On Mon, 2003-12-01 at 08:33, Ted Gould wrote:
> I'm not entirely sure what you are wanting here, but the reality of the
> situation is that NTSC Composite video (what comes on SVideo connectors)
> is coded at 720x480 interlaced.  When either of your TVs take in the
> signal that is what they are expecting.  If you want to use your HDTV

Thanks for the details.  That explains why 640x480 appears to work
best.  I did not know that NTSC composite video is coded at 720x480. 
Makes sense.

> you'll need some other form of connection (best being DVI but component
> would work also) to use the larger resolution.  Just FYI, HDTVs will
> take in 1920x1080i but most are not actually that resolution.

My HDTV has a DVI connector (although Sony does not support connecting a
PC to it - something about a "copy protected signal").  It also has
several Component Video inputs (Y/Pb/Pr).  Would I be able to drive
something closer to 1024x768 with those inputs?

If so, I don't mind building a small living room PC and spending some
money on a top quality video card with Component Video and/or DVI
outputs, but it _must_ be supported under Linux.  Any recommendations
for the best video card for this purpose?  It would mostly be doing web
surfing and DVD playing.  Little, if any, gaming.

...Kevin