Evan.G

ATI 8500dv HDTV dongle required?

Hi all,

I have an 8500dv and an HDTV w/ component inputs. ATI hasn't had the dongle (component adapter) available for the last 6 weeks or so. Are there other options (outside of a $100 transcoder)? There are cables that go from dvi to component, but I don't know if these will work. ATI won't help and doesn't know when they will get more, and I know that there are several types of dvi outputs, so I don't know what to expect.

Any thoughts on how to hook this up?

This is my second ATI all in wonder card. Both times, the software drivers were absolutely horrible, and their tech-support is pretty bad. I currently use their card with Showshifter software. This combination provides reliable and good performance. It took a lot of messing around to optimize recompression codecs, though.

Thanks.

Jeff Kleist

The ATI dongle will only do 480P on DVDs just FYI

Evan.G

Thanks for the reply. Isn't 480p the standard w/ dvd? If so, what would be the benefit of outputing anything higher?
Do stand-alone players output anything higher?

As I understand it, the regular desktop can be output at 780p.

Jeff Kleist

Evan, read some of the HTPC threads on that one

Vince Maskeeper

Need an introduction to home theater? Check out our FAQ and Primer!!

Evan.G

Thanks... I didn't realize that. I figured that the compression (scaling) of the tv was the best that I could do.

There is a great thread over there about the ati dongle vs. the transcoders if anyone else is interested.

There is some software that allows you to turn off region coding and macro vision. This allows rescaling w/ the ati dongle.

avs forum thread

david_b_m

I personally use the ATI dongle to output DVDs at 1080i (using DVDidle software) and have very good results (my set is not ISF calibrated, so I'm confident that is the limiting factor). Basically a good DVD like the Fifth Element looks EXACTLY as good to my eye as a 1080i HDTV stream of the same scene from the Fifth Element. Again, with a little work my set would probably squeeze a little more detail from the HD stream, but I flipped back and forth several times and could not find a difference (the HD scene had slightly richer color, but that's adjustable anyway).

Another advantage is that you can add in filters like FFDshow that give you control over sharpness enhancement, video scaling, noise reduction, deinterlacing method, etc. etc. etc. that you would NEVER have with any standalone DVD player. This means you have the freedom to screw up the picture as much as you want to! In moderation, however, you can really tweak the picture to your liking and have excellent results.