ATi defector seeks info on Matrox's RGB -> SCART for HTPC use

[jwexqm]

I'm trying to put together a machine for DivX and DVD playback. It will be connected to a Sony WEGA TV via RGB SCART.

I'm new here because up until now my efforts have been focussed on getting a VGA -> RGB SCART connection up and running with my ATi Radeon 8500.

Briefly elaborating on the situation with the 8500:
Using Powerstrip, I've been able to set up a mode suitable for driving the TV (720x576 50Hz interlaced using composite sync). As I understand it, the 7x00(?)/8500 are just about the only other cards apart from Matrox which can do composite sync and drive modes as low as 15KHz (H) & 50Hz (V). In terms of colour purity the output is lovely - yes it flickers badly with high contrast horizontals but that's raw unfiltered interlacing for you.
Anyway the mission was brought to a sudden stop by a bug in the ATi drivers which causes the overlay to only display the top half of the media's frame, albeit stretched (vertically) to occupy the full area within the player. After waiting for ages for ATi to get round to fixing it I've given up and so I'm now here.

I want to replicate the setup that I've described above with a Matrox card but obviously giving me a working overlay. I've just read a couple of hours worth of posts on RGB -> SCART stuff in this forum and on the Matrox tech forum to try to get up to speed.

A few things that I haven't been able to determine for sure...
- Whether there would be a best option card for this kind of application (400/450/550)?
- Powerstrip support for Matrox cards (custom res capability, composite sync enable, interlaced all possible)?
- Any lingering issues regarding non 32 pixel w/h AVI files which DivXG400 doesn't address?
- AFAIK, I'll be running the telly off the primary head (as I'm doing now with my ATi). What would the output difference be in terms of quality & features when contrasting the TV being driven (a) by Head 1 in custom res with (b) by Head 2 using the TV-coder to pump out RGB?

I'm anticipating increased CPU utilisation on DVD playback over the ATi due to weaker hardware assistance on the Matrox but I'm quite happy to throw more CPU power its way if it results in a working solution.

I'd better clarify that as this is going to be a one-function box (media output) I don't really mind if I have to run 98/Me instead of XP if there's some reason to for additional driver functionality.

Comments?
James

[Kruzin]

Well, I can't answer all of your questions, but I can tell you this much-

Today your best bet is a good old G400, but Parhelia is due out any time, and with it's true 10bit color, and hardware motion compesation, it should be a videophiles dream.

Powerstrip does support Matrox G series cards, but there are other(better) otions available for custom resolutions with Matrox Gxxx cards. Basically, you won't have a problem configuring a Gxxx to any resolution you want.

You can't run the TV off the primary head of any Matrox card. Some have managed a workaround by setting the system up with a monitor+TV, then removing the monitor, and leaving the TV on the secondary, but there are some issues doing it this way.

And welcome to MURC

[az]

Wouldn't DVD MAX be just ideal for what jwexqm (what kind of a name is that? Had to look three times to make sure I'd spell it right ) is trying to achieve? With help of DivXG400 of course?

Oh and I don't know much about attaching TVs to PCs, but wouldn't any card with a decent TV out be just what he needs? The Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 TV has good TV out I hear, without black borders.

AZ

[Maggi]

Look here for all needed info according to your projected SCART RGB connection ...

[jwexqm]

Thanks for your help, I'm going to get a G400 off ebay and see where it leaves me.

James