VGA to S video

[darrenpj]

I am trying to send the video signal from my desktop computer to HD LCD TV.
The only video port on the desktop is VGA.
The TV has S, RCA (composite and component) and HDMI input.

So I bought on ebay the VGA to S, RCA adapter shown here:



From there I used S-video cable and pluged into TV.
Nothing coming out.

I read somwhere that this can work only if the video card has TV-out capability.

I believe (but not 100 % sure) that my video card Intel® 82945G Express Chipset does not have TV-out based on this link .

Could somebody let me know is it true that my video card has no TV-out?
If so, what option(s) I have to get the video signal from my desktop computer sent to the TV?

Thank you

[yoda313]

If you have an open hdmi port you could do part of what I am doing - I have dvi out on my graphics card and I use a dvi-hdmi cable. In your case you will need to use a vga-dvi adapter first and then purchase a dvi-hmdi cable. THat way you will go from vga-dvi-hdmi. Not the best route but if you don't have a vga nor a dvi input on your hdtv than this is the best option I belive you have. If you go this way then you won't have to worry about tv out since it will take a digital signal and put it on the tv.

Make sure you don't have a vga port on your hdtv first. If you do have one than simply buy a plain vga cable that will connect to both the graphics card and tv.

[edDV]

There are only a few video devices that output an S-Video on unused VGA pins. None of the well known display chipsets do this. S-Video is usually found on the 1234 pins of a "TV-Out" connector. These connectors have 4, 7 or 9 pins. Sometimes (e.g. NVidia) the extra pins carry YPbPr analog component.

In your case, you will need a different display card for your desktop that has S-Video (for SD) or analog component (for HD) or a DVI-I that can be connected to the HDMI port.

[darrenpj]

If you have an open hdmi port you could do part of what I am doing - I have dvi out on my graphics card and I use a dvi-hdmi cable. In your case you will need to use a vga-dvi adapter first and then purchase a dvi-hmdi cable. THat way you will go from vga-dvi-hdmi. Not the best route but if you don't have a vga nor a dvi input on your hdtv than this is the best option I belive you have. If you go this way then you won't have to worry about tv out since it will take a digital signal and put it on the tv.

Make sure you don't have a vga port on your hdtv first. If you do have one than simply buy a plain vga cable that will connect to both the graphics card and tv.

Thank you all for the replies.
As I do not wish to change my video card, I will then have to go with this vga-dvi-hdmi option for the LCD TV.
My quick search on google for vga to dvi adapter gave two different things:


and




but I believe it is the first one that you were having in mind, otherwise please let me know.

I also have a second TV which is analog and has only composite RCA input. What is my option in that case (without changing the video card).

Thanks.

[jagabo]

The VGA->DVI->HDMI cable option will not work. DVI has the option of carrying analog video. HDMI does not. The analog pins at the DVI end of the DVI->HDMI cable won't be connected to anything at the HDMI end.

A $50 graphics card will get you DVI output (with which you can use a simple DVI->HDMI cable) and better performance than your integrated graphics. This is a far better option than an active VGA->DVI converter for >$200. You can even get a graphics card with an HDMI output for not much more:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127301

That particular card even has the option to accept digital audio from the computer and route it to the TV via HDMI.

[edDV]

Yep forget the cable. That is intended for the other direction DVI-I to VGA. DVI-I carries pins for DVI-D (digital) and VGA (analog RGB).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVI

A converter box is both more expensive and lower picture quality than a new card.

[darrenpj]

Ok, it's more clear now, with such difference in price, a new graphic card seems to be inevitable to have video on my LCD TV.

As for my analog TV with the RCA input only, what do I need to get computer video to it?

Thanks a lot

[edDV]

Ok, it's more clear now, with such difference in price, a new graphic card seems to be inevitable to have video on my LCD TV.

As for my analog TV with the RCA input only, what do I need to get computer video to it?

Thanks a lot

Anything with S-Video out can use a summing adapter or cable to sum Y+C to composite.

[soontorb]

Hi,

I am actually facing same problem with the owner of this topic,
I have a labtop, sony vaio with winXP sp2, Geforce ge 6200 as
my video card I bought the exact same cable believing that it
would work on my VGA output, seem like nothing coming out
so far, I believe that my card have a tv-output capability, but
I'm really not sure how can I connect it to my TV, (i have
tried connected s-video cable and check in the display properties
to find the TV option but there're none)

Am I in the right track?

Thank you so much for your answer.

[jagabo]

Geforce ge 6200... I believe that my card have a tv-output capability... i have tried connected s-video cable and check in the display properties
to find the TV option but there're none... Am I in the right track?

Yes. Turn off the TV and laptop. Plug the s-video cable into both devices. Turn on the TV. Then turn on the laptop. The computer should detect the TV and enable the s-video port. Go to the graphics card's setup applet and see if any TV options show up.

[edDV]

Hi,

I am actually facing same problem with the owner of this topic,
I have a labtop, sony vaio with winXP sp2, Geforce ge 6200 as
my video card I bought the exact same cable believing that it
would work on my VGA output, seem like nothing coming out
so far, I believe that my card have a tv-output capability, but
I'm really not sure how can I connect it to my TV, (i have
tried connected s-video cable and check in the display properties
to find the TV option but there're none)

Am I in the right track?

Thank you so much for your answer.

I've never seen anything but VGA RGBHV come out of a laptop VGA port. The "TV-Port" can offer S-Video plus many proprietary alternatives depending on display chipset and laptop maker implementation. Pins 1-4 get you S-Video (Y/C). Other pins are non-standard. A 7pin connector may add composite and maybe audio. A 9 pin connector may add PbPr (you already have Y). Most of these work through a dongle that may have been suppied with the laptop or is available as an option from the laptop manufacturer.

[xxxjojoxxx]

I have read all the previous postings in regards to obtaining a signal for tv output. However, I am not using a deskop but a laptop that only has vga output. I went about the same route and purchased that "dongle" that has vga to s-video and it does not work. Do I have any other options to covert the vga to s-video signal that will actually work? I'm running a presario 2200 laptop. Thanks!!!- joe

[jagabo]

I have read all the previous postings in regards to obtaining a signal for tv output. However, I am not using a deskop but a laptop that only has vga output. I went about the same route and purchased that "dongle" that has vga to s-video and it does not work. Do I have any other options to covert the vga to s-video signal that will actually work? I'm running a presario 2200 laptop. Thanks!!!- joe

An external scan converter: http://search.cablestogo.com/Search.aspx?qu=vga+converter

Does your laptop have a PC Card slot? Maybe a PC Card video card?

[xxxjojoxxx]

Hi Jagabo.. my pc does have a pc card slot. I actually did a bit more research and picked out two in which I will make a decision. Please check them out & give me your feedback in which I should go with.

http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/maxcinkit.html

http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/www.html

Thanks!!

[edDV]

Hi Jagabo.. my pc does have a pc card slot. I actually did a bit more research and picked out two in which I will make a decision. Please check them out & give me your feedback in which I should go with.

http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/maxcinkit.html

http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/www.html

Thanks!!

You won't be happy with S-Video quality. Check another computer's S-video out and accept that scan converted will be even worse. I'd still invest that money in a new HDTV fund. For $160, you could even get a quality 19" LCD computer monitor (DVI-D + VGA) that would look far better.

[jagabo]

Yes, s-video will give you a resolution of roughly 640x480 (NTSC) or 640x576 (PAL). If you are running your desktop at 1024x768 (or whatever) it will be downsized to roughly those resolutions before being sent to the TV. Windows isn't usable (normal sized text is barely readable) this way. It's OK for watching DVD or dowloaded videos. Here's a rough simulation of what a 1024x768 desktop will look like via s-video:



On a TV it will be bigger but just as blurry.

<edit>------------------------------ 09-JUN-2011

It's three years later but I recently got a deal on one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Lake-Converter-compatible-Windows-S-Video/dp/B00351VWKI/ref=sr_1...7666994&sr=8-3

In case the link stops working it's a "Lake PC to TV Converter Box compatible with Windows and Mac (VGA To RCA / VGA To S-Video)".

So I thought I'd update this post with some real images captured from the device. I captured the s-video output with an ATI 650 USB2 capture device, one of the sharpest standard definition capture devices:

http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-HD-650-Combo-USB/dp/B0037A3MVE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=elect...7667203&sr=8-2

Be sure to click on the images to see them full size (720x480).

Here's an old 1024x768 laptop showing this web site in Firefox:

As you can see it's even worse than my earlier estimation.

Here's the 800x600 output of another old laptop:

By using a lower resolution desktop small text is more readable.

Here's the same laptop with the devices "overscan" compensation:

The device adds a black border around the frame so that the black border is hidden by the TV's overscan, not the Start bar, etc.

Here's a DVD playing full screen on the 1024x768 laptop, captured by the VGA converter:


And the same frame ripped directly from a DVD:

[xxxjojoxxx]

Well here is my situation... I have video software on my laptop that I want to run to play music videos, display graphics, photo montages, etc.. The output will be displayed on plasma screens. This is what I am trying to do. I will not be using any text and always run the program in fullscreen mode.. Would the s-video scan converted signal be appropriate for this considering I'm not going to be using it for small text?

[jagabo]

Well here is my situation... I have video software on my laptop that I want to run to play music videos, display graphics, photo montages, etc.. The output will be displayed on plasma screens. This is what I am trying to do. I will not be using any text and always run the program in fullscreen mode.. Would the s-video scan converted signal be appropriate for this considering I'm not going to be using it for small text?

S-video will work. Your high resolution photos will not be sharp like when viewing them on a computer monitor. You won't be taking advantage of the high resolution the plasma TV is capable of. It will be like watching standard definition TV on the Plasma TV (a little to a lot worse because of the multiple scalings and quality of the scan converter).

If your digital camera/camcorder has composite or s-video TV output try hooking that up to your TV to get a rough idea of what you will get with a scan converter. Or convert some of your photos to standard movie DVD and watch from a DVD player via composite or s-video. Many DVD players will even display JPG images from a disc.

[edDV]

And this plasma has no VGA input?

[crono9977]

I'm having some problems connecting my laptop and TV together. Im using an s-video -> vga cord. I the s-video is 7 pins and fits into my laptop, and the vga connects to the tv. My laptop detects that there is a TV connected to it, and I'm sure the TV does as well because it automatically turns to the input for PC connection. But all I get is no signal on the TV. I have a fn key for switching to TV output, but I still get no signal on the TV. Ive also tried turning both off and then turning the TV on and teh laptop on: still no signal.

Anyone have any ideas?

[edDV]

I'm having some problems connecting my laptop and TV together. Im using an s-video -> vga cord. I the s-video is 7 pins and fits into my laptop, and the vga connects to the tv. My laptop detects that there is a TV connected to it, and I'm sure the TV does as well because it automatically turns to the input for PC connection. But all I get is no signal on the TV. I have a fn key for switching to TV output, but I still get no signal on the TV. Ive also tried turning both off and then turning the TV on and teh laptop on: still no signal.

Anyone have any ideas?

S-Video is NTSC slpit into Y and C (4 pins). You can't get from there to VGA without considerable electronics. Even if you bought the converter box, you wouldn't be pleased. Laptop S-Video is equiv to about 480x480 at best.

So what is the laptop source model number? Why doesn't it have a VGA connector out?

[crono9977]

S-Video is NTSC slpit into Y and C (4 pins). You can't get from there to VGA without considerable electronics. Even if you bought the converter box, you wouldn't be pleased. Laptop S-Video is equiv to about 480x480 at best.

So what is the laptop source model number? Why doesn't it have a VGA connector out?

I have an Asus W7J with an nvidia geforce go 7400. There is a VGA out on it, but I dont have the correct cables so ill probably need to buy them. What would be the best way to hook it up then?

[jagabo]

VGA from laptop to VGA on TV.

[edDV]

A simple VGA cable
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-FT-VGA-SVGA-MONITOR-M-M-MALE-TO-MALE-EXTENSION-CABLE_W0QQitemZ22...3A1%7C294%3A50

[crono9977]

alright cool, thanks

[SingSing]

Hi, edDV, can you find a composite to DVI cable for me too?

[su_candy]

Dear friends,

I'm working on an engineering project. I have a task of converting VGA(from my desktop pc) to s-video and then connecting that s-video to Dazzle(Digital video converter-DVC90) and viewing live video on my pinnacle software in my laptop.
I used a vga to s-video cable for the connection.
When I tried doin this, I found that the live video kept flickering badly ...
My desktop pc's motherboard is "ASUS A8V-VM SE"
Could you please let me know whether this conversion could be done?
Could you please help me with your suggestions as to what needs to be done to avoid the flickering?
thanks

[jagabo]

A simple cable won't work. Those VGA to s-video cables are for specific devices which output s-video on otherwise unused pins of the VGA connector. Normal graphics cards do not do this.

VGA to video scan converters start around $50 and go up to several hundred dollars:
http://www.svideo.com/pctvez.html
Some have flicker reduction which works by blurring the image along the vertical axis.

[su_candy]

hi jagabo,

Thank u so much for ur advice. I have now decided to buy a vga to video scan convertor. Will that deivce be compatible with all types of PCs???
I did a research on the sellers of this device and found a deal. I would like to share it with you.
Could you Please give me ur suggestions on buying this device for the conversion?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC-to-TV-VGA-to-AV-S-Video-Converter-Adapter-Switch-Box_W0QQitemZ170284070225QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Com puting_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item170284070225&_ trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300|66%3A2|65% 3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

[edDV]

hi jagabo,

Thank u so much for ur advice. I have now decided to buy a vga to video scan convertor. Will that deivce be compatible with all types of PCs???
I did a research on the sellers of this device and found a deal. I would like to share it with you.
Could you Please give me ur suggestions on buying this device for the conversion?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC-to-TV-VGA-to-AV-S-Video-Converter-Adapter-Switch-Box_W0QQitemZ170284070225QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Com puting_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item170284070225&_ trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300|66%3A2|65% 3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

These will "work" but quality of scan conversion varies widely. Read the user reviews. As an engineering student it is more important for you to learn the concepts of scan conversion and for this a cheap model is adequate. You could visit a local TV station to see a pro model that sells in the thousands that is routinely used to sync satellite feeds into a local broadcast. The chief engineer there would probably be pleased to explain these concepts to you and give you a tour.

The first scan converter for broadcast use was invented by NEC corp in the early 80's and cost roughly $250K and was the size of a fridge. It for the first time allowed non synchronized sat feeds to be used live in a news broadcast. For this NEC received a technical Emmy award.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scan_conversion
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1196642,00.html

If you have questions feel free to ask more.