MediaMVP Picture Quality

[voorhees]

Hi,

I have read several discussions on picture quality, mostly related to the HD extender, however I had a quick question about the MediaMVP picture quality.

Has anyone noticed it being not as clear as a direct connection from a cable set top box?

I am using a WinTV-PVR-250 capture card with a cable connection directly plugged into the card, SageTV, and a MediaMVP connected to a SD 32" Sony TV by S-video. The connection from my cable box using a coax input to the TV is clearer than the picture from the MediaMVP (it is not really bad, but it is noticeable). I would assume that it should be since the feed is being processed by the WinTV card and then by the MediaMVP, thus loosing clarity. Does that sound right, or should I be getting at least as clear of a connection as direct from my cable STB?

Thanks for your assistance.

[CollinR]

It will be slightly less but not very noticable. What are your recording and streaming settings?

[BFisher]

It may not be the MVP causing the problem... it could be your capture card. I would check all your settings related to it (quality/bandwidth, etc)

[voorhees]

Thanks for the replies.

Originally Posted by CollinR

It will be slightly less but not very noticable. What are your recording and streaming settings?

CollinR,

I am not exactly sure which setting are the recording and streaming settings, but I will list what I think they are.

Multimedia > Recording Quality > Default Quality = Great
Multimedia > Recording Quality > Hauppauge WinTV PVR PCI II Capture = Not Set (Should that be set to something? Would it actually change the quality of the capture card (PVR-250)?)
Video/Audio > Video Renderer = Overlay
Video/Audio > MPEG2 Video Decoder Filter = SageTV MPEG Video Decoder (Should this be set to something else, like InterVideo NonCSS Video Decoder for Hauppauge?)
Video/Audio > SageTV MPEG Video Decoder uses DXVA = No
Video/Audio > MPEG4 Playback = DirectShow
Server > Extender Conversion Quality = Standard

Should these be set the way they are, or would I get a better picture over the MediaMVP with different settings? Any help would be great.

Originally Posted by BFisher

It may not be the MVP causing the problem... it could be your capture card. I would check all your settings related to it (quality/bandwidth, etc)

BFisher,

I looked through the menus on the WinTV2000 application that came with my PRV-250 capture card and did not see any quality or bandwidth settings for LiveTV streaming. I saw them for what appears to be settings for recordings (but it was not clear), and I have it set to the quality level MPEG2 12.0MBit/sec (Output Stream = Program, Variable Bit Rate, Bit Rate = 9600, Bit Rate PEAK = 12000, GOPs = 15, Video Resolution = 720 x 4810). Are those also the settings for streaming?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

[CollinR]

Originally Posted by voorhees

Thanks for the replies.

CollinR,

I am not exactly sure which setting are the recording and streaming settings, but I will list what I think they are.

Multimedia > Recording Quality > Default Quality = Great
Server > Extender Conversion Quality = Standard

Those two are the settings to play with.

Try DVD Standard Play and then change the extender conversion quality to high.