Login
Register
Menu
Home
Help
Donations
Multitool.org Forum
»
Forum
»
Non Tool Forum
»
The Break Room
»
Computer question
Hello Lurker! Remove this ad and much more by logging in.
Computer question
RaptorMan
·
13 ·
1410
« previous
next »
Print
Pages:
1
Go Down
RaptorMan
No Life Club
Posts:
1,570
Computer question
on:
November 22, 2009, 03:53:06 AM
Anyone know if I can plug my Dell laptop into my TV to play movies? I have a couple downloaded and want to watch them thru the TV.
Thanks
1
Sazabi
Absolutely No Life Club
Posts:
6,397
Re: Computer question
Reply #1 on:
November 22, 2009, 03:55:33 AM
All you need is the proper connector, but I'm unfamiliar with the actual name. Plus, it'll depend on if the TV has the proper input, too.
RaptorMan
No Life Club
Posts:
1,570
Re: Computer question
Reply #2 on:
November 22, 2009, 04:04:00 AM
Yeah not sure what is what? All I have is RCA jacks on the TV.
1
Freudian Frog
No Life Club
Posts:
4,230
I just don't know what went wrong.
Re: Computer question
Reply #3 on:
November 22, 2009, 04:05:32 AM
S-video most likely... or HDMI... some televisions have RGB (standard monitor input).
«
Last Edit: November 22, 2009, 04:14:25 AM by Freudian Frog
»
Got those frog legs.
RaptorMan
No Life Club
Posts:
1,570
Re: Computer question
Reply #4 on:
November 22, 2009, 04:43:11 AM
Is there a cable that has s video and a jack for my computer?
1
Freudian Frog
No Life Club
Posts:
4,230
I just don't know what went wrong.
Re: Computer question
Reply #5 on:
November 22, 2009, 04:53:01 AM
Naw, if your computer doesn't have S-Video or HDMI, and your TV doesn't support RGB, you're out of luck.
Got those frog legs.
RaptorMan
No Life Club
Posts:
1,570
Re: Computer question
Reply #6 on:
November 22, 2009, 04:59:48 AM
DAMN........well it was worth a shot
1
Grant Lamontagne
Head Turd Polisher
Administrator
Just Bananas
Posts:
65,894
Optimum instrumentum est inter aures
Re: Computer question
Reply #7 on:
November 22, 2009, 08:49:03 AM
There are adaptors and connectors that you could use to make them work with eachother- your best bet is to visit a local stereo/TV/Home theater shop and see what they suggest. Go to a local place with a good rep rather than a Best Buy if you can.
Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.
Merit Badges
Whoey
Administrator
Zombie Apprentice
Posts:
12,833
I am geek, hear me code
Re: Computer question
Reply #8 on:
November 22, 2009, 09:55:54 AM
There are loads of possibilities... back in the late 90s I had a box that allowed me to output VGA feeds to my TV (Grant will remember this well I'm sure)
If all you have on your TV is RCA, that's not really an issue, there are cables that will convert the S-video to RCA (most of my last few video cards came with this cable) then all you need is an audio cable, which will be minijack (headphone) to RCA
Over here in Europe I have a "PC to TV" cable kit which is a Euroconnector (these things are crazy!) with an RCA or S-video cable plug for video, and the two normal RCAs for the audio feed. I use a S-video from my PC to that, and the minijack to dual RCA for the audio and it's all good. My video card also has an RCA video output, however the quality is not as good as the s-video. I also tend to run the audio to my Stereo rather than the TV ( 5.1 surround is better than stereo
)
One major thing to remember is that if you're outputing to an older CRT TV you probably won't be able to run a resolution above 800x600, in some cases 640x480 is the max you can do... really depends on the TV.
More modern PCs and LCD/Plasma TVs will have HDMI as mentioned, which makes life a lot easier. A lot of new LCD TVs also have VGA inputs like older Computer monitors.
The model numbers of your gear would help to be able to tell you what the best option for you is.
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.
Merit Badges
Freudian Frog
No Life Club
Posts:
4,230
I just don't know what went wrong.
Re: Computer question
Reply #9 on:
November 22, 2009, 10:00:55 AM
Basically what they said is, "Give up all hope ye, and despair... then buy a new laptop."
Got those frog legs.
Whoey
Administrator
Zombie Apprentice
Posts:
12,833
I am geek, hear me code
Re: Computer question
Reply #10 on:
November 22, 2009, 12:15:38 PM
no, I didn't.
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.
Merit Badges
Crouton
No Life Club
Posts:
1,014
"Live long and ..useful."
Re: Computer question
Reply #11 on:
November 22, 2009, 03:32:59 PM
There are plenty of devices that will convert the VGA output from your laptop to a composite or S-video output, but frankly you probably won't be happy with the resulting image quality. This depends on the quality or the original encode, the quality of the converter and the quality of the TV itself.
If you are really interested in making this happen post the model number of your laptop, so I can see what available ports it has, and the model number of your TV, so I can see what available video inputs you have.
You also have another approach to consider, there are standalone DVD players that natively support DVIX/XVID and depending on the model you get some even have a USB port on the front of the player to play media from a thumb drive.
I purchased a Philips DVP5992 from Best Buy on sale for $40+tax and it will do what you need depending on what encode type the original files used, they can be converted from one format to another if the player doesn't support the video file. These players will also play MP3's and jpegs. Also, Black Friday is coming soon so you can get some great deals.
Go to
http://www.videohelp.com/
for more information on format conversion, it's a great site.
You also have the option to burn the movie files to the DVD format that all standalone DVD players support, or you could burn them to VCD's.
I'm not sure how much time/money you want to invest in this but it can be done.
«
Last Edit: November 22, 2009, 03:34:53 PM by Crouton
»
RaptorMan
No Life Club
Posts:
1,570
Re: Computer question
Reply #12 on:
November 23, 2009, 03:59:41 AM
Thanks for the help. I just went the way off burning them to DVDs. I was concerned doing that if I would be able to play them but they worked fine.
Thanks again
1
Print
Pages:
1
Go Up
Multitool.org Forum
»
Forum
»
Non Tool Forum
»
The Break Room
»
Computer question
Donations
Operational Funds
Help us keep the Unworkable working!
March Goal:
$300.00
Due Date:
Mar 31
Total Receipts:
$279.86
PayPal Fees:
$14.66
Net Balance:
$265.20
Below Goal:
$34.80
Site Currency:
USD
88%
March Donations
Community Links
Powered by
EzPortal
Search
This topic
This board
Entire forum
Google
Username
Password
Always stay logged in
Forgot your password?