What video card for a media pc with 26in lcd???

[imperfectcircle25]

Ok so I recently built a new system and have been using my old 17in crt monitor, but I would like to set up a complete media system(dvd, digital cable, music...etc). So I would like to connect the pc up to my 26in LCD tv which has a DVI input. Is my current Radeon 9550se video card sufficeint for the task or should I upgrade tosomething better?? Who makes the better media video card, ATI or Nvidia?? Ive heard ATI is the better choice since it uses Avivo?? Can you guys please give your opinions?? Im looking to spend up to $150.
thanks

 

[imperfectcircle25]

One other question I forgot to ask. Will my 26in LCD tv work well with the PC?? Or do I need to get a ne monitor/tv?? I need something in the 27in size range.
Thanks

 

[ikjadoon]

OK, just for fun, I'm going to answer your second question first. Is your LCD HDTV-Ready? What model/make is it? Any card with a DVI Input'll suit you, I'd recommend an AIW card from ATI.

~Ibrahim~

 

[imperfectcircle25]

My Tv is a Veiwsonic N2750w, it doesnt have a HDTV tuner.

 

[Pain]

I don't know that much about it, but if you are going to build a HTPC then you don't need an HD tuner in your TV. The PC is your tuner.

Read the article on TH about HTPC's. They go into the specifics. For large resolutions you'll need a 256M video card.

You can also use nvidia 6 and 7 series cards and the purevideo software to offload some decoding duties to the video card to free up the cpu. Don't know if ATI has a similar feature.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html

 

[ikjadoon]

Oh yeah, I agree with that, but he is trying to display his computer screen on his TV.

OK, it doesn't need a tuner. It just has to be HDTV-Ready, which your TV is. So all you have to do is plug it in!

I would read the HTPC thing THG is doing, though.

~Ibrahim~

 

[imperfectcircle25]

can you give me the link to the TH htpc guide

 

[Pain]

Um, you are on a TH forum. Go to the TH main page and look for it. It's listed on the main page.

Oh yeah, I agree with that, but he is trying to display his computer screen on his TV.

Well, again, I don't know that much about it, but what he is actually trying to do is use his HD tv as a monitor. That, to me, is a bit different than displaying his computer on a TV. If the sole purpose is to just display the TV, then that ATI card will work fine. If he wants to decode HD stuff and run in high res, he'll probably need a bigger/better card.