TV Out -- Video Cards vs. External Converters

[skinnyb]

Hi All,

I want to be able to output my PC display to my TV.
Mostly for things like movies or youtube or whatever.
Something that would work for presentations would
be a nice plus, but not necessary.

I know that the quality of the signal is seriously
degraded when you convert from VGA to NTSC.
Willing to live with that.

Was just wondering what the relative output quality
was for TV out from a video card (PCI nVidia-based,
say, such as XFX or EVGA using the 7600 chipset)
versus an external PC-to-TV adapter (such as
Avermedia iMicro, AITech Maxview, Grandtec).

Any opinions? Recommendations for a card or adapter?

I could spend $125, but would be just as happy paying $75.

 

[choirbass]

i know the onboard video converter chip plays a large role in being able to produce even acceptable quality... as such, composite and svideo from a gpu are more out of the question in general, when it comes to quality.... i have a 7800gt, and anything less than component video would seem to be undesirable, moreso if youre capped at a lower resolution (i havent used component yet though, except in one small temporary instance, so i cant say for sure how much of a practical improvement it would offer above otherwise bad quality).

so, just because you are considering a same generation gpu as i have, with most likely a similar/exact video output/converter chip onboard... i would say to go with a dedicated one thats up to $125, because you can almost always get higher quality with more money, in general, especially if its something thats designed for a specific purpose (be sure to read a few reviews on it first though)