pc to tv cable advice needed please

wenger08

Hi im having problems with my vga cable

i ordered this cable:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MALE-SVGA-MONITOR-LEAD-CABLE/dp/B001MQGOL0/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1364995302&sr=1-1

But it doesnt connect from the pc to the tv

It DOES connect from the pc into the TFT monitor though

My existing vga cable does connect from the pc into the tv fine?

Is this a dodgy cable or have i ordered the wrong one?

Thanks

Figment

That certainly looks like the correct type of cable.

Double check by comparing the one that does fit the TV with the one that doesn't fit, and compare the socket on the back of your TFT screen with the one on the back of your TV. Are they identical??

Reason for checking is that some VGA leads only have 13 pins fitted, and often the corresponding socket will have blanks where those missing pins are, preventing you from inserting a plug with all 15 pins fitted.

wenger08

Figment wrote: »

That certainly looks like the correct type of cable.

Double check by comparing the one that does fit the TV with the one that doesn't fit, and compare the socket on the back of your TFT screen with the one on the back of your TV. Are they identical??

Reason for checking is that some VGA leads only have 13 pins fitted, and often the corresponding socket will have blanks where those missing pins are, preventing you from inserting a plug with all 15 pins fitted.

Thanks figment

I counted the pins on the new vga cable (the one im having trouble with) and there are 15 pins in the socket

15 holes in the back of the tv

15 pins in the vga cable that does work in the tft and the tv

And 15 holes in the back of the tft monitor

I dont get why the new cable would work from the pc to TFT but then not work from the pc to tv?

andrewjf

wenger08 wrote: »

Is VGA to HDMI out of the question also?

Thanks alot for the advice/help much appreciated

I initially thought you could forget that idea, but it seems there are products available that do it. Not a natural conversion, DVI -> HDMI would be easier.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/vga-to-hdmi-av-audio-video-pc-to-tv-adapter-convertor/386-4979.prd

andrewjf

wenger08 wrote: »

Thanks figment

I counted the pins on the new vga cable (the one im having trouble with) and there are 15 pins in the socket

15 holes in the back of the tv

15 pins in the vga cable that does work in the tft and the tv

And 15 holes in the back of the tft monitor

I dont get why the new cable would work from the pc to TFT but then not work from the pc to tv?

When you say it doesn't work, what exactly doesn't work? That is a bog standard VGA cable, and should physically connect to any TV offering a VGA port.
Do you get no picture on the TV?

Lum

Does your PC not have a DVI socket?

VGA -> HDMI is never going to happen as VGA is analogue and HDMI is digital. DVI is (usually) both.

wenger08

andrewjf wrote: »

When you say it doesn't work, what exactly doesn't work? That is a bog standard VGA cable, and should physically connect to any TV offering a VGA port.
Do you get no picture on the TV?

No i get no picture on the tv and the tv does not recognise that there is a vga cable in the back of it

If i use the existing vga cable that runs from my pc to TFT monitor the tv picks it up fine and displays windows on the tv

However if i plug the new vga cable into my tft monitor it works fine?

wenger08

Lum wrote: »

Does your PC not have a DVI socket?

VGA -> HDMI is never going to happen as VGA is analogue and HDMI is digital. DVI is (usually) both.

No the pc does not have one of those sockets and it doesnt have an independant video card, it uses the one that came with it, i think its inbuilt with the motherboard

Upgrading to a new video card would be expensive because the power supply in the pc is not great.

I had somebody look for a suitable video card and it was £50+

Lum

I very much doubt you'll have to pay £50 for a new video card and the power supply thing is a red herring. It's the more expensive video cards aimed at gaming that need the beefy power supplies!

Something like an nVidia 610 should set you back about £20 and provide you with two DVIs either of which could be converted to either HDMI or VGA with an inexpensive cable. You would then be able to use both displays at once and drag windows from one display to the other, which may be preferable to faffing about with switch boxes.

Edit: Not sure what slots you have in your PC, but if you have PCI-E, this card for £13 would do the trick, so long as you're not intending to use it for fancy 3D games.

almillar

So does the TV just go blank, or does it actually tell you there's no cable connected?
Maybe your TV can't handle the resolution the computer is outputting. I have a 1080p TV (that's 1920x1080 resolution) but the best it can accept over VGA is 1024x768! This information should be buried somewhere in your TV's manual.
Try setting the resolution to 1024x768 or 800x600 or something similarly low to see if that works. Also try playing with he frequency settings (60Hz, 50Hz or even 30Hz if they're available). Another TV I have will accept 59.9Hz but not 60!