47" Television as 3rd Display

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snukky

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 2, 2003
Messages
77
So, heres what the back of my video card looks like,

vcard.png


As you can see, i have 1 VGA, 1 DVI and one HDMI port...

As of now, I am running a 28" widescreen LCD computer monitor from it's HDMI port, to the video cards HDMI port...

My second computer monitor is a 22" widescreen that is positioned vertically, sitting on the right side of my main 28" monitor. A wire is running FROM the DVI port of the 22" monitor INTO the DVI port of the video card... This leaves me with the VGA port of the video card free of usage...

I just recently purchased a 47" LCD television which will be mounted somewhat high against the wall, to the left of my computer desk. The 47" LCD television has 4 HDMI ports (First 3 in the back, 4th on the side), a VGA port in the back and a usb plug on the side...

59557_g6.jpg


Side.jpg


There are also Red Green Blue and Yellow White Red ports as you can see from the picture's...

I understand that i'm using the last of the digital components for my computer monitors but i do not plan on using the 47" screen for strict computer usage. I will be watching television on the 47"... What i would like to do is occasionally stream live web casts, watch movies/video's, display youtube video's or anything similar (the list goes on) ON the 47" from my computer..

I'm here because i'm unsure of what my limitations are when using VGA... What will my max resolution be for the 47" television screen (while using VGA)? Since i'm purchasing this large quality television, should i swap digital display's from my 22" side computer monitor with the 47" ? (so, the 22" will be VGA and the television will have digital/HDMI etc..) Or would that be silly seeing that i'm not going to be using the television much for the computer anyway, thus leaving me stuck with a poor image on the 22" while using the computer. Will the unpleasent image of the VGA display be so bad to the point where it's not even worth connecting to the 47" or will it be OK for the idea that i'm trying to accomplish? Also, when the 47" is connected to VGA, will i be able to swipe my mouse across the screen and manipulate windows the same way that i do while using my 22", or is there an option where i can strictly use the 47" is a display for viewers? Will it be ran using screen ratio 4:3 or 16:9 or can i chose from the two? These vast number of questions constantly arise, and the slightest bit of contribution towards these questions would be outstanding.

I would like to take use of the last port on my video card regardless of the image quality i receive, simply because it's there and i would like to fill it's space (also because i've never connected a third display to such a large display and i think it would be pretty neat). I'm simply asking for advice, suggestions and opinions. I will be sure to send pics of everything when it's finished, however i would like to get these concerns out of the way! Much appreciated for those responding..
 
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VGA is capable of very high resolution + video bandwidth, but some TV manufacturers purposely limit their TV's VGA resolution to something silly such as 1280x1024. <-- this alone may limit or change your options.

Any chance you can post the exact brand + model number television so we can figure it out for you?

But if your TV can accept it's full resolution over VGA then for part-time computer use you'll probably think it's at least good enough, if not outright excellent.
 
Sure,

TOSHIBA 47" 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV 47ZV650U

I'm pretty sure the max VGA resolution for this television is what you said before, 1280x1024.. IF i use the HDMI (from the tv) to HDMI/DVI (to the video card) ports then i could probably use a higher/widescreen resolution while being able to use 1080...

However, at the moment i'm using both the HDMI and DVI ports on my video card for my duel computer screen setup, thus leaving me with the crap VGA port :( ... After purchasing this TV i don't feel like buying another video card that includes 3 digital ports just so that i can use this setup to a higher quality potential. So my question lies with using the 22" through VGA and the 47" TV with HDMI to the DVI port on the back of the video card.. Then i'll be limiting my 2nd monitor, while not being sure how much i'll actually use the digital display for the 47"
 
A lot of people throw in a cheap PCI card for that reason alone. If you go that route then make sure to find a slightly more modern pci card and not some ancient one (direct X 9 or higher?).

Perhaps you can post a thread in the video card forum for a "cheap decent pci card" to get some models, then head over to google shopping or Ebay to see how cheap you can get them.
 
Well, my motherboard has one PCI Express x16 slot, occupied by my current video card, and there are three more PCI Express x1 slots...

One is being used by my sound car, that leaves me with two more.

The motherboard that i'm using is,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128082

I have a spare video card that i kept after i upgraded,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150267

Would it be possible for me to use this video card in one of the left over PCI x1 slot specificly for displaying the 47" through DVI/HDMI?
 
Use VGA for the computer monitor. VGA will do 1920x1200 with ease.
 
450 said:
Use VGA for the computer monitor. VGA will do 1920x1200 with ease.
Click to expand...

For which, the 28" or 22" monitor? The 28" monitor sits right in front of me and the 22" is placed virticly and positioned to the right, next to the 28"...

If i use VGA for the 28" monitor i'll be limiting the quality of my main monitor, not sure if i really want to do that.
 
snukky said:
I have a spare video card that i kept after i upgraded,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150267

Would it be possible for me to use this video card in one of the left over PCI x1 slot specificly for displaying the 47" through DVI/HDMI?
Click to expand...
Not that card unfortunately.

But i notice your mobo does have three traditional pci slots, which means you might be able to get lucky with a cheap $25-$30-$40 pci card, just not sure which model to recommend.

GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R
PCI Slots - 3
Click to expand...
 
snukky said:
For which, the 28" or 22" monitor? The 28" monitor sits right in front of me and the 22" is placed virticly and positioned to the right, next to the 28"...

If i use VGA for the 28" monitor i'll be limiting the quality of my main monitor, not sure if i really want to do that.
Click to expand...

Try out the VGA port with a nicely shielded thick VGA cable. It really should look fine. Doesn't matter which screen you use it with.

Also, what video do you have?
 
well i notice that i have 2 black pci slots on the motherboard that are about an inch long, i believe those are the pci express x1 slots. What's the difference between the 3 traditional white slots that your talking about, and the 2 inch long slots? Ive seen video cards that use the pci express x1 but what would be the best option for what i'm trying to pull off?
 
snukky said:
well i notice that i have 2 black pci slots on the motherboard that are about an inch long, i believe those are the pci express x1 slots. What's the difference between the 3 traditional white slots that your talking about, and the 2 inch long slots? Ive seen video cards that use the pci express x1 but what would be the best option for what i'm trying to pull off?
Click to expand...
Totally different types of slots, pci is older, slower and has less overall bandwidth. Shouldn't really affect it's use for a part time, third display, unless you wanted to seriously game on it <--- something to look out for because most pci cards are weak in that regard.

PCI express x 1 video cards are rarer and more expensive, check newegg to see what i mean.

While standard "PCI" cards are more common and hence much cheaper (but much weaker for gaming).


For now the easiest thing to try would be 450's idea, throw the VGA cable onto your secondary 22" display and see how it looks, there's a good chance you'll like it imho.
 
Alright, thats what i'll go for then. I'm not even sure if i'll be able to achieve the resolution that i currently have for my 22" being vertical when i switch it to VGA... Anyway, i'll try it out, but just for personal reasons, if for instance i did have a motherboard with 2x PCI Express x16 or 2.0 slots, would i be able to connect the spare video card that i still have a use that for the television's Hi Def display?
 
Yeah, you'll be able to use the 8800GTS for a third display, in this case your 47" television.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you keep thinking VGA will look bad or won't be able to support the resolution? If it was truly limiting, it wouldn't be featured on modern cards. The orientation of the monitor doesn't matter, as the actual resolution is still the same - 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (or whatever the 22" unit uses).
 
450 said:
Yeah, you'll be able to use the 8800GTS for a third display, in this case your 47" television.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you keep thinking VGA will look bad or won't be able to support the resolution? If it was truly limiting, it wouldn't be featured on modern cards. The orientation of the monitor doesn't matter, as the actual resolution is still the same - 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (or whatever the 22" unit uses).
Click to expand...

Well because, i remember just getting the 28" monitor and i wasnt even going to add the 2nd but i thought, ah what the hell... So i was running into idiotic problems that i later figured out, but they consisted of me not being able to use the hdmi cable for the 28" because i was unaware of how to enable it through the nvidia display options... Umm, anyway before i figured everything out, i was swapping each display in and out of VGA, and all could remember was the before and after images of DVI/HDMI aside from VGA. My resolutions were messed up and the dullness of the image was just quite pale and not intriguing.

1. Duller or dimmed screen, kind of as if the brightness was lower, it was as if i was looking at an LCD and it consisting of older CRT quality.. It wasn't to my liking

2. the resolutions that i was offered definitely seemed like they weren't for wide screens, rather 4:3 ratio... Basically i couldn't find a solid resolution, as the one that i'm using now..
 
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