Pc --> Hdtv ???

[andrew2good4u]

Hey everyone. Got a simple question for you.

I have my PC and a my LCD HDTV. I want to watch movies on my HDTV.
So far the best thing I have done is extend my desktop onto my TV, but is there anything better that is cost effective?

I don't need anything wireless because they are right beside each other.
All I can think of at the moment is a media centre extender, but they are expensive and I just sold my 360.

Any help would be useful,

thanks.

[Narci]

What kind of movies? xVid? divX?

I just bought an upconverting Philips DVD player that has a USB input that allows you to put avi, xVid, divX etc files onto a USB key and plug the usb key into the player.

Philips 5892/37 i think it was.

$99

Sorry if it wasn't the solution you were looking for.

[matkun]

If you go into the Overlay options, or something like that (don't remember the exact options in the graphic card drivers) you should be able to specify the output monitor for video. Then when you start up a movie, it will play on the LCD TV automatically.

[andrew2good4u]

If you go into the Overlay options, or something like that (don't remember the exact options in the graphic card drivers) you should be able to specify the output monitor for video. Then when you start up a movie, it will play on the LCD TV automatically.

yah, thats pretty much exactly what I want to do.. but I do not know how to find the options.

for now the only way I can do it is if I extend my desktop. I open windows media player and then place it over onto the TV and open it fullscreen. As for the types of videos I would like to watch, basically anything I can watch on my PC.

If there was a way to have all videos just play on it, that would be great. More specifically, if I could just get my windows media centre on my television with full resolution.


so far these are the options i have seen:
-xbox or 360
-a dedicated media centre extender
-Apple TV

I dont want to bother spending money on any of those things (plus they are all too big for my preference). I think there is a way to do this without them.

[andrew2good4u]

What kind of movies? xVid? divX?

I just bought an upconverting Philips DVD player that has a USB input that allows you to put avi, xVid, divX etc files onto a USB key and plug the usb key into the player.

Philips 5892/37 i think it was.

$99

Sorry if it wasn't the solution you were looking for.

maybe even a dvd player that plays all file types would be pretty useful for me too. When I say all file types I mean live avi, mpegs, divx, etc.

I found a link for the dvd player you were talking about. I might check it out and see what it is capable of.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10087750&catid=20208

[TotallyKiller]

On many ATI cards, what you want is in overlays and is called "movie mode" where the movie plays full screen on the second monitor and you can work on the PC.

The DVD player option will work well too for those formats you mentioned.

When you are playing on the PC, I'd suggest using Media Player Classic, and VLC, which should cover pretty much everything.

[Narci]

maybe even a dvd player that plays all file types would be pretty useful for me too. When I say all file types I mean live avi, mpegs, divx, etc.

I found a link for the dvd player you were talking about. I might check it out and see what it is capable of.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10087750&catid=20208

Yeah, that's the player.

One thing i did notice was that the quality of the xVid was better on the dvd player then on my monitor.

I think the DVD player will upconvert the movie too.

[markj]

the mode you want for an nvidia card is 'clone mode' and set your hdtv (2nd monitor) to 1080i and you should be good to go with vlc, wmp, etc...

[andrew2good4u]

you know what? I had a 360 before, but I sold it because I didn't play too many games on it.

Would it make sense to just get a ****** 360 core and use it as a media centre extender? That way I can watch all of my movies from my HD on my HDTV

Would this make sense? I dont really care too much for upscaling because my HDTV is only 23" big.

[ppl4golf]

I don't see the rationale to get anything else if your toys are right beside each other.

If you get to the extended desktop, all you need to do is when you open a media player, right click and send the window or the application to the Display you want.

Also, use the cable in this order of preference :

DVI -> VGA -> TV

[Narci]

I don't see the rationale to get anything else if your toys are right beside each other.

If you get to the extended desktop, all you need to do is when you open a media player, right click and send the window or the application to the Display you want.

Also, use the cable in this order of preference :

DVI -> VGA -> TV

I don't think you can use a DVI to VGA connector...you need a box in between to convert the analogue signal to digital. Box is roughly $100 at the cheapest.

[jvangilst]

I don't think you can use a DVI to VGA connector...you need a box in between to convert the analogue signal to digital. Box is roughly $100 at the cheapest.

No, there's simple little DVI-VGa converters. Most new video cards even come with them.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18813&vpn=DVI-I%20to%20VGA%20M%2FF&manufacture=Others

That might not be the exact one you need, but they look just like that.

[Narci]

No, there's simple little DVI-VGa converters. Most new video cards even come with them.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18813&vpn=DVI-I%20to%20VGA%20M%2FF&manufacture=Others

That might not be the exact one you need, but they look just like that.

Those are for computer to monitors though right? Unless your TV states it's a monitor, I don't think you can just use this adapter.

[ppl4golf]

I don't think you can use a DVI to VGA connector...you need a box in between to convert the analogue signal to digital. Box is roughly $100 at the cheapest.

I didn't mean that...this is RFD and I risk getting kicked out if I recommend (or mention LOL) an expensive gadget like that.

What I meant was looking at the back of the HDTV and see what's there, if there is DVI/HDMI then you're gold and should be using it. VGA is not bad either.

[Narci]

Hahaha we're all here to try to help each other and gain knowledge.

Ok..so I did a little digging...I guess it all depends if it's DVI-I or DVI-A.

(Is VGA to Component possible?)

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/310199

Quote:
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will it work if i buy VGA to DVI and then DVI to HDMI
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Probably it won't work. Vga to dvi is possible, because there are two kinds of dvi signal (DVI-I, which has both analog and digital output, and DVI-A which has only the analog output.). So if you hook in the vga->dvi cable, the signal will analog on the dvi-end of the cable. Since hdmi is digital, it doesn't support analog signals. But there are signal converters that can convert digital to analog rgb, but they cost like 300$ at least.

[ppl4golf]

Hahaha we're all here to try to help each other and gain knowledge.

Ok..so I did a little digging...I guess it all depends if it's DVI-I or DVI-A.

(Is VGA to Component possible?)

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/310199

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
will it work if i buy VGA to DVI and then DVI to HDMI
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Probably it won't work. Vga to dvi is possible, because there are two kinds of dvi signal (DVI-I, which has both analog and digital output, and DVI-A which has only the analog output.). So if you hook in the vga->dvi cable, the signal will analog on the dvi-end of the cable. Since hdmi is digital, it doesn't support analog signals. But there are signal converters that can convert digital to analog rgb, but they cost like 300$ at least.

I don't think you'll see too many DVI-A these days...most newer video cards would be DVI-I (digital & analog) so a proper DVI->VGA adapter would work. All onboard DVI, AFAIK, are DVI-D so it'll only do DVI/HDMI.

I haven't tried it myself, but would think VGA to DVI is sort of like cheating yourself because afterall, it is an analog feed to start with...probably still better than component/S-video/composite from a computer though.