Connect Pc > tv

[Skie]

I was just wondering what the best way to connect a pc to my tv.

[Isiolia]

That'd depend on what connections you have to work with, which in turn may depend on the type of TV it is.

If you have an HDTV, then most likely it has one or more of VGA, DVI, or HDMI ports, which are all solid. HDMI technically has the most capability, though for the most part from a PC it'll just be converted DVI-D anyway. VGA is still good, but the TV will need to calibrate to the signal n' all.

Component > SVIDEO > Composite/RCA otherwise. If you lack progressive scan though, there won't be a huge difference between component and svideo.

[kareface]

Do you have a receiver for your audio? How do you plan to listen to the sound? I would recommend DVI or HDMI if at all possible, as they will provide the best image quality and are covered by almost any newer video card.

[Neoburai]

I use a HDMI to DVI converter and connect that way w/ a HDMI cable. I ran a digital optical cable to my surround sound receiver for audio. I doubt your TV has a digital optical IN, probably has an OUT though. That's the best sound option for sound. Try and find someone who has a friend that works at Best Buy. An 8' HDMI cable is $60 off off the shelf and $6 bucks for them. $50 for the digital optical and $30 for the converter, both under $10 w/ employee discount. Otherwise try one of the above options unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket.

[Isiolia]

I found that my TV's optical out only passed a stereo signal. May vary, but I got much better results using digital connections straight from source devices (don't have an HDMI-compatible receiver...yet).

The best option for sound is using HDMI, though it'd only really matter for Blu-Ray using DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD. Those higher-bitrate audio streams will not transmit over optical.

Some receivers also can connect as a USB audio device as well.

Again, depends on what you have.

Also, just buy cables online from places like Monoprice. None of the cables mentioned need cost more than a few bucks.

[kareface]

Also, just buy cables online from places like Monoprice. None of the cables mentioned need cost more than a few bucks.

This, this, 1000 times this. Why do more people not know about monoprice already.

One of the problems is that a lot of video cards that have HDMI out won't pass audio over them for one reason or another. If he's not planning to buy a new card he's more then likely stuck with DVI out anyways. That's why I was asking what the speaker setup was because depending on how he plans to listen it'll change the direction he should go in.

[Skie]

i have a HDTV with 3 HDMI ports. also using a allienware pc but its about 3-4 years old so i dont think it really has a hdmi pornt (kinda newb about hardware stuff). Basicly i just wanna torrent movies on my pc then watch them on my tv (sound quality horrible on my computer) and my disk drive is f'ed up so cant burn them to dvd's

[kyamei]

Easy way without needing anything fancy:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

This is assuming that your computer does not have an HDMI, but does have a DVI port.

[Francisco]

I just connected my laptop to my 32" flatscreen via HDMI, and FFXI looks pretty enough, BUT... words are hard to read with my glasses, and impossible to read without them, unless I sit really close.

[Isiolia]

I just connected my laptop to my 32" flatscreen via HDMI, and FFXI looks pretty enough, BUT... words are hard to read with my glasses, and impossible to read without them, unless I sit really close.

Yeah, problem is with the lack of ability to scale the interface while maintaining a higher resolution. SE just didn't take that into account when designing it.

[Khamsin]

This, this, 1000 times this. Why do more people not know about monoprice already.

I bought four 6' HDMI cables from them for like $12 including shipping. It was the only time I didn't mind that the shipping & handling cost 5x more than the actual items being shipped.

[Skie]

just got home and looking @ my laptop. it has 6 ports, 3 usb ports, 1 1 1/2 inch flat port looking thing that idk wtf it does, a round one that has a TV beside it, and one that looks like a monitor would plug into it. my TV has 3 HDMI ports and one that looks like a monitor would plug into.

[Mabubeezareel]

I just connected my laptop to my 32" flatscreen via HDMI, and FFXI looks pretty enough, BUT... words are hard to read with my glasses, and impossible to read without them, unless I sit really close.

There are a couple of things that you can do to remedy this, though it's very dependent on the resolutions that your laptop/TV support, and also your own preference on window size. Most basic way is to lower your desktop resolution (say, 1280x720 instead of 1920x1080), and then set the foreground resolution on FFXI to closely match it. End result should be an FFXI window that takes up most of your desktop, but still maintains text that is large enough to read.

Personally, when I play FFXI using either my monitor or TV (monitor's native res is 1440x900, TV's is 1920x1080), I have my both my desktop resolution and FFXI foreground resolution set to 1440x900, and it looks absolutely great on both outputs. I do like running a larger window though, so YMMV.

[Isiolia]

That, to me, sounds like you have a VGA port on both your laptop and your TV. Typically blue in color. If that's the case, then that's the way to go, plus a sound cable of some kind (probably one like was linked to a few posts up).

The reason I'm suggesting that rather than DVI->HDMI is that there are several variations of DVI - analog, digital, and integrated. HDMI can be converted from digital, or from the digital portion of a DVI-I connector. VGA is "analog", so even if you get an adapter it's working on the wrong pins.