Can I output to TV without s-video?

I'm not sure if I'm in the right forum here so apologies if not.

I have a Dell Latitude D820 with an NVidia Quadro video card but no s-video port. Can anyone tell me whether it's possible to output to TV (for playing DVDs, home movies, plus I have a digital TV tuner it would be good to output)?

I have a VGA port (and I think the card might have multiple monitor capabilities but I'm not really sure) but I think that's about it in terms of video output.

 

I should probably mention that it's an NVidia Quadro NVS card that I have. Not sure whether that's relevant.

 

Normally, it's impossible. But you can and the quality will be somewhat degraded. Check this page for info. You'll need something like this to do it,I believe.

 

Definitely not, i guess that your video card is old. Nowaday, all the video cards come with a s-video out even a low-end model and cheap price.

 

Yes you can, you just need a VGA to TV converter box like Zoxan mentioned. Seeing that the D820 is a business model and the Quadro card is a business video card, it makes sense that an S-video jack was not included as most business laptops are hooked up to projectors for presentations which use VGA which will provide better color and resolution than s or composite video.

 

Thanks folks. I'll have to have a think about whether it is worth it. My TV isn't even that much bigger than my laptop screen.

Iter, it is not an old card. The laptop itself is really quite new. When I bought it I was more concerned with performance and speed and because my partner had an earlier version of the laptop which had s-video it didn't even cross my mind to check for it.

 

I just stumbled here ... in case anyone else is wondering the same thing:

Dell Latitude laptops often don't have an S-video output because they are "business" laptops : smaller screens, built sturdier, and not as many bells and whistles as the more "commercial" Inspiron series.

BUT, if you want an s-video output on a Latitude laptop, you can purchase a Dell D/Port port replicator. It expands your laptop's output ports, and it includes an s-video output. Without any loss of quality, you could plug your laptop to your TV.

Check the dell website and search for "D/Port". They're pricey on the Dell website, but you can pick them up for a decent price (80$) on Ebay.

I know this is an old thread, but I hope this helps someone.

 

If your TV has a VGA or DVI port you can just connect to it using a VGA or DVI male to male cable.

 

Does your laptop has an S-Video output? And S-Video port is circular, large and has a pattern of holes in?

S-VIDEO



You may also have a composite video output, which is circular large, yellow, and has a large hole in the middle.

COMPOSITE



In this picture the composite port is on the far right.

If have either port simply use an S-Video or Composite Video (yelllow) cable cable to hook up the laptop and the TV and then use the video output quick key on your keyboard which is FN + ..... (a laptop/TV symbol will be on one of the keys in a different colour). Then flick through all the AV input channels on your TV.

If you don't have a Composite or S-Video cable, you'll need an adapter cable:

http://www.computercasesandcables.com/ccc/CV-25120.html

However, I don't like these kinds of adapter cables. I always doubt over their perfromance. Quote from the site:


NOTE: Note Though this adapter works with most video cards, some video cards do not support this adapter.



For Sound, you can use that cable you thought about using (The 3.5mm Audio port cable to RCA. You can use that cable to connect directly to your TV's internal speakers or you can connect that to an amplifier.

OR

you can use a 3.5mm to a 3.5mm cable to connect to some ordinary external speakers:

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/35mm2.html



Hope this helps,
Mayz

 

sweet... I'm so happy I saw this thread... I've been looking for something like this for awhile! thanks!

just to note, they're REALLY cheap on ebay...