How to Watch DivX Movies on Your TV

Started by: Betaboy, Finished by: TheKid
Last updated on: 2002-03-21
Copyright © 2002 DivX, Inc.

With all the ways for you to watch and store DivX videos on your PC via Video-on-Demand, DVD, Personal-Video-Recorder, videos you created. You ever wonder how it was possible to take that investment you have made in your PC and be able to view the videos not just on your computer monitor...but on your TV set as well?

With this guide we will try and show you the basics in which it may be possible to watch DivX videos from your PC on you home TV. Be fore warned that there are several hardware requirements that you will have to invest in to be able to properly configure DivX playback on your TV. Also, there are several different approaches to watch videos from you PC to your TV. But we are going to take the very simple approach to make it easier for the masses to understand.

What you will need:

• PC Hardware
  • A PC, of course, that means the DivX minimum requirements
  • A video card with a TV out jack
• Other Hardware
  • X10 Broadcaster
• Software
  • A DivX video player application (e.g., DivX Player 2.0 Alpha, Windows Media Player 6.4)

Hardware and Software Requirements

Note: Many video cards today have TV Out but the quality is not as good as it could be. The quality of today's MPEG based cards for video playback is comparable with standalone DVD Players. But remember that until the Sigma Designs X-Card MPEG-4/DivX support is released that all current MPEG cards only play MPEG1/MPEG2/VCD/DVD.

To properly play a DivX video you must meet the below software and hardware requirements. Remember more is always better.

Hardware

• 600 MHz CPU
• 128 MB Ram
• PCI Soundcard
• Video card with the proper TV output

Software

• Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP

Choosing the proper Video Card

Remember since there are several dozen PC cards with TV outs that each card may have its own issues for playback. That's why it is recommended that you check your cards manufactures site and its support section to see if there are any issues that you may run into. Also look for the manufactures FAQ if they have one as it will usually tell you the meat to any problems that exist. Also ask your friends in the forums, see what they have and what they like and don't like.

Understanding Resolutions

You must understand that a computer monitor is capable of displaying a higher resolution than your standard TV. The NTSC standard calls for 525 scan lines which only 483 are active. The PAL standard has a slightly higher resolution at a lower refresh rate. Whether it is a NTSC or PAL they can barely display the lowest resolution your PC supports which is 640 x 480.

There are substantial limitations that are on TV output modes of your video card. It used to be that enabling TV output forced your desktop into a 640 x 480 at a fixed refresh rate. This is the first tradeoff you must make with your TV output, desktop resolution and refresh rate degradation. Most card manufacturers have made the tradeoffs less noticeable the methods that they use vary, so this is one of the first things you'll want to consider.

Unlike your desktop, higher resolution (800 x 600 vs. 640 x 480) displayed on your TV won't necessarily yield a more detailed picture. This is due entirely to the scan line or resolution limitations of both the NTSC/PAL standards. Going for a TV output feature on a video card simply because it supports a higher resolution won't produce a better picture. So 640 x 480 is fine for your desktop and even games but playing back DivX or DVD movies using software decoding may hurt the 640 x 480 limitation.

The manner in which a TV puts a picture on the screen is not all that dissimilar from how a monitor does the same, unfortunately there is a dividing line that provides manufacturers with another gap to bridge, flicker. In the earlier days of TV output, obtaining a flicker free picture was not the easiest thing to accomplish, since then manufacturers have included workarounds for maintaining a fairly flicker free image on your TV, however the quality of these methods varies as well, this is the second factor you'll want to consider when exploring TV output solutions on various graphics cards.

The clarity of text on your TV screen from a TV output on a video card is generally far from legible relative to what you see on your monitor. There are some manufacturers that have attempted to rectify this situation by offering software tweaks that supposedly increase the "sharpness" of displayed text, however the final decision is for your eyes only, making this the third factor to consider.

Getting the video from your PC to your TV

There are two ways to go here. Wired, and Wireless. If you have your TV near your computer you may be able to use a couple wires and set it up pretty easily. If your computer is in another room or part of the house, the wireless option may be your best bet.

To Wire your computer to your TV you will need two sets of cables, one for video one for audio. For your video you will either need an S-Video cable or an RCA composite cable, depending on what your TV out card and TV supports. If you can use S-Video rather than RCA composite you will get better quality from the TV out card. For the audio you will need a cable that has a 1/4" stereo mini jack on one end and two RCA connections on the other. This will go from your sound card to your Television. (note some televisions only have one audio input for mono)

S-Video cable

Composite RCA cable

S-Video to RCA converter

For the audio you will need a cable that has a 1/4" stereo mini jack on one end and two RCA connections on the other. This will go from your sound card to your Television. (note some televisions only have one audio input, use the white rca connector for mono)

1/4" Stereo Mini Jack to RCA cable

Wireless Method

Now if your TV isn't right next to your computer, there are other options available to you. Although we are demonstrating with a X10 product below but there are several companies that offer identical products at ranging prices so shop around. We have chosen the X10's Entertainment Anywhere 2000 because of the other features it offers like CD, DVD and MP3 playback.

X10's Entertainment Anywhere 2000 allows you to play DVDs, MP3s and CDs from your PC through on your home theater. The Boom 2000 software puts the control of up to three different multimedia functions together in one place - the UR51A MP3/DVD/CD remote. Boom 2000 lets you control playback on your TV up to 50 feet away from your PC.

Setting Up the X10 transmitter and receiver

Using the same cables we discussed above, minus the S-Video, the X10 only supports composite, we will set this up in a very similar way. Instead of connecting the pc to the TV, connect the pc to the sending unit of the X10 device and connect the receiving unit to the TV.

Note: If your TV or VCR doesn't have RCA video and audio inputs, you can connect the output of the receiver to the TV using the provided coaxial cable. This will supply both sound and picture to the TV.

Connect the power supply to the DC 12V plug on the video transmitter and receiver.

Make sure the Channel switch on the underside of the VR30A is set to the same letter as that on the VT30A video transmitter and turn the video sender and receiver On. Now simply select the correct input setting on your TV or VCR to watch your DivX movie.

Connecting the Remote Receiver

Find a free serial port on your computer and plug the remote receiver (model MR26A) into it.

Install the X10 Boom 2000 Software

Download the Boom 2000 software from http://www.x10.com/software.

Next, run the downloaded file, x10boom2.exe. This installs the Boom 2000 software.

Use the Boom 2000 Software

First, press the PC button on the remote. Then press the DVD, MP3 or CD button on the remote which opens the X10 player. You can now press PLAY, STOP, PAUSE, FF, and REW on the remote to select and play DVDs. MP3s and CDs that you normally access on screen. Use VOL +, VOL -, and MUTE to control the sound level.

Adjusting your Video Card Settings

Each video card with TV out has its own settings that can be adjusted for an optimal TV out experience. The first thing you will need to do is to turn on the TV out feature if it does not do this automatically. Some cards will allow you do to push a movie out to the pc while still showing the full desktop on the monitor. Others show the same on both the monitor and PC. If for some reason the picture on the TV is too far to the left, right, top or bottom you can adjust that through your video cards properties. You can also adjust brightness and color contrasts there as well. Make sure to read the manuals that come with your video card to learn how to properly adjust your card for the best possible picture.

Alternative TV Out Method

Although we will not be using this method, there is another way to get the video out of your PC and view it on your TV. This method uses a VGA to PAL/NTSC Scan converter. These converters have a VGA pass through so the signal can be watched both on a PC monitor and on the TV set at the same time. There are some advantages to this method. That being quality, which appears to be better than most TV outs on any of the video cards available today. Again we are not using this method but wanted to just let you be aware of it as an alternative to using a PC video card with a TV out to your TV. The disadvantage is usually price, they can be expensive.