Video out to TV

[daveb]

So tonight was a first for me - I was able to put my computer signal out to my TV. I did more for the novelty than anything else but saw how nice it might be to have the computer incorporated into the living room. I can switch between dvd/tv/computer signals and it was pretty cool to see some things on the "big screen" (oh yes, I played games. That was pretty cool). I also have video in so theoretically my computer could record TV but I didn't try that.

The one drawback I saw was that I couldn't get the text to look very nice. Things like video and powerpoint looked good though. Also, I didn't have an internet connection so that would be a nice addition to the setup.

 

[fredtgreco]

How did you do it?

 

[ReformedWretch]

All you need is a decent video card to have a video out/in connection. My PC has a DVI connector and a S-video as well. I never use them though.

 

[daveb]

As Adam mentioned you need a video card with video out capabilities (in my case I had s-video out). If you have this it's as simple as hooking up the s-video cable, no setup required.

 

[humble_soul]

Dave,

Text is always the problem. There are some programs that are supposed to help with scaling the text to make it more readable on the "big screen". The main problem is resolution. You have a lot less pixels to display information on the TV (even in HD format), than you do on the computer.

 

[Puritanhead]

TV is too low-quality too make it worthwhile... unless it's HDTV.