HELP Connecting TV to Computer

[BranzLS]

I have a Gainward Ge Force 4 Ti4600 video card in my computer, and I am wondering what I need to do (if possible) to connect my computer to my TV for watching movies and such off my computer but on my TV. Is this possible and if so, how? If not, what would I need to do such a thing? Thanks

 

[modedepe]

It's possible if your card has tv out.

 

[BranzLS]

Then it would hook up via a cable line?? I am definetly new to this

 

[modedepe]

Most cards which have tv out have an s-video connection. If your tv has an s-vid input just hook it up with that. If your tv has composite input then you'll need a dongle that plugs into the s-vid out jack on your card. If your tv only has coxial then you'll need some other converter or a vcr or something.

 

[BranzLS]

I believe I need the COMPOSITE & S VIDEO Connector for the Gainward GeForce 4 Ti4600 card.... where can I buy this? What does it run and does anyone have any experience with it?

 

[BranzLS]

or is that what's on my card?

 

[modedepe]

Ok, I'm kind of confused by what you mean when you say you need the s-video and composite connector. Look on your card and see what kind of outputs it has and then report back

 

[BranzLS]

I was looking on the Gainward site and read something about it... I am confused as to wether I have to buy it or if I have it. I will check when I get home... it should be on the back of the card, correct?

 

[modedepe]

Yes, it'll be on the back. You will at least have a dvi or vga out on the back of the card, which you hook your monitor up to.

 

[BranzLS]

I can hook up 2 monitors and it looks like I have an S Video out...

 

[Boobers]

You will be very disappointed after you hook your comp to your TV (using S-video or composite). It will look horrible and text will be practically unreadable. I have mine hooked to an HDTV using the 15-pin VGA cable and it is mearly OK...

 

[NYHoustonman]

OK, your video card DOES have S-Video out, so either your TV has an S-Video in, in which case just get an S-Video cable and connect the two, or it doesn't, in which case, get a S-Video to composite adapter (composite is the yellow wire usually) and a composite cable and connect the two. Then set it up through your graphics card properties.

And, yes, picture quality is (obviously) lower, but for watching movies it is just fine.

 

[BranzLS]

I am buying a new TV soon, so I will have my old one and I wanna set it up with my computer so I can watch movies... will movie quality be comparable to how it is on my computer? That is all I am concerned with. Thanks!!

Also maybe someone could help here: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=33&threadid=1129877

 

[NYHoustonman]

I've tried it, and frankly, for watching movies, it looks better on the TV. I have a music video that is sharp on my monitor (1280x0124) only when it takes up around half/third the screen, and it looks like a music video straight from TV on the TV.

EDIT-No idea about that movie editing thing.

 

[BranzLS]

Good deal, I plan to hook it all up then! So pretty much since my video card has an s video connection, I can just run it to my s-video connection on my TV and that's it? Flip the power on the TV and it will be good to go?

 

[modedepe]

Yeah it should work like that. Hopefully you won't have any problems. On your other question, I guess you're trying to convert from one type, such as avi, to another, like mpeg1 or 2? I'm not sure with that program, since I've never used it. On TMPGEnc I put it on "full screen (keep aspect ratio)." With that setting the picture doesn't take up all the screen, but it isn't stretched all weird either. I'm not sure if that really answers your question, hopefully it will help a little at least.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Originally posted by: BranzLS
Good deal, I plan to hook it all up then! So pretty much since my video card has an s video connection, I can just run it to my s-video connection on my TV and that's it? Flip the power on the TV and it will be good to go?

Yep, from there just make sure you may have to swith the input on the TV to whatever the S-Video on it is (for me it's input 1), and enable the second display in the NVidia control panel. And, for me at least, the highest resolution I can display without the desktop turning into something like a map from a strategy game (can't fit the entire map on the screen, so you have to use the mouse to navigate around) is 1024x768.