Hooked up my TV to my PC via HDMI... sound?

[DyslexicHobo]

I recently purchased an LG 42LH40 TV and I absolutely LOVE it. However, the main reason I purchased it is so I can hook it up to my PC and watch movies through my PC's BluRay DVD player and regular DVD player, as well as use as a secondary computer monitor.

I'm hooked up via a DVI to HDMI cable because I've read that will give me the highest quality picture (DVI out is the only form of video my computer has). The picture is great, but I can't figure out a way to get sound.

I understand that HDMI usually transmits sound along with the picture, but because I'm going from DVI->HDMI there's no sound. I've tried using a 3.5mm ->Red/white cable, but there's no ports on my TV that will give me sound while I'm watching that HDMI input.

Is there any workarounds for this? Thanks.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Do you have optical out on your computer?

 

[sivart]

some people

 

[DyslexicHobo]

The AV IN 1 isn't associated with any of the HDMI inputs. I tried what you told me to do but the only input it played sound for was my AV 1 input. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Any other suggestions?

 

[wiretap]

Usually in the TV's menu you'll have one of the digital inputs have a "PC" option. It will route the audio from another input to work with that HDMI selection in PC mode.

Here's from your TV's manual for how to hook up your computer (or set top box) to the TV and get audio from RCA/3.5mm.

 

[sivart]

that really sucks that LG didn't have a standard audio input associated with an HDMI port. I know the Panasonic, Samsung and Vizio all do. Instead you have to buy more accessories...granted the mini-phone to RCA plug is probably only $3, but still. The more I own/learn about LG products, the less I like them.

 

[kalrith]

What video card do you have? I'm assuming it doesn't have an HDMI out, but some video cards can actually transmit sound with the DVI port as long as you use the DVI-to-HDMI adapter that came with the card.

I just looked at the manual for your TV. It looks like you can connect a 3.5 mm cable from the computer to the RGB/DVI port on the back of your TV and use that along with your DVI-to-HDMI cable.

 

[xdantespardax]

How does the pc look on a big monitor? Does it seem a bit too big, or does it just give you tons more space to work on?

 

[kalrith]

How does the pc look on a big monitor? Does it seem a bit too big, or does it just give you tons more space to work on?

I don't really think it gives that much more space because of the lower resolution. A 1080P TV has a bit lower resolution than my 1920x1200 24-inch computer monitor and a lot less than a 30" monitor. I would choose those over the TV for raw space.

If you're sitting really close to your TV for its size, then you might be able to zoom out on web pages, documents etc. and create more space that way. I haven't done that on my TV, because I mainly use it for media uses or the occasional surfing of one web page at a time, and I don't need much screen real estate for that. When I do need a lot of screen space, I go to my dual-monitor setup in the other room.

 

[Spicedaddy]

that really sucks that LG didn't have a standard audio input associated with an HDMI port. I know the Panasonic, Samsung and Vizio all do. Instead you have to buy more accessories...granted the mini-phone to RCA plug is probably only $3, but still. The more I own/learn about LG products, the less I like them.

Computers usually have 3.5mm jacks, not red/white RCA. Most TVs have that input as well.

 

[thomsbrain]

Wait.... so I plug the audio into the "audio in VGA/DVI" port on the TV? That's... unpossible! It must be a trick! I won't fall for it! I'll just try using an adapter and plugging it into anything but the port that is clearly labeled as the input I'm looking for...

Just kidding with you OP. If you need a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable to make the proper connection, check out monoprice.com.

sivart gets the thread reading comprehension fail award for this thread.

wiretap and kalrith get the information award for this thread.

thank you for coming, goodnight.

 

[DyslexicHobo]

Thanks for the help everyone. I figured that port was only if I was connecting via the VGA input. I'll order a cable online. They're only a couple bucks, so if it doesn't work it doesn't really matter.

To answer the question about how it looks: text is much harder to read than on a computer monitor. When text is very small it almost looks like it's glowing. I have a 28" 1920x1200 monitor that my TV cannot even compare to for everyday tasks. I only use my TV to watch movies (in which case it looks GREAT! 120hz for things like Planet Earth are awesome).

 

[AdamK47]

Here's a thread I created over at NVNews on how to connect an X-Fi (or Audigy) to an nVidia card that has the audio input.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=117607

 

[kalrith]

Make sure it's on PC mode and not video mode. Being on video mode could make things look blurry. PC mode will give make it dot-for-dot (or pixel-for-pixel) just like a computer monitor.

Also, you might just be too far away to see the small text. If you sit 2 feet from your computer monitor and then 6 feet from your TV, the text is going to look much smaller. If you do sit 6 feet from your TV, then that would be like sitting 4 feet from your computer monitor as far as text size goes. My guess is that you're very close to your computer monitor and very from your TV comparatively, and that makes the text much easier to read on the TV. Or the TV might just need to be placed in PC mode as mentioned above.

 

[DyslexicHobo]

I found out what was wrong with the text looking like it was glowing. I had my sharpness level set to 90 because my TV was on the "Sports" AV mode. When I turned the sharpness down to 50 it looks great. I still couldn't use it as a monitor because it lags too much, and that's a pet peeve of mine. It definitely can't be used to play any fast-paced FPS games. It's still much better than I expected, though.

 

[kalrith]

I'm glad you figured it out. I love the 0 lag on my plasma, and I've heard that that's an issue on LCD TVs, but I've never had the chance to experience it first hand. It makes me glad I didn't go with an LCD TV for my gaming-computer monitor after all (but that's a completely different topic altogether).