Computers & Electronics

computer to TV

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  • Apr 9th, 2013 10:55 pm
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Jul 21, 2005
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computer to TV

Hi

I like to plug my laptop (Lenovo SL510) to my TV. In the front of the TV, theres is the S Video and the 3 RCA connections. I'm suppose to make an order to amazon and I wonder which connector to get. An HDMI to RCA?

Thanks,
Pourquoi pas?
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Apr 4, 2009
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It would also help if OP could tell us what video ports are on the laptop.

Better yet, detail the make and model # of the TV and laptop.

It sounds like an old CRT TV ... with only S-Video & composite video.
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I connect my laptop to an old CRT TV with an s-video for video and a 3.5mm > RCA for audio.

You could always get a VGA > s-video cable if you wanted. HDMI > Svideo are expensive and not worth it.
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Busybuyer888 wrote: It would also help if OP could tell us what video ports are on the laptop.

Better yet, detail the make and model # of the TV and laptop.

It sounds like an old CRT TV ... with only S-Video & composite video.
Good question. The Laptop is a Lenovo SL510 and the TV is an "old" Hitachi 43WX10B.
Pourquoi pas?
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Sep 10, 2004
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SPARTACVS wrote:... The Laptop is a Lenovo SL510 ...
Listed with HDMI and VGA ports.
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Fraser River Rat wrote: Hi,

You must be in love with your Hitachi t.v. You'll probably need to use 1 of these kinds of video converters.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=1430
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/7 ... erter.html
In love? Ha ha, I don't know why you say that but we bough it a year ago for 100$. Our CRt at that time was pretty much from the same year but it was only a 4:3 27".

Does the video converters are needed? I'm asking because it changes the bill (2 cables vs 1 cable).
Pourquoi pas?
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Oct 31, 2012
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SPARTACVS wrote: In love? Ha ha, I don't know why you say that but we bough it a year ago for 100$. Our CRt at that time was pretty much from the same year but it was only a 4:3 27".

Does the video converters are needed? I'm asking because it changes the bill (2 cables vs 1 cable).
You have to get a video converter because your laptop doesn't output the signal your TV needs...it's not a case where you can simply use a passive adapter. However, usually those converters come with all the cables needed. Keep in mind the cheaper converters give worse quality. Depending on what you need it for, and what resolution your TV supports, you might want to check out different ones.
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I would recommend getting a cheap LCD TV.. chances are the output is going to look horrible on your tv
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Apr 16, 2001
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Vladimir wrote: I would recommend getting a cheap LCD TV.. chances are the output is going to look horrible on your tv
+1.
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It depends what he's using it for. A Windows desktop won't look very good on an old CRT TV, but it's fine for video. No worse than the old CRT TV normally shows anyway.
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Scycotic wrote: You have to get a video converter because your laptop doesn't output the signal your TV needs...it's not a case where you can simply use a passive adapter. However, usually those converters come with all the cables needed. Keep in mind the cheaper converters give worse quality. Depending on what you need it for, and what resolution your TV supports, you might want to check out different ones.
Is it because the TV is analog? If yes, wouldn't the VGA port on the laptop be able to do the job?
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VGA/Composite are analog, HDMI/DVI/Displayport are digital. In order to convert one signal to the other, you need some sort of active converter box like what Fraser River Rat suggested. AFAIK no single cable will do, such as the HDMI -> RCA OP is asking about. There may be an "active" converter dongle but they're far from reliable.
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Jan 12, 2013
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I have done this a few years ago.

I used an inexpensive VGA to Svideo/Composite adapter I got off DX/eBay for $20 for an projector. The quality is fine up to 1024x768 for movie watching. At 800x600 is legible. Remember, you will have to use 4:3 ratio though ... which is bad if you have a wLCD ... which you do and thus you must set the resolution in 4:3 for both screens

I recommend you invest in a new wLCD TV with HDMI ... It is a hassle to setup it with all the wires and connections.

Buy this if you want. I have it and its 'alright'. I still have it.
[IMG]http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/ ... RpSjzQ.jpg[/IMG]
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SPARTACVS wrote: Is it because the TV is analog? If yes, wouldn't the VGA port on the laptop be able to do the job?
Even if two signals are analog, that doesn't mean they are identical. For example VGA uses five signal pins, three for colour info and two for horizontal/vertical sync, while component uses three cables, which have the sync signals coded into two of the colour cables. Then there's composite which has everything running on one single cable...

So even if you have some kind of passive adapter, you can't exactly push five signals into 3 cables...you need an active converter to re-encode the signal. Not exactly the same kind of active converter as a Digital to Analog (or vice versa) type, but still active.

Out of the common types of interconnect, the only ones that can use passive adapters that I can think of are DVI-A to VGA, DVI-I to VGA, DVI-D to HDMI, DVI-I to HDMI, (mini)DisplayPort to DVI, (mini)DisplayPort to HDMI, (mini)DisplayPort to VGA.

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