can't get TV to display PC

[gb1ker]

Hi all
Just acquired an old Samsung 42" Plasma,PS42P4AX a bit out of date - manufactured in 2004 but a nice TV. I've tried connecting it to my PC but can't get it to display the PC. It's worked fine with our previous TV but this new one is not HD and only has a DVI-D input (apart from scart, svid and vga) My gfx card (Radeon 5800 series) has an hdmi out socket so I'm using an hdmi to DVI-d cable but I just cannot get it to display anything on the TV.
When I try to select input on the TV the dvi option is greyed out and I've tried all sorts of messing about with the display options on the PC (Win 7 64 BIT) - duplicating extending display etc but it seems like the second display option is disabled. It shows the samsung as the second display but all options are greyed out.
Driving me nuts, am I missing something...flogging a dead horse?

[DB83]

What are you trying to show on the tv ?

Maybe there is a hdcp issue here.

[wrathofbod]

have you got a dvi to vga adaptor?.
try that, im not sure why it will not display with hdmi to dvi unless the adaptor is faulty.

[Nelson37]

Try lowering your resolution, also make sure TV is on and plugged in at boot time. ATI card are often picky about recognizing TV display,

Try using same cable with a different device, try lowering the different device's resolution.

See if DVI on the TV menu is greyed out if you unplug the cable from the PC.

[gb1ker]

Trying to show movies and TV on the TV - streamed and downloaded, haven't got a DVI to vga adaptor but not sure that would work anyway without a convertor.....or am I talking nonsense?! I'm not using any adaptor at the mo, just one cable - hdmi at the PC end and DVI-d at the TV end. been using same cable for ages with old TV (which had hdmi).
Nelson _ I've tried different resolutions and tried TV on and off at PC boot. No difference. When I said greyed out I mean unavailable. All the options in the TV screen menu are unavailable until something is plugged in so when I connect the DVD player for example, whichever input I plug it in to becomes available in the list of inputs. Driving me nuts, never had a problem before. Must be missing something but I'm aout of practice nowadays at computer stuff. Cheers for input (no pun intended!) folks

[Nelson37]

Try unplugging the current monitor with pc shut down, then power on with only tV connected.

What if you plug in a different device to the TV, activate the DVI input, then switch the cable to the PC?

Sounds like each device is not detecting the other is present.

See if there might be more than one menu selection on the TV for input choice. Also use CLONE on the ATI display for initial setup.

I found most ATI cards were a PITA for this, switched to NVIDIA and have had far fewer problems.

[DB83]

Am I also missing something ?

You used the same cable for your previous tv that had hdmi. Now the tv has dvi-d which is digital only(?). So are you really sure that would be the right cable to use. Do you have the manual for the tv to confirm this ?

[usually_quiet]

Trying to show movies and TV on the TV - streamed and downloaded, haven't got a DVI to vga adaptor but not sure that would work anyway without a convertor.....or am I talking nonsense?! I'm not using any adaptor at the mo, just one cable - hdmi at the PC end and DVI-d at the TV end. been using same cable for ages with old TV (which had hdmi).
Nelson _ I've tried different resolutions and tried TV on and off at PC boot. No difference. When I said greyed out I mean unavailable. All the options in the TV screen menu are unavailable until something is plugged in so when I connect the DVD player for example, whichever input I plug it in to becomes available in the list of inputs. Driving me nuts, never had a problem before. Must be missing something but I'm aout of practice nowadays at computer stuff. Cheers for input (no pun intended!) folks

Have you tried connecting anything else to the new TV using HDMI, such as a DVD player? If that doesn't work either, then the DVI port on the TV is probably broken.

[Edit] I decided to look for a downloadable manual for the PS42P4AX to see what input resolutions the TV supports using DVI. I found one at http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/PS42P4AX/XEC-downloads?downloadName=UM

It looks like the standard HDTV HDMI resolutions are not supported by the TV when using DVI, so connecting something other than a PC is unlikely to provide a picture.

Based on what I saw on page 63 of the manual, 1024 x 768 at 60Hz is the highest resolution the TV supports when connected to a PC using DVI.

[hello_hello]

Haven't got a DVI to vga adaptor but not sure that would work anyway without a convertor.....or am I talking nonsense?!

Part of the DVI spec means it can carry the analogue (VGA) signal as well as the digital signal if the right type of DVI connector is used. Most/many video cards with DVI connectors output analogue this way, which means you don't need a converter to connect using VGA, just a DVI to VGA adaptor. Something like this:



They used to be supplied as standard accessories with video cards.... I still use a couple and I've got a few lying around, but maybe manufacturers don't include them with cards much these days. Anyway, if the video card has a DVI out you could probably try VGA using an adaptor.

You may want to check the type of DVI connector on the TV with the type being used on the cable. There's a few different configurations and I don't know how likely it'd be for a "mismatch" to be causing the problem, but there's a list of DVI types here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#Connector

It does seem kind of odd the PC sees the TV is connected but won't talk to it. Yet obviously the TV doesn't see the PC. It does sound like something's being lost going from HDMI to DVI, causing a lack of communication. I've got this PC connected to my TV using DVI out on the video card and HDMI in on the TV and it works fine..... not that it helps you at all......

[gb1ker]

Am I also missing something ?

You used the same cable for your previous tv that had hdmi. Now the tv has dvi-d which is digital only(?). So are you really sure that would be the right cable to use. Do you have the manual for the tv to confirm this ?

Hi, yes I turned the cable round - previously it was DVI at the PC end, now it's hdmi at the PC end as my video card has both outputs.

Thanks for all this - I've downloaded the user manual which is great. I've tried different resolutions such as 1024 x 768 and 800 x 600 etc...
Some good suggestions to be going on with, thanks to all of you. I don't have a vga to DVI adaptor that would fit - the DVI-D input on the TV won't take the extra pins around the big flat one and I don't think vga would be good enough anyway although it was an option to see if the display would be transferred to the TV!
TV has now been relegated to the 'den' as wifey has lost patience (bah!) but it's right next to the PC now so I can have a play about as it's becoming a bit of a challenge....
Back to the teeny tiny 32" now and back to TV using DVI out on the video card and HDMI in on the TV as used by Hello_Hello assuming it works once I've put everything back as it was. Cheers.

[hello_hello]

the DVI-D input on the TV won't take the extra pins around the big flat one and I don't think vga would be good enough anyway although it was an option to see if the display would be transferred to the TV!

As well as this PC connected to my 51" Plasma I have an older PC connected via VGA. For SD video there's basically no difference. There's definitely a small difference when watching HD video but not nearly enough to stop me watching video via VGA, and if your TV is smaller and not HD, then chances are you won't see a difference at all.
As long as you use a good quality VGA cable anyway. They tend to be the weak link. Poor quality VGA cables can make a mess of the video. I bought a couple of new ones a year or so ago, connected them to the TV for a few minutes and then threw them in the trash. My old VGA cables are good quality and the picture quality isn't all that far behind HDMI.

[DB83]

The way you now describe your setup is that the cable is dvi-i (4 pins around the long one) wheareas the tv input is dvd-d(0 pins)

So methinks the cable you need is dvi-i(pc end) to dvi-d(tv end)

[usually_quiet]

Am I also missing something ?

You used the same cable for your previous tv that had hdmi. Now the tv has dvi-d which is digital only(?). So are you really sure that would be the right cable to use. Do you have the manual for the tv to confirm this ?

Hi, yes I turned the cable round - previously it was DVI at the PC end, now it's hdmi at the PC end as my video card has both outputs.

Thanks for all this - I've downloaded the user manual which is great. I've tried different resolutions such as 1024 x 768 and 800 x 600 etc...
Some good suggestions to be going on with, thanks to all of you. I don't have a vga to DVI adaptor that would fit - the DVI-D input on the TV won't take the extra pins around the big flat one and I don't think vga would be good enough anyway although it was an option to see if the display would be transferred to the TV!
TV has now been relegated to the 'den' as wifey has lost patience (bah!) but it's right next to the PC now so I can have a play about as it's becoming a bit of a challenge....
Back to the teeny tiny 32" now and back to TV using DVI out on the video card and HDMI in on the TV as used by Hello_Hello assuming it works once I've put everything back as it was. Cheers.

The TV has a VGA port, according to the manual. If you have a VGA port or a DVI-I port on the PC, there is not much reason not to use the TV's VGA connection. There is not going to be a huge difference in the picture quality using VGA. The manual for the TV doesn't mention HDCP support, so using DVI doesn't make any difference there, and the TV's DVI port doesn't support audio, so you have to use an analog stereo connection for audio either way.

[gb1ker]

Well, I put the old TV back like I said.....and it won't work either! I think somehow I damaged the cable or it developed a fault whilst I changed the TVs over. Urgent maintenance needed now! Gotta try with a different cable which should be pos now that PC and 42" are next to each other.

[gb1ker]

Well yes, that was the problem all the time! I can only assume that the adaptor I used to connect 2 hdmi ends somehow damaged the pins at the end of the original cable - looking close I could see that a couple of the pins aren't visible. A lesson learnt I guess - never take things for granted. I never guessed that the cable had gone wrong when it had worked perfectly and the fact that I have PC and TV in different rooms meant it wasn't something I could easily check. Got new cable and all is back as it was except the wife doesn't want the 'new' BIG telly back in the living room. Damn. Thanks all for suggestions. Great active forum.