Help with improving Video quality

[getstarted]

I setup my first HTPC and installed the trail version of sage tv. I connect TV from the receiver to the hauppuage HVR-1600 card.

• Qaulity is very bad when compared to the direct connection from the receiver
• Could not get the picture occupy full screen, tried different settings

Any suggestions to make the picture quality atleast equal to the receiver? I have cyberlink pdvd8 software if those decoders are any better than default ones.

My equipment:
Hauppauge HVR-1600 (Coaxial input; HDIMI &SPDIF Digital output)
GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H (Built-in Video card)
50" 1080i Plasma TV
Vista Ultimate
AMD Athlon 3.0 GHz Dual

[cychou]

Are you doing analog or digital capture here? Your card HVR-1600 supports multiple capture modes. Also what do mean by receiver? You need to be more clear about your equipments and setup, so people can be of more help.

[getstarted]

Two inputs to the card:

Dish Receiver TVOut (Coaxial) to HVR-1600 Analog
OTA receiver TVOut (SVideo) to HVR-1600 SVideo

I know i am not connecting digital input to HVR-1600, but i am atleast expecting same quality as my receiver.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by getstarted

Two inputs to the card:

Dish Receiver TVOut (Coaxial) to HVR-1600 Analog
OTA receiver TVOut (SVideo) to HVR-1600 SVideo

I know i am not connecting digital input to HVR-1600, but i am atleast expecting same quality as my receiver.

Well first off, everything should be hooked via Svideo (or composite at least) if you are using STB (set top boxes). Coax is the worst video connection you can use. Yes I know, your 1600 only has one set of inputs. Here's the crux though, as I understand it, you can only use the Coax or the Svideo at one time since they are both analog inputs.

Secondly what are you using for a decoder? If you are using the Sage decoders, then yes the image will appear washed out. Sage decoders that come with Sage are just basic decoders, you really need to be using Nvidia Purevideo or one of the many others mentioned on this board.

Third, how are you connecting the computer to your tv? What kind of video card? I recommend component, DVI, or HDMI.

[getstarted]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Well first off, everything should be hooked via Svideo (or composite at least) if you are using STB (set top boxes). Coax is the worst video connection you can use. Yes I know, your 1600 only has one set of inputs. Here's the crux though, as I understand it, you can only use the Coax or the Svideo at one time since they are both analog inputs.

Secondly what are you using for a decoder? If you are using the Sage decoders, then yes the image will appear washed out. Sage decoders that come with Sage are just basic decoders, you really need to be using Nvidia Purevideo or one of the many others mentioned on this board.

Third, how are you connecting the computer to your tv? What kind of video card? I recommend component, DVI, or HDMI.

S-Video quality is also not good. I am currently using default decoders, and tried cyberlink dvd7(i think). Is NVidia Purvideo decoders are free to download? Any other good free decoders out there? I also have Cyberlink dvd8 installed, i will check the workaround to see these decoders in sagetv.

my motherboard(GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H) has builtin video card, connecting to TV via HDMI.

[dooferlad]

I am not able to get the good picture quality by making several changes to the settings, decoders, etc.,

Here is the other thread I posted:
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34012

Now I am only getting black and white picture, dont know what got changed.. could not get the color working at all . I will have to re-install probably.. not so encouraging so far..

Edit: dont know why it is so hard.. i could not get the video shows full screen. SageTV application is occupying all the screen, but not the video

If you have lost colour then it sounds like you have hooked up an s-video connection somewhere but one end thinks that it is sending composite.

If the UI is full screen but your videos aren't then try looking at the aspect ratio settings (advanced settings --> video if memory serves) - you can change the x and y scaling to > 100%. It sounds like something strange is going on though.

Are you using the HVR-1600 directly connected to your cable TV set top box or are you tuning in directly with the HVR-1600? If you are using the set top box to decode the TV then record it via s-video on the HVR-1600 then you will not get a good picture. You lose quality as soon as you have gone from cable out of your set top box. S-Video is a bit rubbish and your HVR-1600 will have to re-encode the picture it gets and there is no way that it will do as good a job as the broadcast grade equipment that the TV studio has. Putting your cable directly into the HVR-1600 will remove this quality drop.

As for codecs, don't worry about them for the moment. Your cyberlink ones will be fine for now.

The HDMI connection to your TV should not be a problem.

What sort of quality do you get when watching a DVD? Does it fill the screen?

[cychou]

Originally Posted by getstarted

S-Video quality is also not good. I am currently using default decoders, and tried cyberlink dvd7(i think). Is NVidia Purvideo decoders are free to download? Any other good free decoders out there? I also have Cyberlink dvd8 installed, i will check the workaround to see these decoders in sagetv.

my motherboard(GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H) has builtin video card, connecting to TV via HDMI.

Since you are doing Analog capture here, I will suggest you check the Recording Quality under Detailed Setup/Multimedia first. Try to set it to at least DVD Standard Play.

As far as not occupying full screen, I suspect you are not capturing using the right TV standard (NTSC or PAL). This can be reset by Run configuration Wizard. Also check your S-video cable, make sure it is properly connected and shielded from any electric interference. I have seen some really bad cables which causes signal degradation.


Vince