Laptop to TV connectivity - now got convertor but can't get it to work :(

Rotty

Rotty

Rotty

Don
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My last TV had a VGA connection but my new one does not

it's a Panasonic P50ST30

this seems to be a description of the connections I have

At the back there are three HDMI sockets, one of which is clearly marked as the Audio Return Channel (ARC) and there is also one HDMI socket at the side. Also at the back is a standard aerial socket, a LAN socket if you want to use a cable to connect the P46ST30B to the internet, a SCART connector, a component video input via RCA connectors, an analogue audio in, a digital audio out and a USB socket. At the side there is a CI (Common Interface) slot, a SD card slot, a headphone socket, a composite video in, an analogue audio in and another USB socket for use with an HDD. As is often the case the connectors at the back face outwards which might make it difficult to mount the P46ST30B flush with a wall.




I want to be able to play streamed media from my laptop, what would be best ( easiest ) way to do this, my laptop has VGA and S-Video

perfect picture quality is not essential but I would like sound



Thanks
 
What you want is a box to convert VGA + audio to HDMI. Google them "VGA to HDMI". They start from around £45'ish. Audio comes from the headphone jack on the PC. You want a 3.5mm to stereo phono cable to inject sound in to the convertor box.

Read your Pana manual about screen resolutions and refresh rates. There are only certain combinations supported.


Alternatively have a look at a media player. WD TV Live gets a lot of attention here.
 
I already have a Viewsoni VMP74 media player but not sure it can do what I want, mainly sopcast broadcasts
 
Well you weren't specific about your needs, so the answer couldn't give specific advice either. I suspect you'll have to check compatibility with the Sopcast web site re media players. If it isn't supported on your Viewsonic then the laptop and VGA &Audio to HDMI convertor is the right solution for you.
 
Since you don't mind not having "perfect picture quality" a simple S-Video to Scart cable and a 3.5mm audio cable will be the simplest and cheapest method. Should cost no more than a fiver.

Lucid's method above will give you the best picture quality though. But decent analogue to digital converters can get expensive, around £50-100.
 
Freefaller said:
It won't give you surround sound though will it?
Click to expand...
True.

Neither S-Video or VGA carry audio. So the only audio output will be the 3.5mm headphone jack on his laptop, which is stereo.

He'll only get surround if his laptop has a 5.1 sound card with either three 3.5mm outputs or an optical output.
 
got a s-video cable with a scart converter

while I admit I said quality wasn't a big deal this is truly shocking

is this to be expected or may I be doing something wrong ?
 
Rotty said:
is this to be expected or may I be doing something wrong ?
Click to expand...
No, you're doing nothing wrong. It is dreadful. This is what happens when going for the lowest cost option I'm afraid, and it highlights the problem of someone else's idea of "acceptable" being very different from your own.

The costs for VGA to HDMI conversion range from £50 up to £4500+ I know this because I sell and install this kind of gear in home cinemas and boardrooms. Thankfully even the entry-level stuff is leagues ahead of what you have seen with the S-Video cable. Budget Chinese converters will do okay for casual browsing and a bit of Youtube and iPlayer. If you wanted to do DTP, spreadsheet work or anything that involves detail static work then you'll need to up the ante a bit. Then there's gaming. Just like graphics cards this requires a lot of processing power to get right, and that kind of power comes in the big multifunctional AV scalers such as the Lumagens I sell.

If your needs are only basic then have a look at the boxes around the £50-£100 mark. However, you must check what resolutions those boxes will accept. The outside cases may look the same but the electronics inside may well be different. Get something that will match the screen resolution of your laptop.
 
I know this isn't what you're after but... for not much more you can pick up a small media style base unit which will have HDMI out etc so will be 10x easier and it's a standalone system so just more convenient permanently hooked up to your TV.

I managed to pick up an Acer x3960 base unit from work cheap (£210) and it's fantastic, bit overkill mind but it was a good price. For around £150 you can get Acer Revo units which will more than do the job. I do a fair bit of downloading and watch footie on sopcast and it's brilliant.

Sorry again as it's not what you're asking but it's worth a thought.
 
If your tv has a lan connection, have you considered dlna? You can also get usb3 to dvi connectors if your laptop has usb 3
 
mejinks said:
If your tv has a lan connection, have you considered dlna? You can also get usb3 to dvi connectors if your laptop has usb 3
Click to expand...

If the laptop in question doesn't have HDMI out I'd be surprised if it has USB. It's almost cheaper to buy a laptop with HDMI than mess around with converters which are a waste of money IMO.
 
Its an extremely long shot but check out your tv's specs in the manual, it might work with a VGA-Scart cable which would be perfect for 480p resolution and acceptible for 720p too, like I said though its a very long shot, not all TV's have RGB compatible scart sockets (Scart is just a bi-directional connector, it is commonly used to transfer S-video, composite video, stereo audio and RGB video) and most won't accept the frequency from a computer graphics card (which outputs a different range to a standard RGB signal from something like a Sega Saturn).

Again though check the manual first as this is one of those things that can cause damage if your just go ahead and connect it up.
 
Meatball said:
If the laptop in question doesn't have HDMI out I'd be surprised if it has USB. It's almost cheaper to buy a laptop with HDMI than mess around with converters which are a waste of money IMO.
Click to expand...

for real? USB is ancient
The USB standard evolved through several versions before its official release in 1995:

even USB 2.0 is 10 years old
 
right then, I have now purchased a VGA to HDMI convertor

plugged laptop into it and HDMI out to TV

when I dorect laptop output to VGA the signal light comes on on the convertor however there is nothing on screen

tried many refresh rates as listed in convertor documentation and no good

any help appreciated

thanks
 
Make sure you understand the difference between resolution and refresh rate.
Look at the HDMI resolutions and refresh rates supported by your TV. They are listed in the TV manual.
Compare them to the resolutions and refresh rates supported by your convertor box.
Pick a resolution and refresh rate that is supported by both devices.
 
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