Trying to use laptop as HTPC - Assistance needed :)

TS28

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
225
Howdy all,

I have recently decided that I want to try to save some money by, instead of buying a new computer as a HTPC, simply use my laptop, a Lenovo T400.

The T400 has a VGA out, and of course a headphone jack.

The TV I am trying to use is a standard definition TV with an input that uses s-video, as well as yellow white and red, then yellow white and red, and then component.

I am running Windows 7 64-bit on the T400.

What is the recommended way to go about this? I have, so far, tried using This Cable to connect the VGA to the TV. I have tried both s-video and RCA. Both individually and together, but all I get is a really distorted awful picture on the TV. I am able to get sound working peachy, but nothing in regards to video.

For a bit more specifics on what I mean by distorted, it looks like the whole screen is moving sideways, it is black and white, and the whole picture is skewed.

I tried setting the resolution to 640x480, but it still did not seem to want to work.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get this working? I am willing to go out and buy any cable!

Thanks!!

:)
 
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Trade in the laptop for a real machine??? Yeah but other then that... your laptop isnt exactly "recommended" for a HTPC machine.

Most HTPC machines have HDMI out and digital audio out. But you can still do it.

I'd use S-Video out if you can, if your having problems try VGA out. Not sure why you'd get distortion, maybe something with your video out on the laptop? Or your TV even.

I'd try going SVGA into your tv, they make adapters to convert it, but still, i know your experimenting but the gear you have isnt exactly what i'd recommend at all for a HTPC.

Sorry.
 
just forget about it. you can get vga-to-composite converters, but theyll cost $50+ and the results wont be great anyway. your laptop doesnt have svid out, and your tv doesnt have vga in... so youre basically screwed. you need to build a real htpc or get a laptop with svid out at the very least.
 
hey i never said you couldnt! nice price on that converter though, if the picture quality is good enough then its nice to hear youre getting use out of older parts!
 
Ohh yeah forgot about those. Used often here in the video surveillance world... when we wanna take a BNC surveillance camera and putput it to a VGA monitor for single viewing... or for cases where we ran a coax cable and need to extend a monitor over that (DVR is upstairs, monitor is downstairs and all we have is a coax line to work with)
 
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