black but it usually blends in with the rest of the screen but is still very noticeable at the same time.

I will not be home with this computer until tomorrow so I can't change any of those things just yet but I have a feeling they will definately help.


My rig is Windows Vista Home Premium
Hauppage pvr 500 mce
Seagate 250gb harddrive
1gig Mushkin ram
amd athlon 64 3200+
asus k8n-e deluxe
BFG 6800gt
Antec BQE case and the powersupply that comes with it

 

[mastrduke]

back home now


changing the refresh rate got rid of the line problem


still have the "catching up" and i forced v-sync on


catching up also happens with play/pause on recorded content

 

[mastrduke]

It is now fixed...I had to download and use old drivers as the new ones are apparently worse

 

[nullpointerus]

That's great news!

Enjoy your PVR-500.