Forum Archive Home -> DVB / HDTV -> VGA to S video
VGA to S video | ||||
| darrenpj posted 2008 Jan 27 14:04 | ||||
| I am trying to send the video signal from my desktop computer to HD LCD TV.
The only video port on the desktop is VGA. The TV has S, RCA (composite and component) and HDMI input. So I bought on ebay the VGA to S, RCA adapter shown here: 
From there I used S-video cable and pluged into TV. Nothing coming out. I read somwhere that this can work only if the video card has TV-out capability. I believe (but not 100 % sure) that my video card Intel® 82945G Express Chipset does not have TV-out based on this link . Could somebody let me know is it true that my video card has no TV-out? If so, what option(s) I have to get the video signal from my desktop computer sent to the TV? Thank you | ||||
| yoda313 posted 2008 Jan 27 14:21 | ||||
| If you have an open hdmi port you could do part of what I am doing - I have dvi out on my graphics card and I use a dvi-hdmi cable. In your case you will need to use a vga-dvi adapter first and then purchase a dvi-hmdi cable. THat way you will go from vga-dvi-hdmi. Not the best route but if you don't have a vga nor a dvi input on your hdtv than this is the best option I belive you have. If you go this way then you won't have to worry about tv out since it will take a digital signal and put it on the tv.
Make sure you don't have a vga port on your hdtv first. If you do have one than simply buy a plain vga cable that will connect to both the graphics card and tv. | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 Jan 27 15:42 | ||||
| There are only a few video devices that output an S-Video on unused VGA pins. None of the well known display chipsets do this. S-Video is usually found on the 1234 pins of a "TV-Out" connector. These connectors have 4, 7, or pins. Sometimes (e.g. NVidia) the extra pins carry YPbPr analog component.
In your case, you will need a different display card for your desktop that has S-Video (for SD) or analog component (for HD) or a DVI-I that can be connected to the HDMI port. | ||||
| darrenpj posted 2008 Jan 27 22:16 | ||||
Thank you all for the replies. As I do not wish to change my video card, I will then have to go with this vga-dvi-hdmi option for the LCD TV. My quick search on google for vga to dvi adapter gave two different things: [img]http://forum.videohelp.com/images/guides/p1805790/ http://catalogs.infocommiq.com/AVCat/images%2Fproducts%2Fdetail%2 ... dapter.jpg [/img] and [img]http://forum.videohelp.com/images/guides/p1805790/ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/318PNYZDP0L._AA280_.jpg [/img] but I believe it is the first one that you were having in mind, otherwise please let me know. I also have a second TV which is analog and has only composite RCA input. What is my option in that case (without changing the video card). Thanks. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 Jan 27 22:27 | ||||
The VGA->DVI->HDMI cable option will not work. DVI has the option of carrying analog video. HDMI does not. The analog pins at the DVI end of the DVI->HDMI cable won't be connected to anything at the HDMI end. A $50 graphics card will get you DVI output (with which you can use a simple DVI->HDMI cable) and better performance than your integrated graphics. This is a far better option than an active VGA->DVI converter for >$200. You can even get a graphics card with an HDMI output for not much more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127301 That particular card even has the option to accept digital audio from the computer and route it to the TV via HDMI. | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 Jan 27 22:54 | ||||
| Yep forget the cable. That is intended for the other direction DVI-I to VGA. DVI-I carries pins for DVI-D (digital) and VGA (analog RGB).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVI A converter box is both more expensive and lower picture quality than a new card. | ||||
| darrenpj posted 2008 Jan 28 00:41 | ||||
| Ok, it's more clear now, with such difference in price, a new graphic card seems to be inevitable to have video on my LCD TV.
As for my analog TV with the RCA input only, what do I need to get computer video to it? Thanks a lot | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 Jan 28 01:40 | ||||
Anything with S-Video out can use a summing adapter or cable to sum Y+C to composite. | ||||
| soontorb posted 2008 May 12 16:01 | ||||
| Hi,
I am actually facing same problem with the owner of this topic, I have a labtop, sony vaio with winXP sp2, Geforce ge 6200 as my video card I bought the exact same cable believing that it would work on my VGA output, seem like nothing coming out so far, I believe that my card have a tv-output capability, but I'm really not sure how can I connect it to my TV, (i have tried connected s-video cable and check in the display properties to find the TV option but there're none) Am I in the right track? Thank you so much for your answer. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 May 12 19:02 | ||||
Yes. Turn off the TV and laptop. Plug the s-video cable into both devices. Turn on the TV. Then turn on the laptop. The computer should detect the TV and enable the s-video port. Go to the graphics card's setup applet and see if any TV options show up. | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 May 12 21:07 | ||||
I've never seen anything but VGA RGBHV come out of a laptop VGA port. The "TV-Port" can offer S-Video plus many proprietary alternatives depending on display chipset and laptop maker implementation. Pins 1-4 get you S-Video (Y/C). Other pins are non-standard. A 7pin connector may add composite and maybe audio. A 9 pin connector may add PbPr (you already have Y). Most of these work through a dongle that may have been suppied with the laptop or is available as an option from the laptop manufacturer. | ||||
| xxxjojoxxx posted 2008 May 20 09:06 | ||||
| I have read all the previous postings in regards to obtaining a signal for tv output. However, I am not using a deskop but a laptop that only has vga output. I went about the same route and purchased that "dongle" that has vga to s-video and it does not work. Do I have any other options to covert the vga to s-video signal that will actually work? I'm running a presario 2200 laptop. Thanks!!!- joe | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 May 20 10:04 | ||||
An external scan converter: http://search.cablestogo.com/Search.aspx?qu=vga+converter Does your laptop have a PC Card slot? Maybe a PC Card video card? | ||||
| xxxjojoxxx posted 2008 May 20 17:38 | ||||
| Hi Jagabo.. my pc does have a pc card slot. I actually did a bit more research and picked out two in which I will make a decision. Please check them out & give me your feedback in which I should go with.
http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/maxcinkit.html http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/www.html Thanks!! :) | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 May 20 18:17 | ||||
You won't be happy with S-Video quality. Check another computer's S-video out and accept that scan converted will be even worse. I'd still invest that money in a new HDTV fund. For $160, you could even get a quality 19" LCD computer monitor (DVI-D + VGA) that would look far better. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 May 20 19:57 | ||||
Yes, s-video will give you a resolution of roughly 640x480 (NTSC) or 640x576 (PAL). If you are running your desktop at 1024x768 (or whatever) it will be downsized to roughly those resolutions before being sent to the TV. Windows isn't usable (normal sized text is barely readable) this way. It's OK for watching DVD or dowloaded videos. Here's a rough simulation of what a 1024x768 desktop will look like via s-video:
On a TV it will be bigger but just as blurry. | ||||
| xxxjojoxxx posted 2008 May 21 07:47 | ||||
| Well here is my situation... I have video software on my laptop that I want to run to play music videos, display graphics, photo montages, etc.. The output will be displayed on plasma screens. This is what I am trying to do. I will not be using any text and always run the program in fullscreen mode.. Would the s-video scan converted signal be appropriate for this considering I'm not going to be using it for small text? | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 May 21 08:13 | ||||
S-video will work. Your high resolution photos will not be sharp like when viewing them on a computer monitor. You won't be taking advantage of the high resolution the plasma TV is capable of. It will be like watching standard definition TV on the Plasma TV (a little to a lot worse because of the multiple scalings and quality of the scan converter). If your digital camera/camcorder has composite or s-video TV output try hooking that up to your TV to get a rough idea of what you will get with a scan converter. Or convert some of your photos to standard movie DVD and watch from a DVD player via composite or s-video. Many DVD players will even display JPG images from a disc. | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 May 21 14:35 | ||||
| And this plasma has no VGA input? | ||||
| crono9977 posted 2008 Dec 01 21:26 | ||||
| I'm having some problems connecting my laptop and TV together. Im using an s-video -> vga cord. I the s-video is 7 pins and fits into my laptop, and the vga connects to the tv. My laptop detects that there is a TV connected to it, and I'm sure the TV does as well because it automatically turns to the input for PC connection. But all I get is no signal on the TV. I have a fn key for switching to TV output, but I still get no signal on the TV. Ive also tried turning both off and then turning the TV on and teh laptop on: still no signal.
Anyone have any ideas? | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 Dec 01 22:22 | ||||
S-Video is NTSC slpit into Y and C (4 pins). You can't get from there to VGA without considerable electronics. Even if you bought the converter box, you wouldn't be pleased. Laptop S-Video is equiv to about 480x480 at best. So what is the laptop source model number? Why doesn't it have a VGA connector out? | ||||
| crono9977 posted 2008 Dec 02 22:29 | ||||
I have an Asus W7J with an nvidia geforce go 7400. There is a VGA out on it, but I dont have the correct cables so ill probably need to buy them. What would be the best way to hook it up then? | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 Dec 02 22:50 | ||||
| VGA from laptop to VGA on TV. | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 Dec 03 01:53 | ||||
| A simple VGA cable
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-FT-VGA-SVGA-MONITOR-M-M-MALE-TO-MALE-EXTENS ... 7C294%3A50 | ||||
| crono9977 posted 2008 Dec 04 21:12 | ||||
| alright cool, thanks | ||||
| SingSing posted 2008 Dec 04 22:09 | ||||
| Hi, edDV, can you find a composite to DVI cable for me too? :D | ||||
| su_candy posted 2008 Dec 08 05:47 | ||||
| Dear friends,
I'm working on an engineering project. I have a task of converting VGA(from my desktop pc) to s-video and then connecting that s-video to Dazzle(Digital video converter-DVC90) and viewing live video on my pinnacle software in my laptop. I used a vga to s-video cable for the connection. When I tried doin this, I found that the live video kept flickering badly ... My desktop pc's motherboard is "ASUS A8V-VM SE" Could you please let me know whether this conversion could be done? Could you please help me with your suggestions as to what needs to be done to avoid the flickering? thanks | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 Dec 08 07:53 | ||||
| A simple cable won't work. Those VGA to s-video cables are for specific devices which output s-video on otherwise unused pins of the VGA connector. Normal graphics cards do not do this.
VGA to video scan converters start around $50 and go up to several hundred dollars: http://www.svideo.com/pctvez.html Some have flicker reduction which works by blurring the image along the vertical axis. | ||||
| su_candy posted 2008 Dec 08 08:25 | ||||
| hi jagabo,
Thank u so much for ur advice. I have now decided to buy a vga to video scan convertor. Will that deivce be compatible with all types of PCs??? I did a research on the sellers of this device and found a deal. I would like to share it with you. Could you Please give me ur suggestions on buying this device for the conversion? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC-to-TV-VGA-to-AV-S-Video-Converter-Adapte ... 240%3A1318 | ||||
| edDV posted 2008 Dec 08 09:41 | ||||
These will "work" but quality of scan conversion varies widely. Read the user reviews. As an engineering student it is more important for you to learn the concepts of scan conversion and for this a cheap model is adequate. You could visit a local TV station to see a pro model that sells in the thousands that is routinely used to sync satellite feeds into a local broadcast. The chief engineer there would probably be pleased to explain these concepts to you and give you a tour. The first scan converter for broadcast use was invented by NEC corp in the early 80's and cost roughly $250K and was the size of a fridge. It for the first time allowed non synchronized sat feeds to be used live in a news broadcast. For this NEC received a technical Emmy award. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scan_conversion http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1196642,00.html If you have questions feel free to ask more. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2008 Dec 08 10:57 | ||||
Yes, but note the limitations. From the device you linked to: "Support 640x480@60/72/75/85Hz, 800x600@60/72/75/85Hz , 1024x768@60/70/75/85Hz, 1280x1024@60display mode." Quality varies from device to device. Generally, more expensive ones do better than cheap ones. Note the sample image I posted earlier in this thread. | ||||
| su_candy posted 2008 Dec 09 04:24 | ||||
| hi edDV,
Thanks for ur advice and support.. the websites u provided were really helpful.. I've started doing more research on this field.. really curious to know more on this... Thanks and regards | ||||
| galapagos posted 2009 Jan 29 20:25 | ||||
| hi guys.. would HDMI to HDMI work? I got HDMI on my lap top and HDMI ports on HDTV... | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Jan 29 20:34 | ||||
Should work. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Jan 29 20:34 | ||||
Sure. The outer ~3 percent of the frame on all four sides will not be visible if your HDTV overscans. | ||||
| galapagos posted 2009 Jan 30 12:31 | ||||
| thanks so much guys... would VGA to S Video also work? | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Jan 30 13:35 | ||||
Should work. Why did you buy HDMI if you don't want to use it? | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Jan 30 14:13 | ||||
| Keep in mind s-video will only give you about 640x480 resolution for the luma (black and white) and 320x480 for the chroma (colors). You're far better off with HDMI or VGA if your TV supports them. | ||||
| galapagos posted 2009 Jan 30 15:34 | ||||
| thanks guys.. I haven't bought cables.. I was wondering what is the better one to buy.. HDMI to HDMI are more expensive in franchises like radioshack or best buy, VGA to SVideo cheaper.. but quality is worse.. probably my best bet is HDMI to HDMI... | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Jan 30 15:40 | ||||
| There are many websites that will sell you HDMI cables for under $10 and by length. You probably paid a $200 premium to get HDMI in your laptop. Get the right cable. These guys shipped cables to me with 4 days USPO delivery.
http://www.tartancable.com/ If you plan to use the TV as a computer monitor (vs. play tv/movies) check to see it supports full scan on HDMI. VGA (PC Port) usually has overscan switched off. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overscan | ||||
| galapagos posted 2009 Jan 30 15:54 | ||||
| I'll order from them too then.. No I didnt pay 200$ for HDMI port on my lap top, its just Dell 1535 Studio, it came with HDMI and ATI Radeon 3400 video card (250 MB).. | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Jan 30 16:02 | ||||
| The TV needs to support full scan if that wasn't clear. | ||||
| galapagos posted 2009 Jan 30 16:09 | ||||
| OK | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Jan 30 16:31 | ||||
| Our local Fry's has 10 foot HDMI cables on sale this weekend for US$3.97. Shaxon brand. I've used them. They're fine. | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Jan 30 17:00 | ||||
Cool I'm heading for Fry's tomorrow. I haven't looked at the ad yet. | ||||
| SingSing posted 2009 Feb 02 19:29 | ||||
| Is there a significant different of video quality from RGB input vs HDMI input ?or it just I want the latest stuff thing ? | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Feb 02 20:53 | ||||
By "RGB" I think you mean analog component? in that case G=Y (luminance) B=Pb R=Pr VGA is analog RGB HDMI is digital and can be 8bit RGB or 8bit 4:2:0 Y,Cb,Cr, also or for v1.3 higher bit rate and bit depth xvYCC, sRGB or Y,CbCr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Definition_Multimedia_Interface Is the quality different? That depend on the source and the display you are using. | ||||
| galapagos posted 2009 Feb 06 15:36 | ||||
| been using HDMI to HDMI, works great, picture and sound! thanks for the advice | ||||
| wicked45662 posted 2009 Sep 22 22:52 | ||||
| Hello all.
Sorry if I did not read enough But I have a laptop with VGA output. I need to send it to S Video or AV. I can not find away to convert this. When I bring my laptop up it gives me two displays but It only has VGA out. Can I hook A monitor to it and use it as a second display, Or will it be a mirror. Thanks all Wirereaper45662 | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Sep 23 00:36 | ||||
Chipsets differ. Check the manual or call the laptop manuafacturer tech support. You can connect VGA to a VGA monitor. To convert VGA to S-Video you will need something like this. http://www.startech.com/item/VGA2NTSCPRO-High-Resolution-PC-VGA-t ... ntrol.aspx | ||||
| huykin posted 2009 Nov 19 23:50 | ||||
| jagabo, edDV: What do you guys think about this VGA to s-video/composite converter: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000X3FAJU ? About $30 and people seem quite happy with it (average rating 4 stars from ~100 reviews), not like with those VGA to s-video cables. Is this a reasonable quality scan converter for $30?!! Sounds too good to be true, but shopping miracles do happen occasionally... | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 20 06:48 | ||||
Sounds like it works. The specs that Amazon lists say it only supports VGA at 640x480 but at users indicate it also works at 800x600 and 1024x768. Note: the higher the VGA resolution the less readable Desktop text will be. The price I see is US$18.89 + $9.10 shipping. | ||||
| huykin posted 2009 Nov 20 12:04 | ||||
| Do you think that will work with a wide screen laptop running at native 1280x800 60Hz, to watch SD (720x480x30 interlaced, 4:3 DAR) video in full screen on a SD CRT TV through s-video? Will I just need to change the screen resolution to 1024x768 or another 4:3 resolution? Will interlacing be properly transmitted if I play without deinterlacing? (That would be nice as both video and TV are interlaced.) Thanks | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 20 12:57 | ||||
You'll probably have to switch to 1024x768 at 60 Hz. Instead of swtiching the Desktop you can use a player that changes the resolution on the fly.
Tough to say. I suspect it will work right if you use a player that bobs. | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Nov 20 20:12 | ||||
| If you buy this let us know how it works for you. The converters I've seen perform poorly for display of desktop. | ||||
| dphirschler posted 2009 Nov 20 20:53 | ||||
| I am doing something similar, only backwards. I have a VGA monitor that I want to use as a "TV" display. Mainly, I want to use it to view video coming out of my DVD player, recorder, vcr, and tuner without having to turn on the projector each time. I have a spare VGA monitor, but not a spare TV. So I got a s-video to VGA converter for roughly $60.
But I don't mean to hijack. I just thought it might be interesting in this conversation. Darryl | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Nov 20 21:00 | ||||
I bet you could find a real TV on Craigslist for $60 that produces a better picture. |
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