connecting PC to TV

[ZAnwar]

I have a Geforce 2 MX 400 and I have a cable supplied with it which i can plug in to my PC and TV.

The only problem is that, the startup ( bios and the win boot screen ) are fine but when I get to windows, the screen don`t come on right. Instead of the proper xp logon screen, little boxes come.

What's the problem, please tell me ?

I want to connect my PC to my TV forever if it works.

My tv is a 50 inch, Sony.

I can see everything in BIOS ( and I mean everything but when I come to Windows, the screen gets a bit mashed up !!! 😕

 

[Qumahlin]

ok first off. you won't be bale to use your pc connected to your tv for anything but graphics and games. Text will be unreadable because tv's don't have the ability to render fine text and a tv's max resolution is 640 by 480 and 800 by 600 if it's a really good TV...that is till you get to HDTV's which can do 1024 by 768

Have you set up using the tv as a secondary monitor in the geforce setup of your display? if you have the newer 27 such and such drivers it is listed in the nview section, if you have the older drivers just look through the tabs and find the setup

 

[ZAnwar]

i put it as the primary screen and i have got 27.42 Detonators !
but then how can you see text in DOS and Bios on my TV, if you said that it can`t render the text !

 

[ZAnwar]

I can see everthing in BIOS but not in Windows ! ( can`t see anything in Windows )

Please can someone help me !

 

[jw50]

That is because the BIOS info is at 640X480, you probably have windows set at a higher resolution. Right click on your desktop, select settings, and change the resolution to 640X480 and see if the text is readable on your tv. If it is then try changing the resolution to 800X600 and see if it is still readable. You can keep trying higher resolutions until you find the max that the tv will support.

BTW, if you cant see anything on the tv to make the changes then hook your monitor back up and change the settings using your monitor, then hook it back up to the tv.

 

[ZAnwar]

when I connected to the tv, my resolution was at 1024x768.
Now I will take your advice and do it at a lower resolution. When I have done it, I will reply ya back !

Thanks !

 

[Qumahlin]

yes you can see your bios text and such....

I was just letting you know that if you try and read web pages or word documents your gonna have to turn your font WAY up...or else your barely going to be able to read it or your gonna get massive headaches from your eyes trying to focus on it

haven't you Ever wondered why a 32 inch tv can sometimes cost less then a 17 inch monitor 😉

 

[ZAnwar]

there is one f*****g problem !!!!!

The text in windows is so messed up that i cant even see it !

the font has got different colours hovering over it !

proper weird !!!!!

why though ?

and why will HDTV`s be better ?

please can you ( Qumahlin and jw50 ) answer this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


and by the way, i was viewing windows on my tv on 800x600, 32bit resoloution ! ( lowest was 800x600 )

 

[rbmcgee]

OK, here we go🙂

Regular TVs have a max resolution of 640x480 interlaced.

Interlaced means that to draw a picture it takes 2 passes. The first pass draws the even number lines and the 2 pass draws the odd number lines. It requires these 2 passes to draw a complete picture.

HDTV (16x9) have a max resolution of 1920x1080 interlaced or 1280x 720 progressive, although the vast majority are 1920x1080 interlaced and are not capable of handling 720 p. Front projectors (some, not all) can vastly exceed these limitations

Progressive means the TV draws the complete image in 1 pass.

1080 interlaced requires the same capability as 540 progressive. For example, if 1080 interlaced requires 2 passes, then it draws 540 lines with each pass. 540 progressive draws 540 lines at a time. Therefore a 1080 i TV is also a 540 p TV.

There is also the issue of refresh rate. Refresh rate is the number of times per second the TV draws the picture. For TVs (HDTV or regular), this capability maxes out at 60 cycles/second.

The difference between TVs and computer monitors (or FP) expands both the max resolution and refresh rate limitations. Computer monitors can be driven at much higher resolutions and much higher refresh rates.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DRIVING AN HDTV HIGHER THAN THESE LIMITATIONS (resolution/refresh rate) CAN AND WILL DAMAGE THEM. CAUTION, CAUTION, CAUTION. I would strongly recommend that you stop 'testing' until you understand these issues.

Connections
The next issue is connections. Regular TVs will have video in with RCA jack and maybe s-video in. HDTVs will have component video in (3 jacks) and/or RGB in (standard VGA socket)

In order to get a computer signal into a regular TV, the best bet is to go with something like an ATI all-in-wonder card which has s-video out. I'm not sure if a converter exists to take a VGA signal out of a video card, convert it, and then input it to the TV as s-video.

To get a computer signal into an HDTV requires simply a VGA cable (if the TV has RGD in) or a transcoder which converts the VGA signal (video card) to a component input (HDTV).

I've got to go now, but will continue (expectations and workarounds) when I return.

 

[Qumahlin]

The problem is a TV does not have the small pixel capability that a monitor has....remember on a television or screen of any size there are 3 colors creating all the other colors (Red Green Blue)

On your standard computer monitor the size of those RGB dots is usually about .25mm, this is called dot picth but on most monitors today it is actually .22mm or lower...

Now on youe standard Home television the dots are ALOT larger...the dot pitch on a home TV ranges from .67mm to whole number dot pitch's depending on the size of the tv...i'm guessing since you have a 50 inch tv that the dot pitch will be pretty big

The colors over the fonts you are seeing are because the fonts are so mall and the dots creating them are so big...

now on a plasma or HDTV they are MUCH higher resolution screens, alot of HDTV's can display 1024 by 768 and have dot pitch's comparable to a computer monitor...and that is why plasma screens and HDTV's cost so much more then a regular tv

A normal TV is not made to handle the resolution and text a computer monitor is, not to mention computer monitors are made to be sat in front of..unlike a TV which was made to be optimally viewed from 3-6ft away

I hope this helps explain your problems 🙂

 

[jw50]

If you really want to use the TV instead of the monitor then you may need to uninstall your video card drivers and only use standard VGA drivers, that will get your resolution down to 640X480.

 

[rbmcgee]

I'm back.

One quick correction, Qumahlin. Most HDTVs cannot resolve 768 progressive lines of resolution. Only a few can resolve 720 p lines. This excepts HDTVs which are actually monitors, ie, Sampo and front projectors. With HDTVs, overscan can be a problem. You may want to run @ 480 - 520 p lines.

Expectations
A regular TV hooked up this way will not look very good at all. Text is basically unreadable. An HDTV on the other hand will look very good and text will be completely readable. When you hook up a computer to a HDTV/FPTV in this way it is normally refered to as an HTPC (home theater personnal computer). One of the best places to learn about this is: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/.

Some of the real advantages of HTPC (besides doing computer stuff on the big screen) are:
- Georgeous and flexible DVD playback (no need for dvdplayer)
- Decoding and watching HD programs (no need for HDTV STB)
- Recording HD programs (to hard disk)
- Playing big games (like x-box)
- Replace your VCR.
- CD player/jukebox (no need for CD player)

All this plus the ability to upgrade with new technology (rather than dropping huge coin for a static box.)

Recommendations
I would strongly recommend software called Powerstrip which gives you complete control over resolutions and refresh rates.
It can be downloaded at http://www.entechtaiwan.com/ and the forum is http://pub28.ezboard.com/fentechfrm5.

This exercise is a tweakers delight (it never ends). XP is my favorite OS to run an HTPC. Choosing the correct hardware and the correct drivers are critical. Ask/read before you buy.

 

[ZAnwar]

if i make the font DPI bigger, will i be able to see the fonts clearer then ?

 

[ZAnwar]

can u tell me please ???

 

[EXVITICUS]

i wouldnt connect your tv to your pc caues i did that with my radeon 7200 and the graphics look really bad trust me the tv doesnt have more pixles than a tv i would stick with your pc for your game it does look cool those for a sec till you relize that it looks crappy lol

 

[Taurus]

there's nothing wrong with connecting your pc to your tv... as long as it's just to watch movies or play a game that isn't higher than 640x480. yes, zanwar.. if you increase the dpi, the fonts will be easier to read.

speaking of, does anyone know how to enable 640x480 on the desktop? winxp decides that 800x600 should be the lowest and i don't like it sometimes.

btw, hdtv's aren't the only ones with component video input. my 32" jvc d-series has it and it's a regular 480i tube.

 

[EXVITICUS]

why does everyone like the screen so small >? everyone wants the screen in like 300x400 i like it at 1024

 

[Taurus]

?huh?

my desktop res is at 1280x960 or 1600x1200 all the time... but i want to know how to get 640x480 for the rare occasion that i connect my tv. 600 horizontal lines don't look good on 480i.