pc to tv cable advice needed please

wenger08

Hi, i hope someone can help please. I connect my pc to TFT monitor via a VGA cable

I want to also be able to connect my LCD TV to the PC (from time to time)

My pc does not have a HDMI socket, but my TV has a HDMI port and a VGA port. I have connected the tv to the pc before via VGA and all works fine, but i had to move the tv to my desk and use the existing cable in the back of the tft screen.

The tv is about 2-3 metres away from the pc and i want to know what is the best way to do this please? can the vga be plugged into the back of my TV at all times, and still allow me to watch regular TV?

Or will i have to leave the lead out, and then only screw the lead into the tv when i want to use it to view windows?

Any help and advice would be great, thanks

Darksun

wenger08 wrote: »

can the vga be plugged into the back of my TV at all times, and still allow me to watch regular TV?

Yes, if you want to switch to watching normal TV just use the Function/Source button on your remote and select whatever input you use for TV

Figment

You can achieve this by using a VGA switch

You will need:

1 x 2 port VGA switch
1 x Long VGA cable to connect switch to TV
1 x Standard VGA cable to connect switch to TFT
Existing VGA Cable to connect computer to switch

Cable can be permanently plugged into TV and selected as required.



(Note: Above lnks are examples only, not recommendations to buy)

wenger08

Figment wrote: »

You can achieve this by using a VGA switch

You will need:

1 x 2 port VGA switch
1 x Long VGA cable to connect switch to TV
1 x Standard VGA cable to connect switch to TFT
Existing VGA Cable to connect computer to switch

Cable can be permanently plugged into TV and selected as required.



(Note: Above lnks are examples only, not recommendations to buy)

Thank you very much

Would i really need the "1 x Standard VGA cable to connect switch to TFT"

As i already have a vga cable from the back of the pc into the tft, so if i had the switch close enough to the pc and tft (which are only a close together) then the existing cable should be enough? And then use the long cable to go from the switch to the TV?


i also had a look at this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VGA-1x-Male-to-2x-Female-Monitor-Splitter-Cable-1-8m-/330657126500?pt=UK_Computing_Sound_Vision_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item4cfcb35864

Is that not sufficient?

Is VGA to HDMI out of the question also?

Thanks alot for the advice/help much appreciated

Figment

You need a total of 3 cables, as the switch goes between the computer and the screens, so you unplug the existing cable from TFT and plug it into switch. Use new (standard) cable between switch and TFT, and new (long) cable between switch and TV.

You could of course do without the switch altogether, but that would defeat the object of trying to have a cable permanently connected to the TV, as you would have to swap cables in the back of the computer instead.

The cable you found on ebay would allow you to use BOTH monitors at the same time, although with the one you've linked you'd also need male/male adapters in the back of both screens and I have no idea if it would affect the image quality.

No idea about VGA to HDMI, not something I've ever tried, but this would still require you to swap cables around when you wanted to switch between screens.

wenger08

Figment wrote: »

You need a total of 3 cables, as the switch goes between the computer and the screens, so you unplug the existing cable from TFT and plug it into switch. Use new (standard) cable between switch and TFT, and new (long) cable between switch and TV.

You could of course do without the switch altogether, but that would defeat the object of trying to have a cable permanently connected to the TV, as you would have to swap cables in the back of the computer instead.

The cable you found on ebay would allow you to use BOTH monitors at the same time, although with the one you've linked you'd also need male/male adapters in the back of both screens and I have no idea if it would affect the image quality.

No idea about VGA to HDMI, not something I've ever tried, but this would still require you to swap cables around when you wanted to switch between screens.

Thanks

So with your method i would not be able to have both monitors displaying windows at the same time?

With my method i would need two of these? (+ the cable):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VGA-SVGA-Gender-Changer-Adaptor-Cable-15-Pin-Male-to-Female-Connection-/150625475855?pt=UK_Computing_Sound_Vision_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item2311fa5d0f

Figment

wenger08 wrote: »

Thanks

So with your method i would not be able to have both monitors displaying windows at the same time?

With my method i would need two of these? (+ the cable):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VGA-SVGA-Gender-Changer-Adaptor-Cable-15-Pin-Male-to-Female-Connection-/150625475855?pt=UK_Computing_Sound_Vision_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item2311fa5d0f

Correct. My method allows you to switch between monitors. Yours allows you to use both at the same time (although I don't know what, if any, effect there will be on image quality by splitting the signal between two monitors)

[STRIKE]You should be able to find a cable with three male connectors, eliminating the need for the gender changers[/STRIKE]

Edit: That splitter cable is very short so forget the gender changers and use the existing VGA cable to your TFT and a new longer VGA cable to the TV.

wenger08

Figment wrote: »

Correct. My method allows you to switch between monitors. Yours allows you to use both at the same time (although I don't know what, if any, effect there will be on image quality by splitting the signal between two monitors)

[STRIKE]You should be able to find a cable with three male connectors, eliminating the need for the gender changers[/STRIKE]

Edit: That splitter cable is very short so forget the genger changers and use the existing VGA cable to your TFT and a new longer VGA cable to the TV.

Yea i think because i dont have a dedicated graphics card it might not be a good picture on the tv. Mainly i want this so i can watch sky player (on the tv) but previously when i have connected the tv to the monitor with the exisiting vga cable i wasnt able to watch it in full screen (still a fairly large and cler picture though but not full screen)

Not sure what i could do so i could allow this, would buying a proper graphics card help with this and then eliminate the need for the switch etc as i would have a hdmi port on the back of the pc then......is that right?

Thanks

Figment

wenger08 wrote: »

Yea i think because i dont have a dedicated graphics card it might not be a good picture on the tv. Mainly i want this so i can watch sky player (on the tv) but previously when i have connected the tv to the monitor with the exisiting vga cable i wasnt able to watch it in full screen (still a fairly large and cler picture though but not full screen)

Not sure what i could do so i could allow this, would buying a proper graphics card help with this and then eliminate the need for the switch etc as i would have a hdmi port on the back of the pc then......is that right?

Thanks

The TV will display the image at whatever resolution the graphics card is set to.

wenger08

Figment wrote: »

The TV will display the image at whatever resolution the graphics card is set to.

Yea i set the pc resolution to 1920x1080 which the tv can handle when im just displaying windows and looking at my desktop but when i try and stream the sky player picture to the tv at this resolution it goes abit smaller

if i bought something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PowerColor-RADEON-HD-5450-1GB-HDMI-DVI-VGA-DX11-AX5450-1GBK3-SH-Graphics-Card-/271160550938?pt=UK_Computing_Computer_Components_Graphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash=item3f226da61a

i could then just run a hdmi cable direct from the graphics card pirt to the tv AND use the existing vga connector from the tft monitor and leave it as it is?

Im just thinking that for your original method it is around £7 but for an extra £10 i could get a graphics card that would also allow me to increase the resolution so the tv could display the sky player in full screen?

Thanks alot for your advice, it is helping alot.

Figment

wenger08 wrote: »

Yea i set the pc resolution to 1920x1080 which the tv can handle when im just displaying windows and looking at my desktop but when i try and stream the sky player picture to the tv at this resolution it goes abit smaller

if i bought something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PowerColor-RADEON-HD-5450-1GB-HDMI-DVI-VGA-DX11-AX5450-1GBK3-SH-Graphics-Card-/271160550938?pt=UK_Computing_Computer_Components_Graphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash=item3f226da61a

i could then just run a hdmi cable direct from the graphics card pirt to the tv AND use the existing vga connector from the tft monitor and leave it as it is?

Im just thinking that for your original method it is around £7 but for an extra £10 i could get a graphics card that would also allow me to increase the resolution so the tv could display the sky player in full screen?

Thanks alot for your advice, it is helping alot.

Sorry, I don't dabble that far with graphics card settings, so you'd need to get advice from someone with more experience. Check that your TFT can handle the higher resolution (or that the GPU allows you to have different resolutions on different outputs)

Don't forget if you buy a new graphics card, you also need at least one new cable.