The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Connect laptop to TV

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by lnknprkn, Jun 29, 2009.

  1. lnknprkn

    lnknprkn Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    17
    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I want to watch my laptop movies on the TV, so i bought the "VGA TO 3 RCA" cable

    I connected it and everything hooks up... but now what? I checked the TV Video 1, 2, 3, etc and its all just a black screen. There's even a TV Video 8 (PC) mode but it says No Signal
     
    lnknprkn, Jun 29, 2009
    #1
  2. sirmetman

    sirmetman Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    679
    Messages:
    3,291
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    What model TV? You may have to change the color space or timing, adjust the TV to get the singal to process correctly. I assume what you mean is VGA to component? Or is it VGA+audio to composite+audio?
     
    sirmetman, Jun 30, 2009
    #2
  3. Chango99

    Chango99 Derp

    Reputations:
    258
    Messages:
    2,186
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Those types of cables don't work in most cases.
     
    Chango99, Jun 30, 2009
    #3
  4. bossier330

    bossier330 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    292
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    A VGA to RCA cable only works if either you have a special setting on your graphics card to output in that format (rare) or if your TV has the ability to receive in that format (also very rare). The standard signal going through a VGA cable cannot be reconstituted as component video by physical means.

    ...I think.
     
    bossier330, Jun 30, 2009
    #4
  5. Triangle Laptops

    Triangle Laptops Company Representative

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    You might have to adjust the display settings. Most laptops don't automatically switch to the video output if something's plugged into it. Especially if your laptop can support a dual screen setup.

    Just right click on the desktop and then Properties. Then click on the Settings tab in the Display Settings. You should be able to make the adjustment there, depending on your system's setup.

    Our company recently wrote a blog post with a variety of options for a PC-to-TV setup.
     
    Triangle Laptops, Jun 30, 2009
    #5
  6. chillerman625

    chillerman625 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    23
    Messages:
    216
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    No, you're right. I had a problem like this not long ago. What you need is not the "VGA to RCA" cable because it does not convert the signal. You need something like this:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/PC-VGA-to-TV-RCA-S-Video-Converter-Adapter-Switch-Box_W0QQitemZ370117047380QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Cables_Adapters?hash=item562cb1f454&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1234|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50
     
    chillerman625, Jun 30, 2009
    #6
  7. lnknprkn

    lnknprkn Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    17
    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    lnknprkn, Jun 30, 2009
    #7
  8. sirmetman

    sirmetman Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    679
    Messages:
    3,291
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    The thing is that VGA out from a PC has a different color space (I think), timing (60hz progressive instead of 30hz interlaced), and possibly different resolution than the component input on your TV is looking for. Converting these things is not necissarily a simple process, so the converter is not cheap.
     
    sirmetman, Jun 30, 2009
    #8
  9. ViciousXUSMC

    ViciousXUSMC Master Viking NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    11,461
    Messages:
    16,824
    Likes Received:
    76
    Trophy Points:
    466
    ViciousXUSMC, Jul 1, 2009
    #9
  10. sirmetman

    sirmetman Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    679
    Messages:
    3,291
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    That's definitely a component converter (the one in the link he posted), probably designed for use with the RGB colorspace. If it were composite, it would have to have audio inputs. Also, the fact that the plugs are red, green, and blue suggests that it is not composite+audio out (standard for that config is yellow/red/white). The problem (or more properly, one problem) is that most TVs are looking for YPbPr color space, and VGA is in RGB, so any converter has to shift between color spaces. RGB component exists too, it's just not what TVs generally are set up to do.
     
    sirmetman, Jul 1, 2009
    #10