If I go with a fx5200 based geforce MX card, does anyone know if my MythTV box will detect that the TV is plugged into the S-Video out and dump the display there? I do not want a monitor hooked up to the box at all. Is this a BIOS level setting, or something LINUX will see?

Ideally, I want even the startup/mem check/BIOS to be dumped to the TV.

Thanks for the info!

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

graysky - I posted a reply to this question in your other post, but will reply here as well. I would recommend getting the Geforce 4 MX440 and staying away from the other series. You will save money and have the same results. Both of these cards support duel view - which means you can see the picture on both your TV and monitor. If you are hooked up ONLY to a tv through the SVIDEO out or the comp out - you will see everything on your TV - just as if it was a monitor. Keep in mind a TV is not the same as a monitor and text will not look as sharp. I got everything running on without the TV hooked up and then unplugged the monitor and hooked in the TV. It just detects the output and works. There are no bios settings. Your video card simply outputs to the TV as if it was a monitor.

There are settings that you need to ensure are taken care of such as refresh rates. Just do a search in the MythTV mailing list and you will find more info than you would ever want on this topic.

Good luck...

One more note - you might want to choose a card WITHOUT an onboard fan. This will reduce system noise! Many of the GF4 MX440 do not have fans and have heatsinks. You can get one as low as $43 bucks!