Elecard and Dscaler

[prez]

i am just wondering about people's experience with this.

i use a p4 2.8
pvr250
gf fx5600
1gb ram
2 hd's

this box runs via svideo to my projection screen. Right now i have set the registry hack for my pvr250 that does improve the quality some. I was wondering what the effects of dscaler and elecard would have on this setup, and if they would even work.

[MarcusInMd]

Hi,
My PC setup is almost exactly like yours, however I am using am FX5200 video card and 1 250GB hard drive.

Elecard with dscaler has the best image quaility out of all the decoders I have tried. This is output to a SDTV. No motion blurring etc. Looks like regular TV. I use the two frame dscaler plugin with double refresh.

Take Care,
Marcus

[prez]

so, to install/setup this method. Do you:

Install Elecard software.
Install Dscaler Version 4.1.8—Beta

where does the configuration happen? In dscaler or in sage tv?

also, i have read about other people's issues about brightness with the pvr250, does it have that issue when using this software?


And one final question Do you have the registry entries adjusted for the pvr250?

[MarcusInMd]

prez,
Once the elecard decoder is installed the dscaler plugin settings become active from within sage tv. There is no need to download dscaler.

I have not changed any registry settings.

I have made major changes to the output video via the FX5200 driver. Brightness/contrast/color etc etc.

Take Care,
Marcus

[mlbdude]

Just make sure you disable Elecard deinterlacing either by the Elecard video player or in the registry. Otherwise you will double deinterlace. Depending on the verion of Elecard you use Sage will not do this for you.

[MarcusInMd]

Hmm..thats interesting..I did not know that. The image ont he TV seems fine. I wonder if this could be increasing the CPU usage?


Take Care,
Marcus

[prez]

do you have any recommendations on the fx color settings?

[MarcusInMd]

I checked out the elecard settings and it was defaulted to OFF.

[sudipto]

Marcus or prez: Where do you get the Elecard from and which version do you use ?

Is this decoder free ? If not, how much does it cost ?

[spotted]

http://www.elecard.com/

[prez]

Wow, i am actually disappointed with this. The images lose all their detail when running with this software/settings. any suggestions on fixing that? Or is that the nature of the beast?

[mlbdude]

Which of the plugins\settings do you find are the blurriest?

[pratik97]

Is the one on the Elecard website you guys are using the 21 day trial version? Or are you guys actually paying for it or just using the Free WaveLet Image Compressor?

[mlbdude]

I am paying for it (and it was a different version that the trial) but I am not using the "Free WaveLet Image Compressor".

[prez]

Elecard with dscaler has the best image quaility out of all the decoders I have tried. This is output to a SDTV. No motion blurring etc. Looks like regular TV. I use the two frame dscaler plugin with double refresh.

I followed this, and it just loses alot of detail

[mlbdude]

Everyone gets different results so try the other plugins. Make sure you Sleep Sage between each change.

I use VideoWeave or Greedy2Frame.

BTW, all deinterlacing will smooth and blur the image somewhat. The objective is to find a deinterlacer that does it the least.

For HDTV users, this combination can produce really good results since you can use your HTPC for line doubling with 480p or greater output.

[prez]

should i use a different agp card? do ati cards do tv out better than nvidia?

[mlbdude]

What mode are you outputting from your fx? ATI do have better video out but not night and day compared to the newer nVidia cards.

Since you are running svideo to the projector you are stuck with 480i output I believe. Can you do a component or direct VGA connection?

Good test is to try this out on the PC monitor if you can. With digital TV(projectors too) you should be able to achieve the exact same results - as long as you are using the right connection. If you are unhappy with the PC display, then there is not much you can do about it.

[prez]

well, i amnot sure what "mode" it is..or where i can even find that setting.

The resolution is set to 800*600, to match the 4:3 signal coming from the cable (the cable is not broadcast 16:9).

I then have the toshiba tv do a non-linear stretch to fill it..which works great with normal cable tv going in.

[mlbdude]

Normal cable is going to the TV in 480i if you are using sVideo so nothing is getting converted or deinterlaced so it will look good. Sage is outputting deinterlaced video to 480p. Again, take a look at the video on your PC monitor. If you like it there, then chaning your connection and output settings are the best thing you can do.