PC to HDTV help -- I dont want to screw up.....

[Ben.Whitey]

Hi,

I built a PC for friends' son's birthday and built it to plug into their HDTV. This is the first time that I tried to connect a PC to a TV and found out that it does not connect easily.

This PC has eVGA 7900GT with 2 DVI outputs. The TV that I want to connect it to is a Samsung LN-R268W or a Samsung LN-R238W. They have the same manual so I dont know which one it is exactly (I can go over to their house and look at the back of the TV if the settings would be different for them).

I have doen a little research and found out that there is a program which makes it so you manually configure the graphics card to output in the exact resoultuion and refresh rate that the TV wants. I really do not want to screw up because I read that if you mess up you can break the TV, so that is why I am asking for help.

When I tried to connect it using a DVI to HDMI cable, the screen was blank. I do not know the resolution that the graphics card has to output to the TV. In the manual it says that when connected to a computer (via D-Sub) the resolution is 1360x768. I have no clue if this is the resolution that the graphics card needs to output. I think that the refresh rate needs to be 60Hz, but I am not 100% sure.

This computer is going to be used mainly for gaming. I will be able to enable things like AA and stuff in games without damaging the TV right?

Thanks

[edDV]

Hi,

I built a PC for friends' son's birthday and built it to plug into their HDTV. This is the first time that I tried to connect a PC to a TV and found out that it does not connect easily.

This PC has eVGA 7900GT with 2 DVI outputs. The TV that I want to connect it to is a Samsung LN-R268W or a Samsung LN-R238W. They have the same manual so I dont know which one it is exactly (I can go over to their house and look at the back of the TV if the settings would be different for them).

I have doen a little research and found out that there is a program which makes it so you manually configure the graphics card to output in the exact resoultuion and refresh rate that the TV wants. I really do not want to screw up because I read that if you mess up you can break the TV, so that is why I am asking for help.

When I tried to connect it using a DVI to HDMI cable, the screen was blank. I do not know the resolution that the graphics card has to output to the TV. In the manual it says that when connected to a computer (via D-Sub) the resolution is 1360x768. I have no clue if this is the resolution that the graphics card needs to output. I think that the refresh rate needs to be 60Hz, but I am not 100% sure.

This computer is going to be used mainly for gaming. I will be able to enable things like AA and stuff in games without damaging the TV right?

Thanks

I don't have the set but just checked the Samsung site.
http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNR268WXXAA.asp?page=Specifications

The PC connection is VGA, D-sub15 pin (VGA-WXGA). Your computer DVI is most probabbly DVI-I that includes both DVI-D and VGA pins. You'll need a DVI-I to VGA D-sub15 cable. Check that the display card supports WXGA (1366x768) out the RAMDAC. That will exactly match the native resolution of the Samsung LCD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA

Connection to the HDMI connector may be possible but I doubt you will get much help from Samsung support. Better to use the HDMI connector with the HD cable box.

[Ben.Whitey]

What kind of quality would it be? Currently it is using S-Video which is really bad quality. You can hardly read anything on the TV.

I plugged the computer into a different HDTV and it was amazing. It looked just like a monitor, except bigger. It had the same detail as monitors.

[edDV]

What kind of quality would it be? Currently it is using S-Video which is really bad quality. You can hardly read anything on the TV.

I plugged the computer into a different HDTV and it was amazing. It looked just like a monitor, except bigger. It had the same detail as monitors.

S-Video is very poor quality

WXGA will match that set perfectly at 1366x768. Quality should be excellent.

[ricky1756]

this place has a lot of great info
http://htpcnews.com/index.php

[Ben.Whitey]

Thanks for the replys. Change in plan. They have decided to use the computer on their other HDTV, a Sharp LC-32G4U.

This is easier than the other TV. I can get a HD picture to the right resolution without using PowerStrip, except the resolution goes back to the default when ever the computer is restarted. Is PowerStrip the only way to make it not go back to the default?

Also, this may be unrelated, but I had to uninstall the SLI 7900GTs. Then I installed one of them. Then restarted. Then installed the other one. Then I uninstalled the drivers for the first one and configured them in SLI. Then I installed the drivers for the cards when they were in SLI. Then I rebooted and when I was rebooting the picture got distorted horizontally. Then I took out the second 7900GT and it booted up fine with no distortion. Then I shutdown and reinstalled the second one and I got teh same problem when I was booting up. This didn't happen yesterday when I tried the computer on this TV, so I think it is a driver problem, but I just wanted to know what you guys thought.

Thanks for the replys.

EDIT: And by the way, do you know what resolution would be good for this TV? When it is configued at 1280x720 it is distorted, even though I think the manual says that is the correct resolution. I got a good picture when it was at 1156x668 (I can't remember the first number exactly, it was something around 1156, but I know the second number was 668). So I configure the computer to this resolution and then when I restart it goes back to 1024x768 or something which looks really bad.

[Ben.Whitey]

I just looked at that site you gave me.

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!

It is much clearer and compact than the other sites I was using!!!

Props to you!!

[edDV]

The Sharp LC-32G4U also has a native WXGA 1366x768 LCD panel but no VGA in.

You need to read the manual or talk to sharp support about whether normal computer (VESA) resolutions are accepted.

If you feed it 720p (1280x720) then the TV needs to upscale. Better to feed it WXGA (1366x768) from a computer.

[Ben.Whitey]

The manual does not say if it supports 1366x768. It gives a list of accepted resolutions which I have included a screen shot of.

I called sharp but the person I talked to didn't answer my questions directly so I think that she did not know the answers.

Amazon says that it has a "HDTV-compatible resolution of 1366x768" so I will try 1366x768 and see what happens.

pc%20compatibility%20chart.jpg

[Ben.Whitey]

I have another question.

What happens if I enter something wrong into PowerStrip? Or if one of the predefined timings I try has a different refresh rate or something? Could it damage the TV? Or would the TV just decide not to display the signal because it knows that the signal is not compatable with it??

Could I just change the screen resolution and not go into the advanced settings? As I said, this is not my TV and I do not want to fry it, so I am being careful.

[edDV]

Is that chart from the TV manual? Note that it is the LCD panel that is 1366x768.

It is basically saying that even though the display is 1366x768 (WXGA), the electronics only understand 1280 so it will force a resize.

...
Amazon says that it has a "HDTV-compatible resolution of 1366x768" so I will try 1366x768 and see what happens.

1366x768 is a computer wide screen resolution (WXGA) not an HDTV resolution. HDTV is either 1920x1080 or 1280x720. The HDTV will resize 1280x720 (720p) to 1366x768. If you are feeding the HDTV directly from a computer, it is usually best to feed it at LCD resolution to avoid resizing but that TV doesn't seem to support 1366x768.

[edDV]

I have another question.

What happens if I enter something wrong into PowerStrip? Or if one of the predefined timings I try has a different refresh rate or something? Could it damage the TV? Or would the TV just decide not to display the signal because it knows that the signal is not compatable with it??

Could I just change the screen resolution and not go into the advanced settings? As I said, this is not my TV and I do not want to fry it, so I am being careful.

Powerstrip is usually used with VGA (analog) where display card scan rates can be programmed but one risks damaging the set because there is usually little protection for out of spec scan rates at the TV end. HDTV set makers tell you at every opportunity that feeding non supported scan rates will void the warranty. You must not have read the disclaimers in the Powerstrip user agreement.

As for a DVI-D or HDMI connection, you are not directly controlling the scan circuits. You are talking to a lookup table in the display card and the TV. So there may be protections and lockouts that vary for every display card and HDTV model. The TV makers will tell you what they want to tell you in the manual. Support people seem to be told to avoid the subject. Display card support people usually tell you to use YPbPr adapters because they don't want to be responsible for destroying a $10,000 HDTV. You know you would sue them if you had a case. They know that too so they clam up.