old PC into DVD player/recorder for TV?

[Boneless]

I wanted to know , if I buy a video card with TV-out, can I use a DVD-ROM drive to play back videos CD-R burned to VCD and retail DVD? I am asking b/c I have an unused 700mhz Athlon system that I only need the DVD drive and hard drive to add and could use it to the TV. I was also thinking of trying the capture feature on a board like ATI all-in-wonder to turn it into a tivo-like recorder. My current DVD player is semi-old and won't play CD-R, -RW, so I wanted to try this.

Anyone have any suggestions on hardware and would I need special software bought separately?

[audiyoda]

Sure it will work. There's a whole series of articles in Stereophile's Guide to Home Theater magazine on how to set everyting up from the video and sound cards to what software to use. The system they use it high end, but what you propose is simple -- but you'll need a good sized (20Gig+), fast (ATA66 7200rpm minimum)HDD if you plan on using the VCR-like feature of the AIW series.

-Craig

[HAL9000]

Yup, I agree, the Athy 700 should be plenty of oomph. I had my All-in-Wonder Radeon originally on a Celeron 700 and it ran everything smooth as far as VCR functions go. The odd time it dropped a frame, but nothing really objectionable. I would imagine that it was held back a bit by the 66Mhz bus. I'm running a PIII 800E now and smooth as can be, no dropped frames. I have tested DVD drives in it and they play perfectly as well. I also agree on a strong, good sized hard drive. I have a 3.8Gb partition that I keep free and it only gives me about 1.5 hours at medium quality and just over an hour at high quality. So to record a good movie on TV at the high quality, you're going to need at least 12Gb for 3 hours.

[Xayd]

If you don't mind spending a few dollars, I would highly recommend a Hollywood + decoder card, rather than the vid card with TV out.

Unless you need the PC to show you the desktop on the TV, you'll get better performance and image quality with a true hardware decoder.

The decoder card has a TV output, both RCA and S-Video, sound output, and crossover cables to connect to your primary vid card and sound card. The decoder won't be limited to 'just' playing certified DVDs either, it'll be able to play anything in MPEG format-- except for MPEG 4/DivX:).

I have one of those cards in my NT 4 machine sitting on my TV right now, and the sound/video output is excellent. It's a much cheaper solution than a stand-alone DVD player, and since you're dealing with computer hardware/software, it's much more configurable as well.

You should be able to find the decoder online for 50 dollars or less.

Xayd

[HAL9000]

Shouldn't be a problem should he decide to go with an All-in-Wonder Radeon. It has hardware decoding. If you go a bit cheaper to an All-in-Wonder Rage 128, then it's only hardware assisted and could benefit from a hardware decoder.

[Xayd]

I've seen issues with the AIW 128's DVD player and certain movies as well.

Xayd

[HAL9000]

Either I'm misreading you or you're misreading me Xayd, I agree, the Rage 128 version could benefit from a decoder as it's only hardware assisted, not true hardware decoding. The Radeon cards shouldn't be a problem.

[Boneless]

OK, lemme see if I understand. The Hollywood decoder card is strictly a decoder only and would need a separate video card. However, ATI All-in-wonder is combined ,but not as universal as the Hollywood?

I would like to keep this simple, but assume with 1 card like the ATI, the comp desktop will appear on the tv? versus the Hollywood which will need a separate monitor?

And any additional software for capture and playing through the tv other than what the cards come bundled with?

[Xayd]

Lazy post Hal, sawry .

Yeah, I haven't used one personally, but the Radeon DVD decoding and player seems to be ok. The AIW 128 has issues, so rather than pay 100+ dollars for an AIW 128 for "just" DVDs, you'd be better served with a crappo vid card and a Hollywood +.

The Hollywood + doesn't need a specific vid card to work, just 'a' vid card, doesn't matter if it's a 512k Trident ISA vid card from 1903 B.C.

But, the Hollywood + will only spit out Mpeg streams to the TV, not the desktop as well.

Xayd

[audiyoda]

Boneless,

Either the Radeon series of cards or the Hollywood+ card will work for you in terms of DVD hardware decoding. If you want to record to your PC, you'll need a vidcard with TVin. Any of the Radeon cards with the exception of the VE have both TV ins and outs so you don't need the AIW unless you want the added funtionality of RCA ins and outs.

-Craig

[HAL9000]

OK Xayd, that makes more sense. I agree, purchasing a decoder to work with the AIW Rage 128 wouldn't make a lot of sense, you could get the Radeon version for that price.

[Boneless]

I'm going to list below what I'm choosing between and any additional feedback would be appreciated.

ATI Radeon 32MB SDRAM All-in-Wonder
Toshiba DVD-ROM 16x

or


my old 2MB Elsa vid card
Hollywood decoder (RealMagic or Sigma Design?)
Toshiba DVD-Rom 16x


remaining questions are:

Does amount of RAM and SDRAM vs. DDR in Vid make a difference for ATI w/out decoder?


Xayd, just making sure 2MB is enough w/decoder(can't believe that weak card is still any good for something) Now I need to check if the drivers are good with Win2000.

To clarify on the desktop, you are saying that the MPEG will only be decoded to tv and not something like WinMediaplayer or Quicktime correct?

I am still waffling about recording from tv since I have a modified tivo, but if the Radeon does work well and installation is idiot-proof, I might use it.

Thoughts?

[audiyoda]

Okay, you said you want to be able to use your PC like a VCR -- that eliminates your second list.

As for your first list, I'm still wondering why the AIW card? The Radeon 64M DDR VIVO card is cheaper than the AIW by almost $50.00. If you want the AIW for the 5.1 Dolby, get a SB Live! 5.1 -- you'l lget better audio quality from a dedicated sound card than you will a card like the AIW. Don't get me wrong, the AIW series is great, but it's very nature lends itself to consessions -- less ram being one of them.

Whichever way you choose, if you want to record video, you'll need the Radeon (or similar card).

-Craig

[Boneless]

Ok, how about this revised:

If I wanted a good DVD player and record -

ATI Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO
Toshiba DVD-ROM 16x


or a simple DVD player or MPEG player -


my old 2MB Elsa vid card
Hollywood decoder (RealMagic or Sigma Design?)
Toshiba DVD-Rom 16x



I looked up the specs for the Radeon, doesn't the resolution of 640x480 make it just shy of actual tv resolution 700 something or other?

[Boneless]

to update my last post, after reviewing the ATI site, it appears that a radeon VIVO can only produce 640x480 resolution, while the AIW can produce 720x480. Is that true?

[audiyoda]

Why worry about 720x480? You'll only view 640x480 -- the remaining 80 lines are used for timecode by professionals. But it if helps, check here. Look down where it says Video capture and TV/VCR-output support (optional features) -- right there is B&W 720x480 capture. Playback is never in 720x480 -- the aspect ratio of any monitor ot TV is 4:3 (unless you have a flatpanel display or HDTV) or 640x480.

And actual TV resolution is 525 vertical. Well short of 640. That is unless you have a Sony VEGA which uses a line doubler.

-Craig

[Boneless]

I see the light.

I didn't get the AIW and VIVO acronym at first, but after your last post realized it's the All-in-wonder and video in/out. I thought it was referring to the ATI 128. Plus I'm not too good about understanding tv vs. monitor resolution and translation, not to mention ratio aspect...etc.....


Last two questions.

1) Clarifying the 2MB ELSA is good enough for just a DVD player coupled with Hollywood decoder from RealMagic or SigmaDesign

2) Does everything from comp display on tv and is it fairly easy to figure out how to switch from regular tv to the DVD?

[Xayd]

The decoder card will output directly to the TV, hence no vid card is necessary (only to POST and get into the OS).

As far as switching the desktop between desktop and full screen DVD mode, yes, it's simple. Just select full screen on the player software and it'll play full screen.

Another option you might consider (this is how mine is set up). My second machine doesn't even have a monitor, TV, mouse, or keyboard attached to it, I use remote administration software to manage it, from this outfit-- www.radmin.com

Again, that won't allow you to capture any video, but for playing DVDs and MPEG streams, it works great and doesn't require much hardware expenditure .

Xayd