hooking a tv up to comp

[PCgamerX]

hey everyone, this is sorta piggybacking on my other thread, but how do you hook a tv up to a computer? are there any special cables or inputs/outputs that are needed? i do not own a game console of any kind, so i thought i could get the gaming expierence on my tv. o and the tv being used would be either a sony trinitron, or a panasonic. (i do not know the model) both tvs are sort of old, at least 3 years. o another question, can you watch tv when the computer is hooked up? any feedback would be great.

[Stuey]

Gaming will look better on a computer monitor than a CRT television.

What kind of video card do you have? Many have S-video outputs. Some have component and or composite. If your TV has S-video and your computer has it to, you're in luck. If your TV has composite and your computer has s-video, there are adapters available. Check the back of your computer for an s-video connection and do the same with your TV. My parents' 32" Sony television is maybe 8 years old or so and has an s-video connection. A lot of smaller televisions won't have s-video, while some might have component, most have composite inputs.

Yes, you can watch TV when the computer is hooked up, but you won't be able to see both screens at once. PIP (picture-in-picture) might be capable of showing both at once, but I won't be able to help you there. Just change the "input" of the TV back and forth to switch between your tuner as a source and your computer as a source.

If you get stuck, you may want to use google to find a step by step illustrated guide as the answer to your question is different for a lot of people, and it's a very popular question.

[gary_hendricks]

Hi

There are three things you need to do to hook up a TV to a computer.

Step 1: Get a video card with an S-Video output. Most of the current video cards out there should have something like this. You can check them out here.

Step 2: Use the S-Video connector supplied with the video card and connect it to the S-Video in of your TV.

Step 3: You need to check the video card display properties to see how you can enable a display on the TV. This depends on the card - some cards allow you to watch the screen on TV only, while others allow you to watch the screen on both the PC and the TV.

[PCgamerX]

ok ok. what are some cards that have the s video input? please refer to the other thread i started, and you can see that i want to build my own computer, so what are some cards i could put in there?

[Alaron]

Nearly every card on the market has S-Video Out, even the low-end.

So everyone can follow your build, here is the thread: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=152038

[glc]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=143798

[craigap]

I'm not 100% positive on this but I believe if you hook your computer up to a TV via any connector other than DVI or HDMI then you'll need to use a program called powerstrip to adjust some settings on your video card, unless your video card will allow you to adjust them. The setting I'm primarily speaking of is the refresh rate or scan rate. A computer moniter will refresh at something like 60hz and a Tv only at 30hz, so eventually you'll fry your TV. Like I said, I'm not 100% possitive, but it's probably worth looking into.

[PCgamerX]

aight that really helps. today i was messing around with the cables i use to view pictures on my tv from my digital camera. it is a 1/8 inch plug like the kind on the end of headphones, and then it is a yellow and black plug on the other end. i plugged the 1/8 inch plug into my laptops headphone jack, and i could get audio from the computer into the tv, but no video. what other cable(s) would i need to be able to get video? if anybody could include a link it would be very helpful.

[glc]

Did you read the thread I linked to?

[PCgamerX]

yup that helps a real lot. im going to go out and buy some cables and figure this out.

[PCgamerX]

DAAHHHH!!!!!!!! I JUST WENT TO RADIO SHACK AND SPENT $25 OF MY HARD EARNED SNOWBLOWING MONEY ON SVIDEO CABLES TO HOOK MY COMPUTER UP TO MY TV AND THE STUPID THINGS WONT WORK!!!!!!!! ok. that being said, why wont this work? i have 3 video inputs in the front of my tv, (its a 1999 sont trinitron) and i have a svideo output with 7 prongs on my old laptop (no svideo on the tv though) what do i need (without spending more money) to get the tv to act as a monitor for the computer????? this is driving me crazy!!!!!!!

[Staren]

If you don't have s-video on the TV, looks like you need something like this: http://www.cablestogo.com/product.as...2012&sku=27963 This cable will convert s-video out into the yellow video plug of a composite (RCA) input.

[Stuey]

Try again. Turn the computer off. Plug the s-video cable into the appropriate port on the computer. Plug it into the TV. Press the TV-input button on the remote or the front of the panel until it's at the proper one.

Boot your computer. If no display comes up, then the TV might have to be enabled in the video properties.

EDIT: Sorry, I read your response wrong. You said in bold that it doesn't work so I didn't really see the 'my tv doesn't have s-video after all' comment.

Using a composite connection, most games will look terrible on the TV. Even with s-video, most games will still look pretty badly.

[craigap]

http://cgi.ebay.com/CONVERTER-NEW-S-...QQcmdZViewItem

Heres a link to a cable on ebay. For $5.50

[PCgamerX]

ok. but the svideo to rca adapter at radio shack is $22! is there any store that sells them cheaper?!?!? what i wanted to do is buy an svideo cable (i got the one where it has the 2 composite cables attached to the svideo) and the adapter. where can i buy the cable with the adapter built in?

[Hitokiri]

I bought an RCA/S-Video hub from Radioshack, and used it for a temprary computer monitor setup. The image basically sucks for any type of text, even text messaging in games, there is no way to see what anyone is saying. Turning down the resolution results in poor video quality, and windows is terrible with a low resolution desktop. Your eyes will bleed.

Though, TV monitors are awesome with video and games. You might have an issue with the image being too dark.

It also depends on the TV, an LCD should be fine at displaying text. A CRT will not display text well. Projection TV monitors also suck with text. A plasma would be better at replacing a computer monitor. A projector would also do a fine job.

[craigap]

Originally Posted by PCgamerX ok. but the svideo to rca adapter at radio shack is $22! is there any store that sells them cheaper?!?!? what i wanted to do is buy an svideo cable (i got the one where it has the 2 composite cables attached to the svideo) and the adapter. where can i buy the cable with the adapter built in?

Not sure what you mean. If your trying to get more length out of the connection between your Tv and your computer then just use the short S-video to RCA cable and buy a cheap little female to female RCA coupler and a long RCA cable.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

Hitokiri is right though. Your Desktop will look like garbage. Powerstip (software not something you plug your electrical devices into) Might clear that up enough to make it look good. Powerstrip will allow you to adjust the Resolution of your VIdcard to match what your TV is capable of showing; As well as the refresh frequency which I stated in a earlier post.

[Stuey]

Radio shack prices are somewhat high. If you go to circuit city or staples, look for Belkin PureAV cables. I find them to be somewhat cheap and pretty reliable. Check online prices first.

The s-video cable with the "two composite cables" has two audio cables. You're going to need a short "Y" adapter to connect these two audio cables to the audio out on your motherboard. OR pick up your video cables and then audio cables separately. It will ususally say something like 1/8" to stereo RCA, or "portable device" connector, or something of the sort.

[PCgamerX]

aight. wut im gonna do is buy a svideo to rca adapter and use one of my composite cables for the video. then for sound im gonna use a mini plug through the headphone jack. im not trying to view text or do anything permanent, im just sort of messing around. im on vacation and i dont have much to do. o on another note, does anybody know any good DVD +/- RW burners to buy for under $45? im trying to upgrade the cd drive in my computer so i can play games. i also wont be installing it, i have a friend that can do it. also, the color to me doesnt matter.

[flawedreality5]

I have even component cables hooked up my TV and text still looks poor. I gave up on trying to fiddle with the settings.

[craigap]

DVD burner for a Laptop?
If so: external w/usb connection or replace the existing internal one-might be proprietary. (ie. if it's a dell; may have to order from dell)

[PCgamerX]

no no not a laptop. sry i should have specified. its will be for a regular computer and it should also be internal. i just remembered that. but anyways, what are some good ones?

[craigap]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152058

[glc]

No software with that burner. If you get a NEC, get a retail box, otherwise get a Lite-On - their OEM burners come with Nero Express and PowerDVD.

[PCgamerX]

ok im going to order that right now. thanks a lot. haha another question. what are some good brands of cases? besides antec.

[Stuey]

Silverstone, LianLi, Thermaltake (some I like, some I don't), CoolerMaster.

[PCgamerX]

thank you stuey. the gives me a much bigger range now. im thinking of going AMD for my build right now. so far, this is what i would want to get.

Mobo: ASUS A8N5X $87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569

CPU: AMD 3200+ Venice core $169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103535

Memory: Corsair ValueSelect 1GB (2X512Kb) $78
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440

Hard Drive: Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 80Gb 7200rpm SATA $59
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148040

DVD: NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM $38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152058

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119047

PSU: XCLIO 450 watt $44
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817189003

OS: Windows XP Home OEM $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16837102059

Video card: 6800GS: eVGA 6800 GS 256 $179 ($164 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130267

Well thats it! total is just under $800 i think. if there are any suggestions/problems with the setup please tell me, it will be of huge help.

[Stuey]

No problem. Another question you should ask is what are good cases in the $xx range. There are plenty of threads and articles elsewhere on case selection.

The coolermaster centurion is one of the better "budget" cases I've seen, but personally I'm a huge Antec fan. I have a Silverstone that is twice the cost as my Antec case, but they're of somewhat similar outstanding quality.

[PCgamerX]

o my god theres no problems with any of that stuff? wow i cant believe i did that correctly. im thinking i want to go AMD because of the high end games i will be playing. i would actually prefer to go better on the mobo and video card than get a better case. also, after i build this rig, i want to build an intel based pc for my pictures, movie editing, music, photoshop etc. maybe i can get a better case later on i really dont know what i would do about it. but anyways, if i decide to go intel on this build, here is what i will have.

everything up there except the Mobo and CPU:

im also taking a gamble by ordering from tiger direct, but im keeping my fingers crossed.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...778746&CatId=0

[Stuey]

Nonono, my "no problem" was in response to your thank you. If you notice I posted my reply at 4:33 before you added all those component links.

I think that if you want feedback on your component choices, you should start a new thread. Many of the people who would offer advice may not notice this thread.

Also, your links are broken. I'm not sure what went on, but you have to copy the URL and paste it in a link properly. A LOT of people make similar mistakes when linking to newegg product pages.

As it is, you should really start a new thread and post a link here referring to that thread for anyone else that happens here.

Everything looks ok (from what I can tell without searching for the products on newegg), but improvements can be made. I'm not sure about what the GS in the video cared model number means as I'm kind of out of the video card loop for a while now. BUT if it's a toned down version of the 6800, then definitely drop it. I tried that once with a video card and it performed terribly.

For the DVD drive, make sure that it comes with burning software unless you already have appropriate software.

Don't go for the Tigerdirect deal. You're not going to want celeron unless you only want the computer for basic tasks. It does seem like a decent deal (after rebate), but it's roughly 3 year old technology. The celeron is a bit newer, but not a power processor.

If you *really* want to go with socket 478 (the only reason to do so would be to save a little money), you should go with a P4 Northwood.

Again, this is old stuff. Going with this processor would mean going with an appropriate motherboard and an AGP card. In doing so, you save maybe $100 at most, and you would not be able to upgrade your system. In my opinion, the opportunity cost would be pretty high. You'd have to build a new system if you wanted a new video card in the future.

As for AMD vs. Intel, it's pretty much about preference. By the way, when you start a new thread (which I still advise), don't forget to mention what you want to use the system for most frequently/typically.