Connect PC to TV

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TomKStones
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Connect PC to TV

Post by TomKStones » Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:07 pm

Just wondering how you do it,

My computer has no graphics card though....
Would that matter?
Or can you use the normal monitor port?

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by bicostp » Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:45 pm

In order to use the built-in VGA port you need an external adapter. However, it's probably better to spend the money on an inexpensive video card with S-Video output. That way it will hook right up to your TV with a $10 cable and you'll get better video performance. (If you're using integrated video, especially Intel video, even a cheap GeForce 9400 is a vast improvement.) If you do buy a card, order it from NewEgg or Tiger Direct, because Best Buy will rip you off.

If you have built-in DVI and your TV has an HDMI input, you just need a cable or dongle.

Most laptops now come with VGA and S-Video outputs. Some netbooks have HDMI ports.

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by TomKStones » Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:34 am

I'd prefer to use RCA.

Is that even possible?

Edit
Something like this?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4723" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Combined with this.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VGA-D-Sub-TV-RCA ... 4525wt_805" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by bicostp » Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:03 pm

It's really easy to combine S-Video into composite (RCA); just tie the luma and chroma signal pins together! :D (The top two, which are closer together. The other two are ground.) But if you have the option, I highly recommend using S-video on both ends. It gives you a noticeably sharper picture, which helps with relatively small web and GUI text.

That VGA cable you listed probably won't work, and most likely won't work with integrated video. VGA operates at a much higher frequency than TVs do, and there needs to be circuitry to handle the conversion. That cable might be for some old CRT monitors, which could understand composite signals, or for an old video card that could output at the right frequency. I've never seen a cable like that work on modern hardware. :(

In order to get a composite signal from your built in VGA port, you need a converter box. But like I said, that money would be better spent on a video card with a TV output. You'll get better video and game performance, and will still be able to connect to the TV for about the same price.

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by TomKStones » Tue Aug 17, 2010 1:20 am

Do I only need a converter box if I were to use VGA ?

I'll probably just get a cheap graphics card with S-Video , and do either S-Video to S-Video or S-Video to RCA.

I like to keep my options open.

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by Tibia » Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:10 pm

If a graphics card has HDMI out, can it be hooked up to an HDMI TV with just the cable?
This post brought to you by David Duchovny's glorious nipples.

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by Goldy » Wed Aug 18, 2010 5:15 pm

Tibia wrote:If a graphics card has HDMI out, can it be hooked up to an HDMI TV with just the cable?
yes, most (possibly all?) hdmi ports on computers do not have audio, so a separate cable would be required for audio)

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by TomKStones » Thu Aug 19, 2010 5:17 am

Tibia wrote:If a graphics card has HDMI out, can it be hooked up to an HDMI TV with just the cable?
My computer doesn't even have a graphics card, let alone HDMI,
I'm just going to get a cheap one that has S-Video,

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by Goldy » Thu Aug 19, 2010 5:45 am

TomKStones wrote:
Tibia wrote:If a graphics card has HDMI out, can it be hooked up to an HDMI TV with just the cable?
My computer doesn't even have a graphics card, let alone HDMI,
I'm just going to get a cheap one that has S-Video,

you can also get a cheap graphics card that has dvi out, as you can get a connector for dvi to HDMI, as long as you tv is hdmi of course

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by Harlequin » Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:34 am

NCIX.COM

you can get a ATI 4350 for less than $40 and it has both VGA/DVI and HDMI.

In response to other comment re: sound via HDMI - pretty much every ATI card from 4xxx series on and possibly the 3xxx series on has audio over HDMI. It will work for sure in stereo and supposedly works in 5.1 or 7.1, although I am fighting with mine to get it to work. NVIDIA cards in the last two series usually have a audio pass through that does stereo as well, sometimes supporting dolby, but most people stick with ATI. In the 8xxx and 7xxx series of NVIDIA there was a physical connector that you would plug in to both the video card and your sound card. This was pretty weak.

Don't bother connecting it via RCA or even SVideo. They don't support high resolution and unless you have a tiny TV it will end up looking like garbage. Most TVs that have been made in the last 3 years have HDMI and some even have DVI and/or VGA. HDMI, DVI, and VGA support higher resolutions and will look considerably better. try playing any of your games or even using your computer on a resolution of 640 x 480 and you will get a better feel for what RCA/Svid will look like when computing via RCA/Svid.

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by chrisadam2 » Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:59 pm

This is probably the most common method out there currently because an S-Video cable is cheap as heck and just about every TV under the sun has a S-Video port. You’ll have to make sure you laptop is equipped with this port. Remember, there are two types of S-Video cables: 4-pin and 7-pin. Most laptops and PC’s are equipped with a 7-pin port, so if your TV only has a 4-pin S-Video port, then this method will not work.

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by bicostp » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:26 am

chrisadam2 wrote:Most laptops and PC’s are equipped with a 7-pin port, so if your TV only has a 4-pin S-Video port, then this method will not work.
False. My laptop and HTPC's video card both have 7-pin video ports, and they work on my 4 pin TV with a cable that has 4 pin connectors on both ends just fine. The extra pins carry a pre-mixed composite signal that works with a special cable or adapter.

http://pinouts.ru/Video/svideo_7pin_pinout.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by Snow_Cat » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:49 am


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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by bicostp » Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:18 pm

No sense having a bot spreading lies about the topic at hand... :P

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Re: Connect PC to TV

Post by Snow_Cat » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:42 pm

... fair enough.

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