VGA out from PC to component in to TV

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daedal

Gawd
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May 10, 2005
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I spotted a few cables that converts your PC video card's VGA output to Component so that it can be output on to a TV. My question is the following: providing that my TV supports high-def input, would the picture quality be better than my current setup:

PC -> Svideo out -> converted to RCA -> input to TV

Is it worth the money? It's not very expensive so I woudn't really be at a loss if the gains were minimal but I'm guessing anything would be better than S-video, right?
Thanks guys, I appreciate any help with this. I'm still a noob at all of it.

[EDIT] The more I read on these cables, the less it seems this will work. What are my options for a good, clear TV display from my PC then?

[EDIT2] Guess I should include specs:

Video Card: ATI X850XT (AGP) - S-video to HDTV component adapter available (would it work?)
TV: Samsung HC-R5241W (Specs)
 
since you're starting from a Svideo feed, using a component adapter isn't going to make it better than what's coming out of Svideo.

But if you use a svideo to RCA adapter (that is different from component), the quality will be downgraded.

The svideo isn't that bad.. it's just as good as any standard tv quality (as long as the video file you're playing is good quality).
 
On the quality, my opinion is the same as the last poster.

daedal said:
Video Card: ATI X850XT (AGP) - S-video to HDTV component adapter available (would it work?)
TV: Samsung HC-R5241W (Specs)
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I tried this on my Hitachi 57inch widescreen and the results were less than desireable. I used a DVI to HDMI cable and attempted to use Powerstrip to get the aspect right. After monkey'ing with it the aspect was correct but the desktop resolution was terrible. I just gave up. might be something to think about.

Are you planning to use this as a media center? or do complete computing on the TV, because computing on it will prove frustrating IMO.
 
Gotcha. I'll try and pick up an s-video cable and see what it produces.
What about another "output" card? Would that be possible? Essentially, rendering the content (games) on my X850XT and outputting on another? I guess not but it's worth a shot. :D
 
I have a Samsung DLP HDTV that I connect my computer through DVI and it gives an incredible picture. You will need Powerstrip or some other utility to put in a custom resolution that supports the native resolution of the TV. It will work without the custom resolution but you won't get a 1 to 1 pixel ratio, and therefore the image will look crappier..mainly you will not get crisp text.
 
I don't know about that particular graphics card but I have a Geforce 6800 that I use the component adapter with and I get true HD quality out of it, clear 1080i resolution on my Sony XBR. I think on most new cards, the s-video port is not actually an s-video port but a generic output port that becomes whatever you need when you hook up the adapter. The adapter that came with mine has Component, S-video and Composite ports on it. I hope that all makes sense.
 
SJetski71 said:
OP, this X800 series component dongle is all you need: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...14&p_id=2525&style=&seq=1&format=1#largeimage (unless you have one already ?)

Just be sure to study the pin-out of your video card closely to see if it matches the pics.
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Thanks for the help guys! Very much appreciated.
ATI has a similar dongle/adapter that converts their s-video port to component/hd but I'm not sure wether it actually send a good signal (ie, high def) or if it simply converts it to component for ease of hookup. Guess I'll order it and see.

[EDIT] Just ordered the ATI dongle and 30ft of component cable. I'll chime in when I receive them with an update.
 
im running the component out on my x800xtpe to an 86" projector/screen @ 720p. It.looks.amazing.
 
Girlfriend just dropped me a call. Looks like my dongle just arrived.
Damn was that ever fast! Can't wait to get home and see if it works out.
 
daedal said:
Thanks for the help guys! Very much appreciated.
ATI has a similar dongle/adapter that converts their s-video port to component/hd but I'm not sure wether it actually send a good signal (ie, high def) or if it simply converts it to component for ease of hookup. Guess I'll order it and see.

[EDIT] Just ordered the ATI dongle and 30ft of component cable. I'll chime in when I receive them with an update.
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NP but Ya, as illumina mentioned above, it will output a true 1280x720p HD resolution, pretty sure it'll handle at least one of the bastardized 1080i resoltutions as well. It's a modified s-video output btw, with extra pins to handle the component signal.

You may need to download a copy of powerstrip to get your televisions timings just right, but i'd def try an updated ATI driver first since it would be a lot easier to setup. Don't forget that our htpc forum covers quite a bit of this topic...

Let us know how it works out
 
Ok, the cable is plugged but I can't seem to get it to run properly.
Do I have to enable something specific somewhere to get it to run at 1280x720?
 
I tried to get it to run on 720p but the TV goes blank and says "Mode not supported"
If it supports 1080i, am I to assume it naturally has 720p support or was I mistaken?

[EDIT] 1080i seems to be working though! The TV sorta "flickers" and then the image is displayed, but it's a bit shaky and is missing a big chunk of the top and left sides. Anything I can do about that?
 
you have to enable 480p, 720p, 1080i in your ati control panel. After that, you should be ok.
 
Yes it is also quite possible your TV does not support 720p but does support 1080i. As mentioned above you will also need a utility like powerstrip to setup a custom resolution to get a 1:1 pixel ratio.
 
illumina315 said:
you have to enable 480p, 720p, 1080i in your ati control panel. After that, you should be ok.
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Done that, tried to run at 720p but no go. Guess it doesn't support 720p. Sigh.
Oh well, at least 1080i works fine. What settings am I changing to get a proper display? You mentioned the resolution, any thoughts on that?
 
with powerstrip, or the ati control panel, you can tinker with your resolution to reduce overscan. This will let the HDTV 'see' the whole screen.

the HTPC forums, and www.htpcnews.com forums were very helpful for me when I was doing mine. additionally, I think there was a tutorial on htpcnews that explains the custom resolution sizing process.
 
MixManSC said:
Yes it is also quite possible your TV does not support 720p but does support 1080i. As mentioned above you will also need a utility like powerstrip to setup a custom resolution to get a 1:1 pixel ratio.
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Ya, he has a crt projection TV, which often does not support 720P. And there are a few versions of "1080i" which only leads to more confusion when setting up.

OP i should have worded it a little more clearly but sometimes getting the "timings" right can take a lot of tweaking. Like i said before, try it out with updated ATI drivers first and if that fails, then move on to Powerstrip, which can be a lot more complicated. Perhaps google your television model # to see if anyone has the correct powerstrip timings for your display.
 
SJetski71 said:
Ya, he has a crt projection TV, which often does not support 720P. And there are a few versions of "1080i" which only leads to more confusion when setting up.

OP i should have worded it a little more clearly but sometimes getting the "timings" right can take a lot of tweaking. Like i said before, try it out with updated ATI drivers first and if that fails, then move on to Powerstrip, which can be a lot more complicated. Perhaps google your television model # to see if anyone has the correct powerstrip timings for your display.
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Just Googled it and the only posts that come up are mine on a bunch of different forums. That's a downer. Are there any specific things I should be looking for in Powerstrip? Essentially, I don't mind the flickering because it doesn't show up in games but missing big chunks in the image is pretty crappy.

[EDIT] I really appreciate your help guys. Thanks for your patience. I'll look at the HTPC site posted above and see what I can dig up.
 
Hmm, been reading up on it a bit.
Would it be possible to run, say 12XX x XXXX on 1080i mode?
In short, have a smaller resolution that would be contered on the screen rather than the full XXXX x 1080 which crops sides?

[EDIT] After Googling for a while, I found this page which seems to have allot of good information. I'll post more when I get the chance to do so.
 
daedal said:
Hmm, been reading up on it a bit.
Would it be possible to run, say 12XX x XXXX on 1080i mode?
In short, have a smaller resolution that would be contered on the screen rather than the full XXXX x 1080 which crops sides?

[EDIT] After Googling for a while, I found this page which seems to have allot of good information. I'll post more when I get the chance to do so.
Click to expand...
you can get full screen, but i'm not so sure your TV can run a true 1920x1080i, i think it may run what i refer to as a "bastardized" 1080i which is a totally different resolution altogether. There's a few "1080i 's" I just can't remember the actual resolutions (i think one is 1920x540, or something really close).

The AVS forums are a great resource, it may take awhile but i feel the answer is hidden there somewhere. There's a chance that another "samsung crt rear projection" will have similar timings to your own TV, perhaps broaden your search to that category, then branch out from there.
 
I'm pretty sure that it is running in interlaced due to the flickering it's doing.
Anyhow, I'll try some 540p sets and see what comes of it when I get home.
If anyone is interested, I also found this page which says allot more about the whole process.
 
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