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Connecting a desktop computer to a TV?
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improvisation
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Location: Indianapolis
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 22:16 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
I'm having trouble connecting my desktop computer to the TV.

I got an "UltiMate 2000 AX" PC to TV converter, which converts VGA to inputs that you can put into the TV (S video, composite, etc). But whenever I plug it in, the image just scrolls vertically really fast in an endless fashion (you know what I mean), not to mention it is black and white. It does this on all computers and all TVs and I don't really know how to get it to work, considering it didn't come with any instructions. Talk about a waste of 40 bucks...

Anyway, I also have a (male) S-video to composite converter, but my desktop doesn't have a port for S video like my laptops do. What should I do? Are there USB devices that can let your computer rout out video to S video ? Or would I have to get a new graphics card?

Thanks

freebird73717
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Joined: 09 Dec 2003
Location: Smallville
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 22:22 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
improvisation wrote:
Or would I have to get a new graphics card?

Thanks

That's what I would do. Much easier, more stable, and I can pretty much guarantee you better video quality than any vga to svideo converter you will find.
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improvisation
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Location: Indianapolis
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 22:26 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
So I can get a PCI graphics card that has an S video out function?? If so, then I'd be able to connect the desktop to the TV.

freebird73717
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Joined: 09 Dec 2003
Location: Smallville
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 22:35 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Yes. Look Here

You would also need to get a cord to run the sound from your soundcard to your tv's RCA sound composite in.
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Bjs
RoadKill


Joined: 09 Feb 2004
Location: Australia
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 22:38 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Nstc = switch 1 down, switch 2 up ... for pal both are down ... once set, then connect to tv.

Review... might give you a better idea

improvisation
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Location: Indianapolis
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:01 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Oh man, genius! I didn't even look at those switches...PAL is what I wanted, but the quality isn't terribly great. The image is a little shaky during movies, a little blinky. Is that to be expected with VGA to RCA? I noticed freebird said that the quality isn't always the best. I have it on 800 * 600 resolution.

freebird73717
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Joined: 09 Dec 2003
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Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:05 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Okay if you are in Indianapolis why are you wanting PAL? You should need NTSC.
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edDV
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Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Location: Northern California, USA
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:06 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
improvisation wrote:
Oh man, genius! I didn't even look at those switches...PAL is what I wanted, but the quality isn't terribly great. The image is a little shaky during movies, a little blinky. Is that to be expected with VGA to RCA? I noticed freebird said that the quality isn't always the best. I have it on 800 * 600 resolution.


Why do you want PAL? Do you have a PAL TV?

Did you try NTSC?
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improvisation
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Location: Indianapolis
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:10 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
This is true, D'OH. Thanks for the reminder. I switched it to NTSC. The blinkiness is still there, but it's not really noticeable if the video is actually playing and the frames are moving enough to distract from it.

That being said, if I invested in a video card that had S video out, would it be better than this VGA translation? Like, crisper, and more stable??

edDV
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Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Location: Northern California, USA
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:17 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
improvisation wrote:
This is true, D'OH. Thanks for the reminder. I switched it to NTSC. The blinkiness is still there, but it's not really noticeable if the video is actually playing and the frames are moving enough to distract from it.

That being said, if I invested in a video card that had S video out, would it be better than this VGA translation? Like, crisper, and more stable??


Should be better but not ideal.

What kind of TV do you have?

May I suggest you consider a Philips 5990/92 DVD player (capable of playing video from a USB flash or hard drive)?

Or a Westen Digital Media player?
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Last edited by edDV on Nov 06, 2009 23:24, edited 1 time in total
improvisation
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Location: Indianapolis
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:19 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Pretty standard Toshiba MW27F51, here's a specs page:

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=MW27F51

improvisation
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Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Location: Indianapolis
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:35 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Also, the converter came with some controls. H scale, V scale, brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, flick, sharpness, and OSD background. I'm not sure if any of those would deal with the subtle blinking...maybe flick?

edDV
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Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Location: Northern California, USA
Post Posted: Nov 06, 2009 23:42 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
You will get better video quality off the suggested players.

S-Video off a display card isn't pure interlace. It gets converted first to progressive 800x600 then is D/A converted and re-interlaced to 480i.

Your converter is doing similar off a VGA input but using lower quality components.
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KBeee
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Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Post Posted: Nov 07, 2009 06:08 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Also, looking at the specs for your TV on the link you provided, it doesn't mention your TV having S-Video input, only RCA video in (yellow jack, composite)

jagabo
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Joined: 09 Dec 2005
Location: none
Post Posted: Nov 07, 2009 07:03 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
improvisation wrote:
Also, the converter came with some controls. H scale, V scale, brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, flick, sharpness, and OSD background. I'm not sure if any of those would deal with the subtle blinking...maybe flick?

Flick is probably a deflicker filter. That is what you want to look at. Interlaced video is inherently flickery whenever there are sharp, high contrast, horizontal edges in the frame. Deflicker filters work by blurring those edges. So you get less flicker at the cost of a blurrier picture.

Bjs
RoadKill


Joined: 09 Feb 2004
Location: Australia
Post Posted: Nov 10, 2009 09:51 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Nope ... that flicker is actual from those devices ... painful it is, lol ... mine causes the pc screen to flicker thou ... tv out put is fine ... I put it in the dodgy items box smile.gif

Yes, a gpu with tv out is going to be superior ... just double check the tv out option cable supplied is for component if tv only supports this type of extra input ... and not mini-din.

edDV
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Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Location: Northern California, USA
Post Posted: Nov 10, 2009 10:06 Posts Comp View users profile Send private message Reply with quote
Most display cards have a "flicker" filter in the S-Video out menus. This just frame averages stopping desktop flicker but causes motion lag and blur. You would use this for document display on a normal TV.

S-Video can be converted to composite with a simple Y+C summing adapter. These usually come with the card.




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