vga to composite video adapter

[F1118]

I bought a VGA To Composite Video Adapter on Ebay so that I could plug my media center pc into my 46 inch projection tv. All I can see is the screen flickering when its plugged into the tv ... I can see the desktop icons but its like tripple vision flickering horizontally. Anyone know what the problem might be? .. I thought this VGA to Composite Video adapter was supposed to make the display adapter compatible with a tv.

[rallynavvie]

May be something you need to sync up between the output and the RGB projectors for the television.

[F1118]

how would I go about doing that

[redwudz]

On your computer, go into Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Adapter Properties > List all modes. From there it depends on your video card. I would check to make sure your refresh rate is 60Hz, then try some different modes, start with 640 X 480, True Color, 60Hz. Then if that works, try some other modes. I'm assuming NTSC here.

If no luck, then you will have to look at the manual for your Video card.

[F1118]

Ok I tried all of those settings but nothing would work ... 640-480 @ 60 Hertz looked the best ... not that it was good at all but at least you could make out what was on the screen .. still triple vision and horizontal movement though. Do you think it could be that the onboard video on the pc isn't good enough?

[F1118]

Or possibly this converter .. all this thing consists of is a vga adapter on one end and a female rca jack on the other ... i have it hooked up to my laptop now and its doing the same thing.

[gshelley61]

Or possibly this converter .. all this thing consists of is a vga adapter on one end and a female rca jack on the other ... i have it hooked up to my laptop now and its doing the same thing.

Umm... yeah, that won't work for what you are trying to do. That sounds like a simple adapter cable, not a scan converter (which is what you need). Go back to eBay and have a look at these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=25321&item=5179168210&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=174&item=5176399467&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=174&item=5177118571&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3759&item=5177868241&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3319&item=7503077032&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=21169&item=7503141403&rd=1

[redwudz]

If you can't get the adapter to work, you might want to look for a PCI video card with composite or S-video out. Or if you want to replace your AGP video card, there are quite a few that can output composite or S-video. This would also let you use your computer monitor at the same time as outputting video to your TV.

BTW, composite from a computer won't look too good on a TV. S-Video is
much better. Good if you have S-video in on your TV.

Component is ever better, but a little more complicated to set up. Great if your TV has component inputs. I use a ATI chipset video card with DVI (digital) out through a ATI DVI to Component adapter and get excellent video out to my video projector.

[F1118]

Heres what I bought ....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6751980790&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

My tv does have S-Video ... Should I just get a pci video card with an S-Video Output or should I go with one of those units that are in the post above?

[gshelley61]

Heres what I bought ....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6751980790&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

My tv does have S-Video ... Should I just get a pci video card with an S-Video Output or should I go with one of those units that are in the post above?

That definitely is an alternative. You can probably get a video card that has TV output (NTSC s-video port) for cheap these days.

[F1118]

Anyone want to post an opinion on either of these cards?

http://www.gearxs.com/gearxs/product_info.php?cPath=76&products_id=2129

http://www.store.yahoo.com/glob2000/atiramo8mbag.html

Thanks

[glockjs]

Anyone want to post an opinion on either of these cards?

http://www.gearxs.com/gearxs/product_info.php?cPath=76&products_id=2129

http://www.store.yahoo.com/glob2000/atiramo8mbag.html

Thanks

oh WTF...a seagate vid card


try this


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-150-055&depa=1

[F1118]

My laptop has an SVIDEO OUT ... Shouldn't I be able to plug it right into the tv without having to use anything else to make it work?

[gshelley61]

My laptop has an SVIDEO OUT ... Shouldn't I be able to plug it right into the tv without having to use anything else to make it work?

Yes, as long as your TV has s-video input.

[glockjs]

oh my bad. i didnt even see those were mobile cards. yeah the s video should work fine. i think usin that vga adapter the refresh rate is gonna be too high for a regular tv

[F1118]

Well essentially what I want is to have this desktop connected to the tv. It's only a 733 processor with 128 megs of ram so I don't want to invest alot of money into it ... Would it be safer just to buy an external scan converter to ensure this is going to work and provide a quality image on the projection tv? I do have the SVIDEO OUT on my laptop but my main focus here is to use this spare desktop as a media center to display html pages that are linked to music and movies which exist elsewhere on my network.

[glockjs]

i wouldnt waste money on an external scan converter. s video out is gonna look just as good if not better in my experience. but its been a couple years since i used one. your best bet is to use dvi, component, or some tv's even have vga for quality. otherwise stick with s vid directly from the vid card

[Chaseskip]

i wouldnt waste money on an external scan converter. s video out is gonna look just as good if not better in my experience. but its been a couple years since i used one. your best bet is to use dvi, component, or some tv's even have vga for quality. otherwise stick with s vid directly from the vid card

Is there a good way of doing this? I have RGB on my HDTV... no DVI inputs. Want to build Media Center PC & run to HDTC, so I need VGA(SVGA) to RGB.

[glockjs]

i wouldnt waste money on an external scan converter. s video out is gonna look just as good if not better in my experience. but its been a couple years since i used one. your best bet is to use dvi, component, or some tv's even have vga for quality. otherwise stick with s vid directly from the vid card

Is there a good way of doing this? I have RGB on my HDTV... no DVI inputs. Want to build Media Center PC & run to HDTC, so I need VGA(SVGA) to RGB.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-999-204&depa=0