TV as Computer Monitor - Comments Page 3

I just bought a new LG HDTV and am trying to connect my PC to it. It has a VGA input, and since its in the next room, I have 20' of RGB running from my PC to the TV. My problem is this: the end of my RGB cable is male and the connection on my PC is male, so I bought a Y-splitter in order to connect it. Now its plugged in, but I get no signal. Is the splitter causing a problem? Or do I need to change settings on my PC? I'm fairly new at this, and I don't know what to do!

I have a Compaq Presario 5423US (5000 Series). I have in the past cloned the monitor to a Sony Trinotron Tv and it worked perfectly. I just bought a Vizio GV52L High Def LCD 1080p TV. I cloned it and it works but it looks grainy (not clear). Any ideas on how I can make the picture better??

EDITOR'S NOTE: Have you checked your display settings? Use the highest resolution your video card supports.

I have got a Samsung 40" hd tv and want to watch pcfootie.com on it but i have a Toshiba Equium laptop which is quite old so i think the only way i can connect is with the vga lead, when i try to set it up on the tv andgo to pc mode the tv swithes off, what can i do?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sounds like either the laptop's video card doesn't support this use, or the TV is defective.

I had a MAC 6400, and one earlier Mac that had a cable TV plug, and it worked fine. Some idiot at Apple decided to screw the customer, and quit making it. Do you have a device I can use with my iMAC in exactly the way that the 6400 worked?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Do you mean a coax port? I looked at the Apple store and they don't seem to sell them. You'll probably have to use another video-out option.

I have an Acer Aspire laptop and a new technika lcd tv. I have managed to get a perfect picture via vga cables, but no sound. For sound I am using a cable from the headphone jack on the laptop to the red and white input on the TV. I have tried the obvious, turning the volumes on laptop and TV up to maximum, but nothing. Any ideas? I can get sound through external speakers, but would like to be able to control by remote control!

I have 4 old TV"s that only have coaxial cable connections. What I want to do is somehow hook my laptop up to all 4 TV's and have whatever is displayed on my laptop (video footage for example) showing up on all 4 tv's is there anyway of doing this? The screens are to be used as a backdrop in a stage show if I can work out how to do it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you can figure out how to get the signal to ONE television, then I'm sure Radio Shack must sell some sort of splitter to make it go to multiple screens.

I have an HDTV and an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro with VGA, DVI, and Svideo outputs. I've gotten the S-video Out to work, but since I have HDMI ports on the TV, I was wondering if there is anything special that I need to know before buying an DVI to HDMI cable? I realize that since I'm using Ubuntu I'll probably have to edit the xorg.conf file (though I'll have to look up how to on the net). Particularly I was wondering if I have to worry about making sure I get the right DVI to HDMI cable. Do I need a male DVI plug to a Female HDMI plug? Or a female DVI plug to a male HDMI plug or what? Its hard to comparison shop when you're not exactly sure what type of plug or adapter you need.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The cable you need should depend on the type of DVI and HDMI connectors you have on your computer and your TV, right?

I just bought a used Sony Bravia S series 40 inch LCD tv to use as a monitor. The previous owners don't have the manuals so I can't refer to them. The problem is that it works with my pc but everything is stretched horizontally and is kinda squashed. The tv is also giving me the message, "Unsupported signal. Adjust your PC output." I don't know how to do this. I suspect the fix is easy but I'm a little over my head here. Can anyone help? Thanks, Scott

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can adjust your video properties by going to Control Panel, Display, Settings. Just remember, an HD 1080 television displays 1920x1080 pixels.

So if you tell your video card to send it a different signal such as 1280x1024, 1400x1050, or 1680x1050, it will have to scale the image to fit the screen, and it might not look so great.

I have been using my Dell Inspirion 6000 to connect to TV and watch few online movies!! This was working great for last 2 years!! Last couple of days I am getting scrambled picture on my TV, when I checked display settings it showing that it is detecting my TV as HDTV ( though my TV is not a HDTV) and choosing video standard as HDMIxxxx, and I don't see Video standard as NTSC in that list. When I discconect my TV and reboot my laptop then it displays NTSC in video standard list but again switches back to HDMI when I connect my TV. I re-insatlled BIOS, Drivers ...but in vain!!! My video card is Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset. Any suggestions will be of great help.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you can't figure out what changed, try a system restore. See http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.html

You quoted "If you can't figure out what changed, try a system restore. See http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.html"

I tried restore and I even re-installed my OS, still problem persists. any other solution you recommend? Do you see this as BIOS/VBIOS problem? I even updated BIOS from Dell website.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ok, it was working at some point, and now it's not. You seem to have ruled out software, so I'd suspect that either the video card, or the video driver are at fault.

Bob, I tried connecting monitor to VGA port and it worked fine, and also I am getting scrabled picture on my PC, hence S-Video port is also not fault. Does this prove that my Video card is not faulty?? I have re-installed Graphics drivers from Dell and even Intel ....but no luck!!!

My computer links to CRT monitor with a VGA cable. The cable has one end labeled PC and the other end labeled Monitor. There is a large cylindrical bulge in the cable at the PC end.

I am not able to use the cable this way when I go to connect to my LCD TV, as the cable enters the VGA plug from the side at the monitor end, and this blocks access to the power supply socket on the TV. Can I use the cable in reverse i.e. plug PC end into TV and Monitor end into PC. What is the cylindrical bulge, and does it mean the cable can only be used in one direction?

EDITOR'S NOTE: The bulge is probably an EMI filter. I would guess you can reverse the cable. Give it a try.

Hi - I have sony vaio pcv rx550 with the following connectors:

Port Connectors Four USB (two front/two rear)
One PS/2® Mouse
One PS/2® Keyboard
One VGA
One Serial
One Parallel
One 6pin i.LINK®
One 4pin i.LINK®
One Headphone Out
One Line In
One Microphone
Any chance I can hook it up to my Sharp flat panel TV (there is no VGA input on the TV set)..?

Im looking to buy either a sony v series or the latest phillips LCD 32 inches , which one should i buy

hi - i have a pc with a normal monitor connection - i would like to use my flatscreen sony vaio monitor with it but the connections are different - any idea if the two can be linked up? - Many thanks - Mark.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Check out a program called MultiMon. It might do what you want.

I'm wondering if it's possible to use the same HDTV for direct tv and the computer with no major adjustments required to switch between uses.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I would think so... if you hook up the PC to the HDMI inputs on the HDTV, and the TV signal via some other input (coax, composite, etc.) then you should be able to switch the inputs with your remote.

QUESTION! I have a regular 16" computer monitor, and a nasty 12" tv in my bedroom. I am ready to buy a new, larger LCD tv, but was hoping I could buy perhaps a 19" and just REPLACE the computer monitor with this new tv screen and use it for BOTH things. What "specification" do I need to look for in a new tv that will tell me it's connectable to my computer?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Resolution is the most important thing. Most televisions have lower resolution than computer monitors. A regular (non-HD) TV will NOT meet your neeeds. I'd buy an HD TV in the desired size, and make sure it has inputs that match your computers video outputs: VGA, DVI, S-Video, etc.

Question: I have a Dell inspiron labtop with a broken screen, but everything else still works. Is it possible to buy a cable to hook it up to my tv? If so, what sort of cable do I need, and how do I identify if my tv could support this? Thanks!

EDITOR'S NOTE: That depends on the outputs of your laptop, and the inputs of your TV. Most likely your laptop has a VGA output which allows you to connect an external monitor. But most TV's don't have a VGA input port. You may have to look for a converter or adapter to go from VGA to Coaxial, S-Video, or Component.

I have a Dell Dimension 4300 computer who's monitor is broke. If I purchase a LCD tv, can I use the tv as a computer monitor as well?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, but sure to get an HDTV. And if the TV has an input that matches your computer's video output (VGA, DVI, etc.) then it will be much easier to hook up.

Query: I bought the s-video and the audio cables i need to hook up my Dell to my tube tv, i was wondering if it will recognize the tv when i turn on the compy right away? Since my monitor and my tv are across the room from each other, i was hoping to not have to move my monitor along with the compy over to the tv. I suppose I'll find out on my own when i get to it in a few days...

EDITOR'S NOTE: I can tell you one thing for sure: either it will or it won't. :-) But it should.