Which input for PC to TV?

barf0r

barf0r

barf0r

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Hi, I am wanting to buy a cable to connect my PC to my TV so I can watch DVDs and other video played on my PC to save me buying a separate DVD player.

My graphics card is a GeForce 7900GTO and has two DVI connectors as outputs, one of which goes to my LCD monitor.

I have a 26" LCD TV and have a range of connectors at the back. These are:
VGA
RF
Video
SVideo
YPbPr
2 x Scart
2 x HDMI

Audio inputs: Audio R/L. PC Audio, YPbPr Audio R/L

As I said, 26" ratio 16:9, definition 1366(RGB)x768.
VGA support up to 1024*768 60Hz
YPbPr support up to 720p, 1080i
Double HDMI support up to 720p, 1080i.

Which type of connectors should I be looking to use here? I would like to be able to use it for high definition video, so YPbPr or double HDMI sounds like the best but I would really appreciate some advice. Also, do I need a separate sound cable from my PC to the TV or will sound also be carried in the picture cable?

I will be needing about 4 or 5 meters of cable if that makes any difference.

Thank you very much for any help.
 
I use an S-Video cable to connect my PC to the TV (from the gfx card). Doesn't carry sound though, I use a seperate cable to do that.
Not entirely sure what would be best for HD video.
 
A DVI to HDMI cable would probably be best and allow you to output a 720p signal to your TV. DVI does not carry audio so you will need to connect the line out port of your soundcard to the R/L audio in jacks on your TV.

A DVI to VGA cable should allow you to output to you screen at a resolution of 1024 x 768 however if you want HD playback using this you will need software such as AnyDVD. As above you will need to connect audio seperately.

With my TV/Computer, DVI looks better than VGA. You may want to try both.

*EDIT* Removed the incorrect part.
 
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Lil old me said:
This is unimportant because he will not be watching blu ray. Also its pretty much impossible to tell the difference between 1080p and 720p on that size screen so dvi/hdmi will be the best/easiest.
Click to expand...

He will need to run at 720p else his desktop will look rubbish.... I'm not sure how well your TV will display a 1080i signal (probably not good), so stick to 720p

Unfortunately neither VGA nor HDMI will allow you to output to the native res of your TV so scaling of the image will be involved. Because of this I'd go with HDMI at 720p.
 
Lil old me said:
This is unimportant because he will not be watching blu ray. Also its pretty much impossible to tell the difference between 1080p and 720p on that size screen so dvi/hdmi will be the best/easiest.
Click to expand...

Well he said he was going to watch high definition video so I made an assumption.

pre1twa said:
He will need to run at 720p else his desktop will look rubbish.... I'm not sure how well your TV will display a 1080i signal (probably not good), so stick to 720p

Unfortunately neither VGA nor HDMI will allow you to output to the native res of your TV so scaling of the image will be involved. Because of this I'd go with HDMI at 720p.
Click to expand...

I only just noticed that he's put this 'VGA support up to 1024*768 60Hz' which seems odd. Why wouldn't it do 1360x768?
 
I'd pick hdmi socket but first check the manual of the tv, it should show which hdmi socket should be used for pc input, this should also allow the screen to run at its native resolution gfx card allowing (may need to force the 1366x768 res though. :)
You may need to play with some of the tv settings to get it to the scale/perspective to appear correctly but this should be covered by the manual in my opinion.

Then get a dvi-hdmi adapter (or dvi to hdmi cable - your choice) and then plug in as (secondary) display.

If needing sound run correct audio cable from pc to tv's pc audio input.

Jobs done once configurations in pc are sorted :)
 
Thank you to everyone that helped.
DVI to HDMI definitely sounds like the best option.

Would there be a difference if I make the settings for the output from my PC as 1366x768 or 702p?
Or are they exactly the same?

And do I just set it through desktop right click -> properties -> settings?

Can profiles be set up somehow for my monitor and TV so I can switch between them on the fly and it will adjust my output accordingly?

Cheers.
 
wolvers69 said:
Well he said he was going to watch high definition video so I made an assumption.

I only just noticed that he's put this 'VGA support up to 1024*768 60Hz' which seems odd. Why wouldn't it do 1360x768?
Click to expand...

Not sure why it wont accept native res over vga.... Probably because it is an older TV with less features and compatability as is common today.

To the OP. Your TV will not accept 1366x768 over VGA so don't try this. FYI 1366x768 is a non-standard resolution anyway so you would have to set it up using powerstrip or other such software.

If you are using XP I'm pretty sure 720p is not a standard resoluton so you will have to enable it using the Nvidia control panel... I'm on ATI so can't really advise you on this one. If you are using Vista it may be selectable as standard, I'm not sure.

You should be able to set up both monitors and switch between them fairly easily.
 
Without hijacking this thread,

Ive managed to connect pc to tv using dvi to hdmi and that works fine. But am I correct in saying for sound I have to get a splitter for the sound card so I can run sound from pc & tv??

1 of these..........
35mmstereoplugto2sktsuh7.jpg
 
For sound you'll probably need 3.5mm to 3.5mm or perhaps 3.5mm to stereo RCA, it depends on your soundcard and TV.

If you want multiple audio sources to your TV you want a audio switch, not splitters.
 
Cyclone said:
Without hijacking this thread,

Ive managed to connect pc to tv using dvi to hdmi and that works fine. But am I correct in saying for sound I have to get a splitter for the sound card so I can run sound from pc & tv??

1 of these..........
Click to expand...

If your soundcard uses standard 3.5mm (headphone) sockets and your TV has the red/white RCA connectors then you need a

"3.5mm to RCA" lead

RCA%20M2-HP3M%206.jpg
 
If I use the above would I connect this lead to the digital out socket on the sound card??? :confused:
I have mic, line in and digital that aren't being used.
 
the leads you have shown can be plugged into the sound output(your speaker connection) but then you would have to take them back out every time you finished with them and plug your speakers back in.... a minor inconveniance.

also you dont always need some kind of splitter or separate connection going from the pc....it depends on your graphics card.
the later ati cards 48** can carry sound through the hdmi connection.
im not sure if the 38** series do.
 
unplugging and plugging back in is something i dont want to do. I want both tv and pc speakers plugged in at the same time :(

If I use the adapter I posted above I can have both tv and pc connected........

Anyone got any paracetamol's???
 
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