HDMI cable length affects quality. What about cable length for VGA?

[mikej3131]

Hello,

im just trying to figure out what length VGA cable i should get when my new hdtv with VGA input comes in. My computer will sit about 15 to 25 feet away from my TV(dont know the length yet).

I know the longer the HDMI cable, the more it loses quality etc., now is that the same for VGA. If i sit my PC 25 feet away from my TV and use a VGA, will it produce worse quality etc. than if i used a 15Ft. VGA cable with my PC being 15 Ft. away?

Also, are there things i should look for in a VGA cable to get the best out of it. I know about HDMI cables and making sure i should get a well made one, but what about VGA's?
Can anyone recomend me a 25Ft or 15Ft good VGA cable?

[edDV]

DVI-D and HDMI are digital cables. Length increases data errors.

VGA and DVI-A are analog RGB+HV sync. Longer length causes frequency (detail) rolloff, reflections and delay issues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA

A good quality cable should reach 15-20ft without major porblems. I'm using a 20ft. VGA with an HDTV. I also have it hooked up Y,Pb,Pr.

What is the HDTV model? Video playback will look OK but don't expect a good computer desktop in most cases.

The projector sites have alot of guidance on long VGA cables but they may be overbiased to going overly expensive. I think I paid $40 for my 20ft cable and it works fine. I recall that there are two grades for bandwidth. You need the higher grade.

[mikej3131]

its the new samsung 46" lcd flat panel, model number ln-s4692d......im probly not gonna be using it for desktop use. i just want to play my grand theft auto and tony hawk pro skater 4 PC games and my emulator games on it.

Do you think 25ft VGA will be ok? When i used a 15FT svideo cable to hook up my pc to my older tv, the qualit was fine.

who do you know that makes quality VGA cables? which brand do you have?

[edDV]

I only have experience at 20ft.

Mine is a generic Chinese "projector" VGA cable bought at Microcenter. Nothing special.

These guys seem good to me and have lots of practical info.
http://www.ramelectronics.net/

[mikej3131]

in Wikipedia, it says this about VGA :

"The term VGA is also often used to refer to a resolution of 640×480, regardless of the hardware that produces the picture. An XVGA display has 1024 by 768 pixels of 256 colours. "

So i would to get a graphics card with X-VGA for me to be able to send 1024x768 resolution?
rigth now i have a pci express card but i dotn know if it has XVGA. how do i check?
In my nvida nview software, i can set the resolution to as high as 1024, but Wikipedia is tellin me VGA cant output it?

[edDV]

That LCD has 1365x768 native resolution. They don't spec VGA modes but 1024x768 should work.

Any modern card can output 1024x768 and most games support 1024x768.

Does you card have dual monitor capability? (e.g. two VGA or DVI-I?)

You will need a dual head card.

[mikej3131]

yeah that tv has a native Res of 768p so it will scan everything to that res., But i read that the best thing to do when connecting pc to tv, is to send it the tv's native res so the tv doesnt have to scan it. But it says regular VGA cant output 768????

am i reading that wrong?

[edDV]

1024x768 VGA is the native square pixel resolution for that set. The set would either display black side bars or stretch the 1024 to 1365. That is your game setting.

1280x720 (720p) Y,Pb,Pr would be the best video match for 16:9 video although it will downscale and deinterlace 1080i or upscale 480i/480p from a DVD player.

[mikej3131]

1024x768 VGA is the native square pixel resolution for that set. The set would either display black side bars or stretch the 1024 to 1365. That is your game setting.

what do you mean that is my game setting? i could just set my game to display 1365x768 resolution, couldnt i?

1280x720 (720p) Y,Pb,Pr would be the best video match for 16:9 video although it will downscale and deinterlace 1080i or upscale 480i/480p from a DVD player.

Why would this be better than the vga 1024x768 or just setting the resolution with vga to output 1365x768?

[oldandinthe way]

There is equipment which will permit you much greater cable lengths.

http://www.blackbox.com/Search.aspx?q=video+extender

This is a maker and reseller of commercial quality equipment which has been around forever. Publicly traded and reputable.

[edDV]

1024x768 VGA is the native square pixel resolution for that set. The set would either display black side bars or stretch the 1024 to 1365. That is your game setting.

what do you mean that is my game setting? i could just set my game to display 1365x768 resolution, couldnt i?

If your game supports custom resolutions over VGA than try it. 1024x768 is the closest standard resolution. I've never seen a game that outputs custom resolutions. Wouldn't they need to re-render and recompile all the 3D? That could take a few months.

[edDV]

1280x720 (720p) Y,Pb,Pr would be the best video match for 16:9 video although it will downscale and deinterlace 1080i or upscale 480i/480p from a DVD player.

Why would this be better than the vga 1024x768 or just setting the resolution with vga to output 1365x768?

Video comes native in 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i (different world).

Many graphics cards can handle VGA square pixel spec resolutions over VGA and/or output video resolutions over Y, Pb, Pr or DVI-D/HDMI.

If you want to keep your video sources native, you need to use video resolutions not VGA.

Some games are provisioned for 480p/720p/1080i output. To work in those native modes, you need a HDTV display card. If the game wasn't rendered to those resolutions, they are just scaling from something like 1024x768 or 1280x1024.

[mikej3131]

for instance, in gta : vice city, you can set the game to at least 8 diff resolutions and you can also set the game to Wide screen mode

[edDV]

for instance, in gta : vice city, you can set the game to at least 8 diff resolutions and you can also set the game to Wide screen mode

All of those are pre-rendered or just scaled from a common datafile. In order to do a custom native resolution the entire game would need to be re-renderd or scaled.

Games will run slower from higher native resolutions, the normal trick is to upscale from a lower resolution native file using the display card hardware scalers.

[mikej3131]

Games will run slower from higher native resolutions, the normal trick is to upscale from a lower resolution native file using the display card hardware scalers.

Can you xplain this in non technical terms please lol

[edDV]

Games will run slower from higher native resolutions, the normal trick is to upscale from a lower resolution native file using the display card hardware scalers.

Can you xplain this in non technical terms please lol

The higher the game resolution, the slower it goes --- unless you fake the higher resolution with display card hardware.

[mikej3131]

Games will run slower from higher native resolutions

ok for example. in gta vice city, i can go to options and set the resolution higher if i want to. Now is this what you mean by native resolution?????? or do you mean my tv's native resolution????????

unless you fake the higher resolution with display card hardware.

what is display card hardware???? do you mean my graphics card?

the normal trick is to upscale from a lower resolution native file using the display card hardware scalers.

So by this, do you mean just go into options in the game and click on a low resolution and let the tv do the upscaling???????

[mikej3131]

I recall that there are two grades for bandwidth. You need the higher grade.

How is bandwith measured. in other words, what numbers(grade) for bandwith should i be looking for when i look for this vga cable

[redwudz]

I use a cheap (~$12US) 25 foot VGA cable to my LCD monitor from my entertainment PC. No problems at all. As long as it has shielding and you don't have any major RF interference sources, not a big deal. That price may be on the low side, but normally you would be wasting money to pay much for that $30US for that length, IMO.

There's a lot of hype out there about cables. They are just pieces of wire with no magic qualities. Some companies seem to put out ridiculous claims about the improvements their brand can give you. Some of the Monster cables come to mind. I would not recommend a cheap cable for any use, but paying an outrageous price for 'low oxygen', gold plated, etc., 'battery cable' size wires won't get you a better signal, but will rapidly deplete your wallet and make the cable makers smile. JMO.

I would stick to established name brands like Belkin, etc., though I see they now also push 'premium' quality cables over their standard brands.

[mikej3131]

i cant seem t find a damn 15 foot cable obn any website. they are either 10 feet or 25 feet at monoprice or ram-electronics

[ricoman]

I would get a VGA to component converter and run component cable to your tv. I bought an extra heavy gauge 50' component cable to run to my bedroom HDTV with no noticeable video loss (you'll need standard audio cable too). The heavier the cable the less signal loss. I got mine from a local Cable and Connectors store, but there are plenty of online cable and switcher outlets if you google.

[mikej3131]

why shold i do a vga to component converter? what are the benefits from component thast vga doesnt have?

[edDV]

Games will run slower from higher native resolutions

ok for example. in gta vice city, i can go to options and set the resolution higher if i want to. Now is this what you mean by native resolution?????? or do you mean my tv's native resolution????????

Native resolution = the resolution the game was rendered. The data files on the disc will be at one or more resolutions.

unless you fake the higher resolution with display card hardware.

what is display card hardware???? do you mean my graphics card?

The graphics cards can scale (stretch or shink) to other resolutions.

the normal trick is to upscale from a lower resolution native file using the display card hardware scalers.

So by this, do you mean just go into options in the game and click on a low resolution and let the tv do the upscaling???????

Fast games drive the graphics card directly through DirectX. You set the resolution in the game settings. Some scale to Windows XP defaults but that mode may run slower.