Time Old Question... sorry*

bencho

New Member
Hi,

I know this is probably all over the place but I would like some clarification, please. I have pretty old systems that I would like to bring to college. I do not have a TV though and would like to run them on my computer.

To my knowledge there are two paths, run through computer, or just get a VGA adapter straight to LCD monitor. I am not familiar with either one. I heard that running through a computer will result in slower performance and lag.. so the best is a VGA adapter. I also want to use my computer's speakers though so will the adapter be able to handle this too? The systems I want to port onto the PC are SNES and PS1. I have no idea what cables are required etc etc. Please advise methods and components needed to do this...

Thanks!!
 
If you have something like a tv tuner or video capture card for analog input you could run the older gaming systems there through a desktop. You wouldn't use an lcd on an old gaming system. Lcds require operation at higher screen resolutions then seen on the lower resolutions of those. The ideal way to simply buy a portable tv to run them on due to the type of signal that is meant for a cathode ray tube seen in a tv.
 
reply

well after more thorough searching, i found stuff like startech adapter... but if it is possible thru a tv tuner, what cables/adapters do i need? none of the tv tuners i checked out from newegg.com have ports that accept the rca cable..

and i cant afford to get a tv... and my lcd mon is about all i can use for now... besides im looking for a solution that doesnt require another huge tv... i know that the older systems have small resolutions, but wouldnt the monitor just display it at that small resolution with black spaces around the unfilled areas?
 
One thing you could do is get a KVM switch that would allow you to switch between the TV feed and computer tower. You'd still have to get the monitor adapter to connect it, but that should allow you to use both feeds without having to constantly connect and disconnect cables.
 
The signal gaming systems put out is different from a standard vga signal seen from a video card. By running through a system rather then direct to a monitor that is being filtered out. You still see the picture without ruining the monitor. The newer gaming systems are a little more flexible due to being updated for things like S-Video and other inputs on newer model tvs themselves. The harmonics from the older type gaming systems like those could prove a problem there. As far as capturing devices there are usb as well as pci slot video capture devices available. But you wouldn't have the sound from the gaming system there. The older style pci slot type capture/tuner cards usually had a 75ohm input for cable. It would be the same as connecting cable to a regular tv there. That would convert the signal to vga directly for display regardless of monitor.
 
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