Tom's ditches G550

[CHHAS]

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/02q4/021109/pc_for_tv-03.html

Claming that it cannot run with tv only, is that really true ?

[raku]

you have to put it on clone mode and then detach the monitor and it works on secondary output

[Sasq]

But in this article, he wanted it to boot with only the TV conected.

Which is fine if you have a monitor spare if things go wrong, and for initial set up.

[dZeus]

hmm... on my HTPC with G400 it costed 5 minutes to set up, after which I never had to connect the monitor to it again (even if tv fails I can fix it through remote administrator).

[mmp121]

BIOS Update needed?

Didn't Matrox come out with a BIOS update (at least for the G400) they did, where you could check a box to allow the dual-head to display DOS while booting?

I don't know if this is what the guy wanted as I have not had time to read the TOMS readers article completely yet.

I have no idea if what the reader says is true or not, but I'm going to go home and try just that with my current setup, as I have my TV hooked up to the 2nd head as clone.

[dZeus]

nah you can't use DOS tv-out on the G450/G550.. but you can most definately use TV-only output in windows.

[MagerValp]

Re: BIOS Update needed?

Originally posted by mmp121
Didn't Matrox come out with a BIOS update (at least for the G400) they did, where you could check a box to allow the dual-head to display DOS while booting?

TV output support for DOS
=========================

Some models of Matrox graphics cards support TV output. With TV
output support, you can view or record your computer display with
a TV or video recorder connected to your graphics card.

TV output is supported with Windows 98/Me/2000, Windows NT 4.0,
and DOS. By default TV output is disabled. If TV output is
disabled, a TV connected to your computer will display black. For
information on how to enable TV output mode in Windows 98/Me/2000
or NT 4.0, see Matrox online documentation.

To enable TV output for DOS display modes, the BIOS of your Matrox
graphics card needs to be configured.

DOS display modes may be used when:

- your computer is restarted in DOS mode
- DOS programs are run full-screen
- a full-screen DOS prompt is used under Windows
- text is displayed on your computer monitor before Windows starts

Note: For G450/G550-based graphics cards, TV output for DOS
display modes aren't supported.

It works with a G400 at least, which is a good thing since that's what I'll be using for my livingroom PC.

[FormerEx-SalesSoup]

He will need to boot up with the primary monitor attached the first time and then set up the TV output through PowerDesk. Subsequently, he will no longer need the monitor attached...and will be able to run the TV on its own.

[Pace]

Don't tell us, tell him

[Chrono_Wanderer]

hmm... not surprising... another flaw made by toms just kidding.

[mrmikeman]

1 Thing to note is that the G400 supports S-video, Composite and SCART-RGB in Windows but only S-Video and Composite in DOS (when enabled through BIOS).

Most people won't care but in my MAME rig it makes a difference!

Mike

[dZeus]

if you feel comfortable messing with your G400's BIOS, perhaps you can fix that as well:

http://grafi.ii.pw.edu.pl/gbm/matrox/biosprog.html

there's a command line option to set certain Maven settings, including RGB support for NTSC or PAL.