PC to HDTV

Chickenz · Post by **Chickenz** » April 5th, 2006, 19:53

Is it possible to connect a pc to a HDtv? i have a winfast px 7800 gtx tdh 256mb and i am considering getting a samsung 32 inch lcd HDTV, BUT i dont want to spend 800 pound for nothing. Any advice would be great.

Post by **ProfHawking** » April 5th, 2006, 20:24

it all depends on the inputs on the tv i expect

if it has dvi or 15pin dsub input, then i expect you could hook up to your pc at a decent rez. if it only has scart or something then dont expect hdtv quality

cashy · Post by **cashy** » April 5th, 2006, 21:07

yes, its meant to look quite dandy but as the prof says its all about your other tack

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » April 5th, 2006, 21:33

M4niachicken wrote:Is it possible to connect a pc to a HDtv? i have a winfast px 7800 gtx tdh 256mb and i am considering getting a samsung 32 inch lcd HDTV, BUT i dont want to spend 800 pound for nothing. Any advice would be great.

Even if you can connect it up to an HDTV how much HD content are you really going to be able to watch from your PC?

Even with Sky HD around the corner what else is there at the moment to watch in HD?, is an Xbox 360 alone worth HD?

If you have a shit old TV and need to upgrade then obviously get an HDTV for future proofness (although anly a couple of HDTV's on the market are actually true HD, the rest are HD ready 720p not 1080i)

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » April 5th, 2006, 21:37

ProfHawking wrote:it all depends on the inputs on the tv i expect

if it has dvi or 15pin dsub input, then i expect you could hook up to your pc at a decent rez. if it only has scart or something then dont expect hdtv quality

This. It needs to have DVI or dsub inputs or you won't be able to connect your PC to your TV with High-def quality, for normal TV quality you can use Tv-out plugs.. I imagine yours will come with one of those funky new HD plugs (I am yet to see one of these as my "HD TV" has DSUB and DVI) you might want to look around and see if there are adapters to these new funky things from DVI or DSUBs.

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » April 5th, 2006, 21:47

pixie pie wrote:I imagine yours will come with one of those funky new HD plugs (I am yet to see one of these as my "HD TV" has DSUB and DVI) you might want to look around and see if there are adapters to these new funky things from DVI or DSUBs.

HDMI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

And HDCP which makes HD content super fun!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP

(a nice man from Sony told me that naughty types in eastern europe already claim to have built a device to sidestep HDCP)

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » April 5th, 2006, 21:51

mrbobbins wrote: HDMI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

And HDCP which makes HD content super fun!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP

(a nice man from Sony told me that naughty types in eastern europe already claim to have built a device to sidestep HDCP)

... Yeah those.

Post by **FatherJack** » April 5th, 2006, 21:59

Interesting. While digital audio transmisison via fibre-optic cable has been around for a while, even the latest "standards" for digital video use copper.

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » April 6th, 2006, 12:08

I think I read somewhere that Oblivion is HDTV compatible or something...

No useful advice to offer tho, just thought I'd share!

Edit: NINJAGOTEIM!

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » April 6th, 2006, 18:35

You can use the DVI output into a component I believe, but I have not tried.

Personally, unless you are going to hook up a 360 or Sky HD to it, I would save money, and buy a nice big Plasma screen, that you can upgrade to HD at a later date if you need to. (Using some type of card that you can plug in the back)

I really cant pimp the Panasonic Plasma screens enough since I bought one, and you could pick up a cheap non hi def one now if you look around on the internet.

However, saying that, displaying PC text and so on, always look a bit shit on a large screen Plasma whether it's Hi Def or not, so it might be an idea to just buy a nice big widescreen LCD if it's just for PC use.

To be honest it all boils down to personal preference, but we are not really gonna be using HD properly till about 2012 at the last estimate, so I wouldn't bother.

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » April 6th, 2006, 19:35

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:Personally, unless you are going to hook up a 360 or Sky HD to it, I would save money, and buy a nice big Plasma screen, that you can upgrade to HD at a later date if you need to. (Using some type of card that you can plug in the back)

I really cant pimp the Panasonic Plasma screens enough since I bought one, and you could pick up a cheap non hi def one now if you look around on the internet.

*Hates self slightly*.. I'm going to have to disagree with you here slightly WEY. I think upgrading to a high-def TV is a very good idea about now, well especially for me, as I have sky I'll be getting some sweet lovely high-definitionness soon. And as for myself, I cannot pimp Sky enough, its pure brilliance, can't wait for the HD stuff really.

Also, if you plan hooking up your PC to your TV at all ever, don't get anything less than High-definition, text will be unreadable completely. You may aswell pay the extra for high definition (Which isn't that much more) and most high quality LCDs are high-def now anyway.

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » April 7th, 2006, 7:54

pixie pie wrote: *Hates self slightly*.. I'm going to have to disagree with you here slightly WEY. I think upgrading to a high-def TV is a very good idea about now, well especially for me, as I have sky I'll be getting some sweet lovely high-definitionness soon. And as for myself, I cannot pimp Sky enough, its pure brilliance, can't wait for the HD stuff really.

Also, if you plan hooking up your PC to your TV at all ever, don't get anything less than High-definition, text will be unreadable completely. You may aswell pay the extra for high definition (Which isn't that much more) and most high quality LCDs are high-def now anyway.

I've seen it in action, and it really doesn't warrent the additional cost when you look at how cheap non HD PLasma's are now going for because the stores are clearing them out.

I love Sky, as I use Sky+, and it's one of the best purchases/services I've ever bought. However during the Sky HD ad' they are pimping now, I know it's not broadcast in Hi Def, but it looks fantastic on my non Hi Def Plasma, and only occasionally on shitty channels with crappy outputs (always looks excellent on BBC/Sky) do I get text and so appear blurry.

Hi Def is obviously better than non Hi Def, but the point I was tryign to get across but failed a bit along the way, is that you can pick up future upgradable plasma screens really cheap, and once you have something to connect to it that uses Hi Def, then you can upgrade relatively cheaper at a later date.

Looking more into it, you are right about text displaying better from a PC on Hi Def, due to the nature of the resolution Hi Def's have, and the way they can progressive scan better and so on.

So in principle, I don't disagree with anythign you said, it's just that there are some very cheap deals about at the moment, and you have to weigh up the £££'s

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » April 7th, 2006, 8:05

Personally I don't think the Sky HD service will be worth the money just yet, I'd wait till they have a better selection of channels

*hides from boss*

If I could afford an Xbox 360 and Sky HD i'd definitely get a HDTV, but I wouldn't bother hooking it up to my PC, your wasting money, may as well get a nice large monitor for a lot cheaper.

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » April 7th, 2006, 18:18

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:So in principle, I don't disagree with anythign you said, it's just that there are some very cheap deals about at the moment, and you have to weigh up the £££'s

Oh yes, Money..

..
I tend to think of things more longterm, quality over price etc.. This hurts me pretty bad costwise, so saving is key.. And as I'm a student this is not easy (Goddamn temptations of drinking and women.. I mean *Cough* the girlfriend

).. yeah, it all depends on how much available cash you have to spend on whether to go high-def yet or not, but I'd recomend going for the long-haul with high-def..

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » April 7th, 2006, 21:23

I'm drunk so have distilled this discussion down to:

PC to HDTV, Why?

Sky + 360 to HDTV, Nice but costly

5punk

PC to HDTV

PC to HDTV

Re: PC to HDTV