Laptop to HD TV

hey guys..i have a samsung full HD LDC tv that i got a month ago...its got HDMI inputs and also a VGA input...
i have the laptop stated in my signature....and its got only VGA output (thats the sad thign about my otherwise perfect vaio, i guess)..nothing else...
im wondering how to connect my laptop to my computer...ive got some good quality movies, and i think it'll look good on my TV...i read somewhere that i should buy a vga-to-dvi adapter, and then buy a dvi-to-hdmi cable?
then i also read that my laptop wouldnt be able to output HD movies for more than a few seconds, or something...is that true?
and lastly, wat is meant by an HD movie? i mean, the movies i have are DVD rips...are original DVDs in HD? how do i know if a movie on my comp is HD?
i hope this is the right place to post this, coz icouldnt find anywhere else icould.. if there's a better place for this, please move it...thanks

 

Right now there isn't any HDMI-out add-on yet through ExpressCard or something, but I think soon there will be.

I'm not sure about the VGA-to-DVI + DVI-to-HDMI cable method, since I've never tried it myself.

Regular DVDs are not HD (High Definition), but Blu-ray and HD-DVD are HD, which have a resolution of 1280×720 (720p) or 1920×1080 (1080i or 1080p) or higher in the future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_video

 

thanks...i read somewhere that i need software when connecting my comp to the TV...adjusting framerates n what not..wat do u suggest i use? actually, as i wont be using HD dvds etc, i decided to get an ordinary VGA cable and connect them, as my comp and TV both have VGA ports..do i need a software when connecting this too, or will my laptop have a built in utility that will suffice? thanks

 

You don't need software. Just ensure you have the correct input selected on the HDTV and use your Function (Fn) + F# (whetever number it is - usually F4) to enable VGA output on your notebook if I doesn't do it for you

 

thanks...i fixed it up..my vaio doesnt connect to my tv for some reason, the TV doesnt show PC as a source...i read on another forum about some guy having the same problem on a new laptop and it worked for him on his old PC..and it worked for me on my old laptop..so i guess thats not a problem..
but i have another problem..my lenovo thinkpad (my old laptop which connects to TV) sets a resolution when connected to the tv..and when i play some movies (some dvdrips i have) its displayed in this wide, thin format..is something wrong? there are two pretty big black bars on the top and bottom of the picture..so big that i feel the picture takes up just about 1/3 of the entire screen..is there a way of filling the screen up? thanks

 

why not just connect the VGA to the VGA on the tv

 

thats wat im doing

 

Does this happen after you've entered full screen?
Try changing the resolution to better fit the LCD TV.

How big is the TV and what is the suggested resolution?
And as for you trying to connect to the HDMI port of your TV through your VGA of your laptop, you won't get any benefits in doing so. The main reason is because if your laptop doesn't support an HDMI output, then that means it doesn't support HD at all. Thats what I think. So as as suggestion, don't waste any money on going from VGA to DVI to HDMI cable etc. etc.

 

yes, it happens when i enter full screen on my laptop...
my screen is 40" full HD...but i cant find a resolution on my laptop that fits it properly..my thinkpad has 2 settings (1024x768 XGA, 800x600 SVGA)...i use the XGA one..and if i change the settings manually, i get a message saying that my LCD cannot read the current resolution (some words to that effect )

wat do i do?? btw, im using VGA to VGA, as i get ur point about the adapters being pointless
EDIT: i just tried changing the resolution to wat i believe is the right resolution for my screen (1280x720), as my screen resolution is full HD (1920x1080) which both have the 16:9 ratio (is this logic correct?) ...
but when i refreshed the setup, my LCD gives a blue screen and says "Mode Not Supported" wats happening?

 

hmmm....the thing that comes to mind is the refresh rate. If you are using a higher refresh rate, than your screen might become unusable. Check what setting you have and what setting is recommended for your monitor.

Here's a link to help you figure out/change your refresh rate:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403

change your refresh rate accordingly.

And if your screen supports a 16:9 ratio, it doesn't matter what you put your resolution to. 16:9 is a widescreen format and having a resolution like that is only going to help make the appearance better, thats it.

 

hmm ok, i'll check the refresh rate..im pretty sure its 60Hz, and i dont think thats too high..
the latest is that i got my laptop (the one in my sig) working..apparently the nvidia graphics card has problems when connected to the HDTV, so i switched it off (vaio's stamina mode).and it works...however, my laptop's display settings doesnt have a 16:9 resolution....the closest i got was 1280x768, which works out to like 15:9...looks great, not stretched, but there's a black bar on the side, which looks weird...
so i thought of setting a custom resolution? i saw this app called powerstrip..
however, i didnt try it out yet, as it said that though it looks simple, wrong settings can mess up my monitor..i assume it meant it can mess up my LCD screen, and that scared me so please let me know if its safe to use powerstrip to set a custom resolution...i was thinking of setting 1280x720
please let me know, i dont want to mess with my LCD screen, but i'd like this to work

 

replies please?

 

The only way for it to hurt your PC, I'd imagine, is if you used a resolution that was too high for your monitor.

 

thanks! no way to hurt my TV, right?

 

ok, so i dont seem to be able to set a custom resolution..is my graphics card not supported? wat do i dooooo
my old laptop has a 1280x720 resolution option, why doesnt my newer laptop have it? is there anyway to get a new resolution setting without making it custom? thanks

 

Resolution is mainly dependant on your monitor. Your graphics card won't display resolutions that aren not supported by your monitor. For example, my notebook only displayed a 1200 x 800 resolution, but when I plugged my LCD into my notebook, I started seeing options for 1680 x 1050

Edit:

Try updating your Windows through that Windows updater thing.
Also, see if there are new versions of your nVidia driver available.

Before looking into the GFX driver, do a windows update if you haven't all ready done so and restart. Then try again.

 

Last thing I can suggest, if you haven't all ready done so, is to install all the drivers that came with your LCD TV/Monitor. There should be a CD that comes with the product.

 

thanks a lot...i'll try it out now...i dont think my lcd came with a CD
the thing is..my old laptop has the exact 16:9 resolution, but when i set that, the TV says "MODE NOT SUPPORTED" and displays nothing...on my new laptop, i can change resolution, and the 1280x768 almost fits but not quite...the 16:9 resolution should be 1280x720...ahhhhhhh
ive installed all updates...nothing new...thanks for ur help, i appreciate it!

 

Then it may be that your video card doesn't support it.
Set your resolution to the lowest setting, and then try connecting the LCD. Then, from there, keep increasing the resolution until you can't do so without an error and start from there.

Call up samsung and ask them whats going on.