VGA/Component (YPrPb) In via Laptop Screen

[Ulukia]

Basically, I'm looking for a way to get the cleanest video-in to be displayed on a 15.4" laptop screen. Ideally I'm looking for VGA In, if not then Component (YPrPb) In. With only 15.4" to play with, I need the video cleaned up as much as possible so RCA and maybe S-Video is out of the question (not sure on the S-Video).

Current devices that might work:
ADS Tech (API-555) [Back Ordered at most places, also is (YPbPr) Component]

 

[Ulukia]

*Bump

 

[Raduque]

I've never heard of a laptop that has a video input to use the display as a monitor for another device. Unless, of course, you have a tv tuner/capture card. I also read a thread earlier that said it was very expensive to convert a normal vga/dvi signal to be used with a laptop screen.

 

[Ulukia]

Yes, it would have to be a Capture card or DVR/PVR that would accept VGA(D-Sub)/Component as input and output would have to be USB/Firewire/PCMCIA.
This I already know, what I don't know is what device is capable of performing this with minimal loss of quality and clarity.

 

[TerryMathews]

99% sure you're going to be looking at some sort of IEEE1394-based solution.

Keep in mind that IEEE1394-based video capture is A) compressed and B) time-delayed. Useless for video games, just like using a MPEG2-based capture card.

 

[EffeX]

yeah theres huge delay in gaming.

 

[Fraggable]

My new HP laptop with Media Center came with a TV tuner PC ExpressCard that has a composite-in or S-video-in connection. Hang on a min and i'll find a link. It's $180.

The card

know this

Of course you need a PC ExpressCard slot, a lot of new computers don't have them yet.

 

[Ulukia]

Is there anyway to bypass the motherboard completely and pipe it directly to the LCD for viewing? If that means having an extra cord hanging out, so be it.

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Ulukia
Is there anyway to bypass the motherboard completely and pipe it directly to the LCD for viewing? If that means having an extra cord hanging out, so be it.

Nope. Maybe 1/1000 laptops use DVI internally to connect the LCD to the mainboard. If that were the case, and you had something that could output DVI, you could make it work. Your best input quality for gaming is going to be a CardBus S-Video capture card.

 

[Ulukia]

So, is S-Video decent? For instance, viewing on a 15.4" screen via S-Video is comparable to X" TV via RCA? Os is there really no comparison and I'll have to test it to find out?

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Ulukia
So, is S-Video decent? For instance, viewing on a 15.4" screen via S-Video is comparable to X" TV via RCA? Os is there really no comparison and I'll have to test it to find out?

I'm not trying to be cruel here, but it sounds like you don't really have any idea what you're dealing with.

S-Video provides a very good video signal, but your comparison makes no sense. S-Video is a better standard than RCA, better video quality since chroma and luma are seperate.

Depending on your laptop's screen resolution, a standard TV signal will be approximately 1/4th the size of your screen, giving you good picture scaling and quality. The refresh rate difference, coupled with the interlaced/progressive scan translation, is going to give you some odd flickering around areas of black and white, and text or straight lines especially.

All of your comments make it sound like S-Video is the plague and it's really a pretty good connection.

 

[Ulukia]

"I'm not trying to be cruel here, but it sounds like you don't really have any idea what you're dealing with."
For not tryin to be cruel, you really have a way with words...
I'm a PC tech not an A/V expert, hence the entire charade. Excuss my ignorance, since it has apperently caused a fair amount of offense.

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Ulukia
"I'm not trying to be cruel here, but it sounds like you don't really have any idea what you're dealing with."
For not tryin to be cruel, you really have a way with words...
I'm a PC tech not an A/V expert, hence the entire charade. Excuss my ignorance, since it has apperently caused a fair amount of offense.

It's not that, it just seems like you
A) Don't really know the differences in the video connections, only the order they go in best to worst
B) Are rallying against S-Video without knowing what quality it will give you.

I need the video cleaned up as much as possible so RCA and S-Video is out of the question.

It's one thing to say that if you know what kind of signal S-Video will give you. It's another to effectively be saying "I don't know how good S-Video is, but it's not good enough."

 

[Ulukia]

Happy now?

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Ulukia
Happy now?

I don't know why you're taking this so personally, it wasn't meant as an insult. We've all got our personal biases about certain things. I was just trying to nicely let you know that S-Video wasn't as inferior as you were under the impression that it was.

I'm sorry that you think I was personally trying to pick at you, it wasn't my intention. If I had felt like flaming you, believe me you'd know it.

 

[Ulukia]

If this is what you truely believe, which I'm sure it is, then your words disagree.
"I'm not trying to be cruel here, but it sounds like you don't really have any idea what you're dealing with."
This sentence changes the entire flow of the conversation. First you say your not trying to be cruel, yet the later part of the sentence throws my appearent ignorance in my face. I would categorize this as being cruel, wouldn't you? If you said, perhaps "Im not trying to be cruel, but from what I'm gathering your misconstruing the facts." or "I don't believe you have all the facts about the different video connections."
To this, I would have asked "How so?".
See how much better the conversation is? It points out an issue with facts and not intelligence.

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Ulukia
If this is what you truely believe, which I'm sure it is, then your words disagree.
"I'm not trying to be cruel here, but it sounds like you don't really have any idea what you're dealing with."
This sentence changes the entire flow of the conversation. First you say your not trying to be cruel, yet the later part of the sentence throws my appearent ignorance in my face. I would categorize this as being cruel, wouldn't you? If you said, perhaps "Im not trying to be cruel, but from what I'm gathering your misconstruing the facts." or "I don't believe you have all the facts about the different video connections."
To this, I would have asked "How so?".
See how much better the conversation is? It points out an issue with facts and not intelligence.

See, I guess that's where we're not connecting. I never made any comments about you're intelligence. If I had, it would've read something along the lines of "Hey dummy, you can't get Y-Pr-Pb input on a laptop fast enough to play games. Baka!"

Anyway, I'm done with this. If I offended you, I'm sorry. I alread said that once. It was not meant for you to take personally.

 

[Ulukia]

At first I was offended, now I'm amused.