I don't really know where to post this so here goes...

[noble2501]

Is it possible to connect you computer to a 28" widescreen tv, what do you need for it and how do you go about it. I know it's possible to use this kind of thing to watch dvd's on the TV from your computers dvd drive, but can you for example play games on the tv through your computer? :confused:

[noble2501]

oh yeah, if you moderators move this thread, please pm me so I know where to find it.. thanks

[mdcomp]

It fits here. You use your video card to do this, so it fits into Video and Sound Section. You can play games and watch movies on your tv through the computer, yes. You just need to have a video card with tv-out. No special software is required, all you need is windows. Right-click on your desktop, properties, settings, and you'll see displays, you can change everything from there. Just make sure your tv is plugged into your computer using an s-video cable. It is a pretty common feature on video cards nowadays. Good Luck! If you need anything else please don't hesitate to ask.

Matt


EDIT: Almost forgot
Welcome to the forums!

[noble2501]

Originally posted by mdcomp
If you need anything else please don't hesitate to ask.

How about a new video card? :D
Well a good suggestion will do too..

[shiyan]

depends on your budget really. at the moment ATI cards seem to be better than nVidia ones in general.

but as you require the TV out, just take some time to check the specs of the card's tv out (resolution, refresh rate etc), which ever card you buy.

except for the S-video possibility (which a modern TV would definitely support), there are also cards about with one of those yellow round plugs (don't know what they are called though...)

[Yuriman]

For $50-$80 get a Radeon 9100. For $80-$120 get a TI4200. For $120-$200 get a gigabyte Radeon 9800SE. For $200+ get a Radeon 9800Pro.

[Evnas]

Originally posted by noble2501
but can you for example play games on the tv through your computer? :confused:

You sure can...but i wouldnt recomend it. Games look MUCH better on a monitor then a TV. TV's only run at, i belive, 640x480 and lower

[shiyan]

just like to make one small addition to Yuriman's recommendations.

the plain 9800 (Non Pro) is also a great deal, if you can find it. Price is somewhere between the 9800 SE and 9800 Pro.

[LtBlue14]

28" widescreen eh? does that mean it's an HDTV? if so, hooking it up and having it work correctly (and look fantastic) is possible with a bit of work. you're gonna get your best information from the avsforums (audio/video science).
you can try this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=31225) which is an FAQ and starter page
or you can just go straight to the HTPC (home theater pc) forums here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=26)
you're gonna need to download power strip and do a lot of reading to get it working right - i'm going to attempt it soon myself.
nintari's site (http://www.mrmicro.net/joshua1/) is a good resource as well. btw, don't use s-video, it's crap for high quality stuff. If you've got an ATi Radeon, you're somewhat in luck, because they've got an adapter (http://buy.ati.com/shopati/product.asp?category=AA&part%5Fno=HDTV+R9500%2F9700+US&find%5Fcategory=AA&find%5Fdescription=Accessories&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=&country=USA) (9500/9700 DVI-HDTV adapter pictured there. DVI is recommended instead of VGA for some reason, I forget exactly why. It seems to have a higher success rate for getting things to work). then you get YPbPr cables, if i'm not mistaken, and hook those from the comp to the HDTV. nVidia does not currently have a dongle like this, so that's why I say you're in luck. The problem is that ATi's support for this dongle has not been very good thus far, so lots of tweaking is necessary to get things working right. Thus all of the reading you're gonna need to do, and the need for the Power Strip program. If you want better dongle support in the next drivers, LET ATI KNOW IT! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=298985) It'll make all of this much less of a pain!

[mdcomp]

Originally posted by Evnas


You sure can...but i wouldnt recomend it. Games look MUCH better on a monitor then a TV. TV's only run at, i belive, 640x480 and lower

I think the 16:9's (widescreen) which is what he said can go higher. Not 100% sure though. Also, it looks almost as good because you sit farther away from a tv. Its not going to be any huge difference either way though.

Matt

[Mikeonatrike]

I find games on my beastie old 28 inch look alright. Except for text...thats the only problem u can never read anything.

[mdcomp]

Originally posted by Mikeonatrike
I find games on my beastie old 28 inch look alright. Except for text...thats the only problem u can never read anything.

Forgot to mention that, very good point. Usually text looks quite cruddy.

Matt

[JigPu]

In my very limited experience with playing UT2K3 on a 15" TV and a 42" TV, I found the visuals to be stunning. My TV may have only been running at 640x480, but because it was shrunk down from 1024x768 (instead of just generated for that res) there was NO aliasing at all. I was impressed :) Same results with DVDs, just awesome quality.

On games where you need to read text more, or even perhaps 3rd person games like Starcraft, gameplay would probably suffer a bit. While first-person visuals look great because they've been scaled down, text looks downright fuzzy and 2D 3rd person graphics probably wouldn't be all that great.

JigPu

[noble2501]

Ok, thanks everybody.. my tv is a cheaper model (only 400 €) so I'm not sure what it supports, I'll try to find the manual toagh. But for my budget, well I guess I have to put this one on hold until I get my self a new mobo and the works. Putting things in the correct order is important.

[noble2501]

I came up with another question.. yay!
What exactly does the s-video plug look like on the tv? If you can could you post a picture of one or direct me to a site where I can see one. I'd like to know for sure if my tv has one or not.

Thanks.

[shiyan]

This is what a s-video socket looks like on a graphics card:

http://www.student.kuleuven.ac.be/~m0324684/svideo.jpg

this person is using the yellow connector for video instead of the s-video connector. Some cards have this.

a s-video cable looks like the one in the middle:

http://www.student.kuleuven.ac.be/~m0324684/cable.jpg

[noble2501]

Thanks a million.. now to inspect my tv. I hope it has this.. but if not I can always use that nameless yellow video cable.

EDIT:

No s-video plug. :(

I guess they include that plug on 50 € more expensive tv model. But that's ok, because I'll do just fine with the nameless yellow video cable. :p

[JKeefe]

nameless yellow video cable (and red/white audio cables): RCA cable

[noble2501]

Originally posted by JKeefe
nameless yellow video cable (and red/white audio cables): RCA cable

Thanks. Now I can go to the video store and not sound like an idiot trying to describe what I wan't to buy. :)