Help please!!!!

nofixedadderess

New Member
guys,
what do u think would be cheapest to make my tv work as a pc monitor...i have,
1a philips 55 inch hdtv with composite,rgb component,s video and dvi in
2and hp deskop with a nvidia ge force mx 100/200 graphics card(only vga output,not s video)
i could always get a new video card but was wondering if i can just get some sort of a vga to s-video or vga to dvi cable and maybe make my tv work as sort of plug and play monitor.....mainly for movies and shit
suggestions?????
 
Check if Radio Shack have such a converter that enables you to operate your computer over the TV.
 
You could upgrade your graphics card that has an S-Video out that you could configure. What do you have? Onboard computer graphics? An AGP card? (shorter brown slot on motherboard), or a PCI graphics card (white slot)? Try newegg.com to shop for a good deal of an upgrade.

After you get your upgrade installed with the newest offical drivers, you could just use the S-Video cable included (if included), or buy one from Radio Shack. S-Video out from video card to S-Video in on your TV. Configure the menu settings for the card's software manager to another output (which is a second monitor.....i.e. your TV). Enjoy.
 
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The cheapest way to keep what you have is get something called an Averykey, or similar hardware. THey cost about $60 to $300 depending on the features and all. You don't get quite the quality you do with GFX cards with TV out, but it's a cheaper alternative. Some really aren't too bad, either.

Oh, and I've seen this one card that actually goes into a PCI slot then you jump your VGA port to the one on the card, then go back out to your monitor. THe card also has TV out(obviously) and is controled though your comp. A neat alterative rather than getting an external device or new video card. I beleive it was only $60 as well. Unfortunetly, I don't recall the name. Probably something from MCMElectronics...
 
If your tv supports it, just use the DB15-->component connectors :) (usually come as DB15 on one end and 3-5 BNC lines on the other)
 
thanks a ton guys.......
greg,i actually was looking to avoid getting a new card....
my deal was that there might not be a tv out in my current card,but theres an output after all(the vga for the monitor)...and since there are vga to s-video cable a plenty,could i just use one of those cables to get pc reception on my tv......that too me would be the cheapest option......
and i am so sorry,i am kinda dumb when it comes to new technology....
 
Please, check your PC & Video Card manual or manufacturer to make sure that your VGA card has TV-Out function capability to ensure this cable will work for you!

I'm not sure if that'll work on just any video card...
 
The_Other_One said:
I'm not sure if that'll work on just any video card...

Yeah, I know, but I'm just getting what he requested. Here is an explaination for us all:

VGA to S-Video explaination.
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/PC-TV_video_adapter.html

Or, are you just wanting a simple cable? If that's the case, read up on the physical stuff:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/printthread.php?t=88351

Quote from other forum: "No, they have different signal timings and lines. S-video only has 2 working lines (Luminance and Chrominance) and 2 grounds. Whereas VGA has 7 (Red, Green, Blue, DDC DAT, H-Sync, V-Sync, DCC Clock) and 5 grounds. A scan converter has to consolidate and resize the image in realtime in order to output in S-video or Composite."

You can either get a scan converter, Averykey type hardware, quote: "If your tv supports it, just use the DB15-->component connectors (usually come as DB15 on one end and 3-5 BNC lines on the other)", or a video card with S-Video output", or he may opt for a coaxial-out configuration.


Yes, hopefully this person will choose the right path.
 
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I'm not gonna bother to read these other guy's suggestions, so if I say the same thing as them I'm just being lazy. You could get a really cheap card like a radeon 9000 (I think that has DVI out), a geforce mx4000, or a geforce 5200, those are only about $30-50 each. And just about any card you get nowadays will be an upgrade from your card. I say getting a new one is a good investment and gets you better quality to your HDTV.
 
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