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Anybody have their computer connected to their tv?
#197577 02/22/08 10:59 PM
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cameron Offline OP
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I have had my computer connected to my 65" big screen for a few years using s-video and it looks... not as bad as you might think, but it's far from crystal clear.

My tv is 6 years old and only has component and RGB inputs (no DVI or VGA). I found a couple of converters and am wondering if these would work for me and if the increases in clarity would be worth it. Here they are:

http://sewelldirect.com/VGA-to-HDTV-Converter.asp
http://sewelldirect.com/VGA-to-Component-Video-Converter.asp

What do you guys think?

Last edited by cameron; 02/22/08 11:00 PM.
Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their tv?
cameron #197580 02/22/08 11:18 PM
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Sorry, don't have any experience with any of these. Have you checked to see if you can find a video card with component out?

Most of the newer video cards have good onboard scaling. I am using the onboard graphics of my new computer to upscale and it is very good.

Out of curiosity, what is the resolution of your tv?


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Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
fredk #197583 02/22/08 11:59 PM
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The resolution is important. If it's SD (480), you won't likely see any improvement beyond what you're getting on S-Video.

If it's a 720p, you should be able to use the component inputs for a real improvement.

What does your video card output? On first glance, I'd think that a new video card would be a much better choice than either of those converters. The modest Gigabyte card I have comes with an adapter to go from its DVI output to component.

If your TV only has S-Video and composite inputs, you're screwed.


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Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
tomtuttle #197586 02/23/08 12:55 AM
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I've had my computer hooked up to my 56" Sammy for about a year now. It is awesome! I'm not an expert on hooking these things up so I had to hire someone to do it. He ran the computer through my AV receiver so that I have surround sound on my games and the picture quality is perfect.


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Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
JKP005 #197597 02/23/08 01:59 AM
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My HTPC using TheaterTek DVD software, is connected via DVD/HDMI cable to my projector beaming on a 130" 2.35 screen. \:\) Having the Nvidia card matching the native 720p resolution of the projector brings you jaw dropping images. \:\)


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Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
SirQuack #197601 02/23/08 03:59 AM
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My tv is 1080i, and yes it has component in but like I said no DVI or VGA or HDMI. I've looked for a video card with component out, but I haven't seen one yet. All I've seen are converters that go from either DVI or VGA to component.

Tomtuttle, do you mean the video card or the converter when you say if the resolution is 480 I won't see much of an improvement?

Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
cameron #197607 02/23/08 04:52 AM
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I just meant if you had a standard-def TV, that S-Video was going to be as good as it gets, anyway.

What's wrong with going from DVI to component via converter? Wouldn't you still get 720p?


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Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
cameron #197612 02/23/08 05:17 AM
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I’m with tomtuttle on this one. If your present video card has DVI see if you can find a DVI to Component adapter that will work with your card. If not then I go with his suggestion to get a new video card with DVI that had the capability to use a DVI to Component adapter. That way you get the functionality you want and likely a better video card than you have now.

As long as your video card can output 720 or better 1080 since your HDTV displays 1080i then you will see an improvement by upgrading from S-video which is only 480. It’s best to send your display a signal in it’s native resolution which in your case is 1080. I use my HDTV as a computer monitor at 1080 and it is great. I use my 1080p HDTV as my primary computer monitor and love it. If you are presently sending your HDTV a 480 signal via S-video you should some nice improvement by sending it it’s native 1080 signal so it doesn’t have to upscale the image.


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Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
grunt #197632 02/23/08 03:36 PM
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I'm not the most computer savvy guy, how do I find out if my video card does 1080i? It does have 3 outputs - DVI, VGA, and S-Video. I looked in the system settings but I couldn't find anything that said if it will put out 1080.

Re: Anybody have their computer connected to their
cameron #197636 02/23/08 04:13 PM
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You would have to change the resolution in the video settings on your computer from whatever you have now to xxxxx X 1080. For example, say your currently set to 800 x 600, or 1024 x 768, then you would just bump up the slider until you see 1080 as the second number.

For me 1080 looks terrible with my Nvidia 6600GT higher end card on my 720p projector. It is best to match the native resolution of your tv. You my find a 1280 x 720 gives you better results, that is assuming you have a good video hard. My guess is if it has DVI it should be able to output higher resolutions.

If your on XP, right-click on your desktop, selecty properties, select the Settings tab, and at the bottom you will see where you can change your settings.


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