GeForce S-Video to Composite: Image sucks

[Rekrul]

I've been using the S-Video out on my GeForce4 MX440 card for a while now to watch videos on my TV, however the image is rather poor. The cable I'm using is S-Video on the computer end to Composite in the TV end. I know that going from S-Video to Composite is going to degrade the picture, but it doesn't make sense that it looks worse than a VCR connected with a standard set of RCA A/V cables.

I'm aware that CRT TVs don't have the same resolution as computers and I expected the picture to be somewhat blurry (which it is), however it's also distorted.

There are vertical light/dark stripes in the image that give the picture a wrinkled appearance. Switching the Nvidia prefs from S-Video (or auto) to RCA made the distortions slightly less noticeable, but they're still there.

I use the Nvidia Clone option to send the same image to the TV as on the monitor, and my Desktop resolution is set to 1024x768. I have also tried lowering the Desktop down to 640x480, but the distortions were still present, only larger. As if they're a normal part of the image and appear zoomed in when I reduce the resolution. Note that these distortions do not appear on the monitor.

I contacted XFXForce, the company that made the card and described the problem to them. After telling me to follow the manual (which told me to do what I was already doing) and making a bunch of mostly useless suggestions, they told me that the reason the image was distorted is because the card wasn't designed to be used with an S-Video to Composite cable.

This sounds like BS to me, since no S-Video output is designed to be used with an S-Video to Composite cable, but yet this same cable gives a perfect picture when plugged between my digital cable box and the TV. They then tried to claim that the cable box was designed to be hooked up this way!

The cable is shielded and doesn't pass by any major sources of RF interference. In any case, the distortions don't look like RF interference, they look like a signal problem.

Has anyone else encountered this, or have any idea how to improve the picture?

[Dr.Khron]

Does the cable have a chip in it?
If you are running it through a s-video to composite adaptor, did it come with the video card? (this is super important)

I had similiar problems with my first HTPC, which was basically a 12-ft long composite cable running from my main PC to the TV. Buying a quality s-Video to composite cable fixed most of my image problems.
http://www.cableclub.com/svhs-svideo-composite-video-cable-p-136.html

Also, "clone mode" may be causing problems, but I think this is a driver issue, as this behavior tends to vary from card to card...

Your best bet is to dump the "video overlay" directly to the TV-out. This feature goes by different names, but its usually called something like "Theater mode".

Hope that helps.

[Rekrul]

Does the cable have a chip in it?
If you are running it through a s-video to composite adaptor, did it come with the video card? (this is super important)

I'm not sure. A friend put this system together for me and sent it to me. There was a very thin cable in the video card box and it seems like the sort of thing the company would give you with the card, but I can't be certain my friend didn't include it. I'd ask him, but he's next to impossible to get ahold of anymore. The box doesn't list the contents either.

In any case, I've used that one and I tried an expensive one from Radio Shack ($40 for 6 feet!) and while the RF interference disappeared with the better cable, the distortions remained.

Also, "clone mode" may be causing problems, but I think this is a driver issue, as this behavior tends to vary from card to card...

Your best bet is to dump the "video overlay" directly to the TV-out. This feature goes by different names, but its usually called something like "Theater mode".

I don't think my drivers have that option. I'm using Windows 98SE, so I'm limited to using somewhat older drivers (Dec. 2005). It only has Single, Clone and Dual. If I set it to Dual, the TV is used as an additional monitor, but trying to put the video player on that screen slows down the entire system.

[shakey]

converting an s-video signal to composite is incredibly simple, all it needs is a capacitor. It is therefore VERY unlikely that the cable/converter is causing the distortion in the image.

[Rekrul]

converting an s-video signal to composite is incredibly simple, all it needs is a capacitor. It is therefore VERY unlikely that the cable/converter is causing the distortion in the image.

Which is what I figured. I flat-out asked XFXForce if they got a distortion-free image when connecting my card up to a TV via an S-Video to Composite cable and they ducked the question every time. Not surprising though, as they've avoided every direct question I've ever asked them about every problem I've ever had (games that wouldn't display correctly, etc).

If anyone reading this has used an S-Video to Composite cable to connect a GeForce card to a TV, what kind of a picture did you get?