Problem: PC VGA to HDTV widescreen HDMI

[Scrunto]

Problem: PC VGA to HDTV widescreen HDMI

I was bored 1 night and did this research.
Ok here’s the 2 crappy Wal-Mart culprits my 2nd setup

PC: eMachine el1300-02h desktop with 19” monitor
ü GeForce 6150 SE nForce 430 onboard video card only VGA output (couldn’t find any solid info if this chipset supports S-video out on VGA)
ü No PCIe 16x slot just a 1x PCIe
ü I have the PC monitor resolution set at 1600x900
ü Available PC resolutions: 800x600,960x600,1024x768,1152x864,1280x720,1280x76 8,1280x800,1440x900

HDTV: 32” widescreen LC320EMX
ü 3 HDMI inputs no VGA input
ü 16x9 1366 x 768 720p 60Hz
ü In the manual it says 640x480,800x600,1024x768,1280x768,1360x768 (using a dvi to hdmi cable with a ferrite core from computer to hdmi input 1 only)

I want to get the best quality connection from VGA PC to Widescreen HDMI TV at a low price without buying a 1x PCIe low profile video card or a 16x PCIe low profile card and moddin(dremel) the motherboard or card. A cheap card$20 shipping inc. with S-video & DVI or a card with HDMI output.

Options and my research so far

1. VGA to HDMI/component/S-Video/composite cables from ebay
VGA to HDMI cable $2.40, VGA to Component cable $2.54, VGA to S-Video Cable $1.10 Researched didn’t see this working with the GeForce onboard chipset

2. a. VGA to S-Video/Composite converter Box $19.00 shipping inc.. Video feedthrough so you can have monitor and TV clone the screen. Supported res (640*480 / 800*600 / 1024*768 / 1280*1024 / 1440*900 / 1680*1050).
Pros: very low price, easy to use, small, portable, USB power supply, might be better quality on HDTV than on older CRT TV.
Cons: picture quality low, no audio patch through, pre-set as PAL, must flip 2 dip switches to NTSC,
b. Sewell PC To TV Converter SW-23000 $34.95 shipping not include. They say the chipset is better than the other low end converters.

3. a. VGA to Component/ YPbPr $53.00 shipping inc. Not much info on this guy. VGA@ 480P, XGA @720P (since the timing of the component out does not exactly match a standard HD 720P, some TV's may not be able to show this picture)
Pros: maybe better quality of picture than S-Video ?
Cons: no cables included. ?
b. VGA to Componet by svideo $68.95 free usb cable shipping not inc. It has a multi-format output for converting VGA resolutions of up to 1600x1200 into standard video (RCA-type), S-Video or the high-resolution component video (YPbPr - 480i).
Pros: Seems to have a lot of features, remote input and outputs
Cons: price ?

4. a. VGA to HDMI $45.69 free shipping. Couldn’t find much info on this one
Video input
640×480@60hz,800×600@60hz,
1024×768@60hz,1280×720@hz,
1280×768@60hz,1280×800@60hz,
1280×1024@60hz,1360×768@60hz,
1600×1200@60hz,1920×1080@60hz,
1920×1200@60hz,
Pros: could be the best quality (converter1,280x720 – PC1280x720 and TV is 720p is the highest res that match?) will they be clear
Cons: no cables
b. PC HDTV VGA Audio to HDMI Converter Adapter 1080P V1.3 $43.41 free shipping. Maximum Single Link Range....................1600X1200, 1080P,
Pros: looks easy to setup not much info
c. VGA to HDMI Converter with Scaling, 720p SW-9393 $89.95 shipping not inc.
same one on ebay $70.00 free shipping inc.
Scaler not a converter that’s why its priced higher probably the best but the price to high.
Resolution
Supported PC Resolutions (VGA):
640*480@60Hz, 640*480@72Hz, 640*480@75Hz, 640*480@85Hz
800*600@72Hz, 800*600@75Hz, 800*600@85Hz
1024*768@60Hz, 1024*768@70Hz, 1024*768@75Hz, 1024*768@85Hz
1152*864@75Hz, 1280*720@60Hz, 1280*768@75Hz, 1280*960@60Hz
Supported YbpPr Resolutions (Component)
480i@60, 576i@50, 480P@60, 576P@50, 720P@50, 720P@60, 1080i@50,
1080i@60, 1080P@24, 1080P@25, 1080P@30, 1080P@50, 1080P@60
Pros: a lot of positive reviews on the site
Cons: no on & off switch

5. a. USB 2.0 To VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter Converter #9924 $46.00 shipping inc. resolutions of up to 1280x1024/1400x1050, Add up to six display to a desktop or notebook PC.
Cons: uses PC system resources, must install software don’t think it supports windows 7
b. USB To VGA/DVI/HDMI Multi-Display Adapter Converter,248 $43.00 shipping inc. Lots of cables and adapters included. Same cons as 5.a.

Conclusion
Any info and advice would be great.
I hope this info can be useful for others in the same position or wanting to “VGA to TV”
Toss up between a cheap video card and 2a. cheapo

[edDV]

1. Nope VGA is analog RGB. DVI-D and HDMI are uncompressed digital. There is no S-Video on a VGA connector unless it is proprietary. Call eMachines and ask.

2. These are very low SD quality. Better to buy a video card for the computer.

3. This would be an analog RGB to YPbPr transcoder. The price implies low quality. Your VGA output is progressive by definition so only 1280x720p progressive will work for high def. The TV will be sensitive to frame rate and probably will overscan.

4. These would be using A/D to get to a digital output. Your display chipset already did a D/A to get to VGA RGB.

5. USB2 display adapters do work. They convert digital image data to digital DVI-D or D/A to VGA. They are essentially an external 2D display chipset. They don't support 3D gaming. You can't get enough power to them. They may or may not support MPeg decode (SD or HD). Quality varies, read the reviews. The prices you show are low vs. name brands.

I'd go first for the "cheap display card" especially one that supports AVIVO HD or Purevideo HD. Second choice would be a USB2 device with good reviews.