hdmi audio/video integration question?

[den372]

HI, Please excuse me if this is a simple question but I am in the market for a HTPC video card. I am mostly concerned with video display, gaming is secondary. I read that some video cards can perform the equivalent of line doubling on standard definition content to display on a 1080p screen, specifically nvidia Pure Video technology. I have seen SD content on our 1080p plasma screen it looks awful. Is anyone familiar with this? Secondly a number of new cards have DVI external output connectors. The documentation states a simple adapter will convert to HDMI to then connect to your HD display. Will the audio from the pc be directed thru this dvi-hdmi output? If so does the routed audio include all the types the PC can generate (blu-ray movies, DVD,desktop sounds, beeps, games, mp3, video clips all of which may or may not be in AC3 format. I was thinking that a video card with a dedicated HDMI out port might be needed to insure proper audio routing. Any help greatly appreciated.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by den372

HI, Please excuse me if this is a simple question but I am in the market for a HTPC video card. I am mostly concerned with video display, gaming is secondary. I read that some video cards can perform the equivalent of line doubling on standard definition content to display on a 1080p screen, specifically nvidia Pure Video technology. I have seen SD content on our 1080p plasma screen it looks awful. Is anyone familiar with this? Secondly a number of new cards have DVI external output connectors. The documentation states a simple adapter will convert to HDMI to then connect to your HD display. Will the audio from the pc be directed thru this dvi-hdmi output? If so does the routed audio include all the types the PC can generate (blu-ray movies, DVD,desktop sounds, beeps, games, mp3, video clips all of which may or may not be in AC3 format. I was thinking that a video card with a dedicated HDMI out port might be needed to insure proper audio routing. Any help greatly appreciated.

DVI can not carry audio.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by den372

HI, Please excuse me if this is a simple question but I am in the market for a HTPC video card. I am mostly concerned with video display, gaming is secondary. I read that some video cards can perform the equivalent of line doubling on standard definition content to display on a 1080p screen, specifically nvidia Pure Video technology. I have seen SD content on our 1080p plasma screen it looks awful. Is anyone familiar with this?

Do you have a specific question? A number of us do, or have, used Purevideo (or AVIVO for an ATI/AMD solution).

Secondly a number of new cards have DVI external output connectors. The documentation states a simple adapter will convert to HDMI to then connect to your HD display. Will the audio from the pc be directed thru this dvi-hdmi output?

It really depends on the card, but it's possible.

If so does the routed audio include all the types the PC can generate (blu-ray movies, DVD,desktop sounds, beeps, games, mp3, video clips all of which may or may not be in AC3 format. I was thinking that a video card with a dedicated HDMI out port might be needed to insure proper audio routing. Any help greatly appreciated.

If the card supports audio, then it's treated as a normal soundcard by Windows, and anything that's routed to it will go over HDMI.

FWIW, none of the nVidia cards have built-in audio support, at best they support passthrough of S/PDIF from an external soundcard.

ATI/AMD cards are the only standalone cards with built-in HDMI audio support, and only the 4800 series support "true" HDMI audio, ie multichannel LPCM.

Originally Posted by paulbeers

DVI can not carry audio.

The DVI logical specification does not support audio. However the pinouts of DVI-D and HDMI are identical, so it's very possible for a video card (or other device) to support HDMI w/ audio via a DVI plug.

[CollinR]

My spdif passthrough works fine.

MSI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127301

Although not listed and not in the instructions at all it has an internal spdif header and an adapter to use external coaxial. I didn't have any troubles getting it running.

[autoboy]

Line Doubling is the old term. Deinterlacing is the appropriate term. Modern graphics cards support high quality deinterlacing comparable to some of the best deinterlacers on the market. However, analog SD video will still look bad on a 1080p display because the signal is so terrible. No amount of deinterlacing and scaling can help you that much. Get used to it or get HD.

If you want HDMI video and audio from a PC without gaming I highly recommend the ATI 3450 video card. It is found passive and has good deinterlacing. You can find some on Newegg with HDMI output so you don't need a DVI-HDMI adapter. 2XX0 and 3XX0 ATI cards do support audio over DVI but other DVI ports do not. I saw a 3450 the other day for $29 w/HDMI. Also, don't spend $50-$100 on an HDMI cable. The $3-$10 ones on Newegg or monoprice cable work great. If you have a high end audio system and BluRay on your PC (and I mean pretty high end and not Bose or equivalent) then you might want to wait for the next generation of ATI 4XX0 series cards coming soon that will feature 7 channel LPCM audio so you can take advantage of the new lossless audio codecs on BluRay. The 4850 is out now but is not very power efficient and would not be a good choice for a HTPC w/out gaming.

[den372]

I appreciate the response.