Overview of the new features/changes:

• PAL 768x576 mode
• PAL 60 Mode
• automatic sound adjustment for TV and monitor mode
• automatic save and restore of desktop icon positions
• toolbars for adjustment of the most important parameters of TV mode and resize option
• automatic card type detection
• automatic adjustment of the connection type
• in resize mode all buttons with auto repeat function
• automatic zoom of the resize window without changing the aspect ratio
• complete revision of the graphics user interface
• smooth-move with right mouse button
• runs under WinNT/2K without admin rights (besides the first installation)
• unused functions and options are removed like autostart option and custom TV mode

On the first sight you will see the new gui of TVTool. The functions are arranged by their importance and the use of the tool should be easier and more comfortable now. On the first property sheet there is the new cursor button which controls the parameteres color, contrast, flickerfilter and volume. The green button next to it turns the TV mode on and off. The left button is to mute the sound.

The new 768x576 PAL mode has the same high picture quality as the 800x600 mode but it cuts less from the pictures at the borders. The input pixels are transformed to ouput pixels by 1:1. That is best for DVD (and DivX...) playback. The PAL 60 mode is made for the playback of region code 1 DVDs (NTSC) on PAL TVs. If you playback a NTSC DVD on a PAL TV you can get frame drops because of the lower frame rate of the PAL system. The PAL 60 mode solves the problem by displaying the whole 30 pictures per second. But the TV must be able to process PAL 60 signals.

The second property sheet hasn´t changed much but there are 2 new functions:

The connection type is recognized automatically now and TVTool is adjusted to it. Every time you click the automatic button the connection is scanned again. When option toolbar is turned on you will see a small toolbar for adjusting the most important parameters of the TV mode without having the TVTool window in front. Since the PC I type this text in doesn´t have a nVidia card I cannot make a screenshot of it :-).

There are also some changes on the resize property sheet. All buttons have auto repeat function now. With the buttons in the lower left and upper right corner the resized window can be zoomed wihtout loosing the aspect ratio. There is a resize toolbar available, too.

Completely new are the functions on the misc property sheet:

With the sound options it is possible to adjust the lines master, wave and line of the Windows mixer automatically for the TV and monitor mode. When your PC is connected to your stereo (or dolby digital) system you might want to have a defined sound level during TV mode. So it´s not necessary anymore to adjust these levels manually, when the 'Automatic Apply' button is checked. Then the presets will be activated when you enter or leave the TV mode.

Another annoying thing was that the desktop icons were mixed up after the resolution change of the TV mode. With the buttons save and restore you can solve this problem. When the option 'Auto...' is checked the positions will be stored and restored automatically when the TV mode is turned on and off. The icon positions are restored by normal resolution changes (in monitor mode) also as long as TVTool is active.

On the last but one property sheet the basic configuration is made now:

New is the automatic card type detection. This detection scans the AGP/PCI bus for supported graphics cards and looks for a supported TV chip. If no chip is found the selection can still be made manually, but this is necessary in very few situations only.

One should mention that the TVTool window can be moved everywhere by using the right mouse button. That is useful if you are in TV mode and can see only a part of the window. The custom TV mode is standard now and the autoscan function works automatically. Under WinNT/2K it is not necessary anymore to have admin rights but at the first installation of TVTool.

That´s it!