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General discussion

PC to HDTV hookup

May 29, 2006 9:07AM PDT

I was wondering if there is any way I could connect my PC directly to my tv? I have a Dell Dimension 4400 desktop bought in 2001 and a sony (model #: kdp-51ws550) 51'' projection hd ready tv bought in 2004. What are the requirements for a successful, sharp image hookup?

i did some research such that i could possibly connect the pc with a vga 15-pin to the sony tv with a dvi 24-pin connector. Even so will the image be clear? Or do i have to use a dvi to dvi connector only?

email also djtek19@yahoo.com

Discussion is locked

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PC to HDTV hookup
May 30, 2006 2:46AM PDT

My guess is that the Sony has a DVI connector and your Dell has the stock onbord video chip!
Get a real video card that has a DVI and VGA connector,
$50~100.
VGA is analog, DVI is digital. The TV wants digital. john

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PC to HDTV
May 30, 2006 8:24AM PDT

My tv only has a 15-pin input for pc. My pc has dvi and vga output. What about a dvi to hdmi to my receiver's #2hdmi input?

Tom

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VGA works
May 30, 2006 10:08AM PDT

Even though it's analog, straight VGA will give you the same quality as DVI/HDMI. That's what I'm using.

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(NT) (NT) Thanks!
May 31, 2006 9:19AM PDT
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PC Mode Not Supported with Samsung Series 450 LCD HDTV
Sep 13, 2008 10:55PM PDT

I can't get my PC to work with my new Samsung 26" LCD HDTV (LN26A450C1D). I tried hooking the PC to the new TV through a VGA connection just like I did with my older Samsung 19" LCD HDTV but no luck. I can't even access the "Auto Adjust" function to try to select the correct resolution for the TV (the Samsung manual says this is why I get the "PC Mode Not Supported" message). Does my graphics card need to be upgraded - it's an ATI Radeon X300 SE PCI Express that doesn't have a DVI connector?

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Since you already got everything,
May 31, 2006 7:12PM PDT

so just give it a try; it couldn't hurt.

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Hooking up PCs to TVs
Jun 20, 2006 5:34AM PDT

The best way to answer this question starts with your TV user manual. If your TV is designed to also be a computer monitor, the details will be there. You'll not only get a quick answer to your question, but should also wee which resolutions and frequencies are supported. Documentation for most recent TVs (including your Sony) is available online.

Not all digital TVs are designed to be hooked up to computers, but that doesn't mean it won't work. However, you will probably have to jump through some additional hoops and you may decide it's not worth it in the end.

First is the problem of getting a video signal to the display. Your best bet is a DVI output on the PC to DVI or HDMI input on the TV. This will keep the signal in the digital domain and will preserve optimal quality. You'll probably need to set your computer refresh to 60Hz to get this working, and you may have trouble matching the monitor resolution with the display resolution. Use the TV's native resolution, if possible. If this resolution is not available, you may need a new video card that will support it. Experiment, and see what works--worst case you just won't get a picture. Lastly, some video cards will support TV out standards, like composite video. This should definitely work, although you may not get the best picture.

Assuming you can get an image, you may still have problems with "overscan." Televisions do not normally display the entire picture. Rather, a small border around the edge of the screen is masked out so that your entire screen is always filled with video. You may find that the borders of your PC image are clipped off when running through a TV. There is some shareware software available to help fine-tune your PC resolution for display on TVs, but I forget what it is called. Try a google search for "PC overscan display" or some combination of similar terms and you should stumble across it.

Cheers!
Speleo.