Explain to me HDMI - can laptop support higher resolution external Monitor than its native screen resolution?

So I posted the equivalent query on what notebook should I buy & didn't get satisfactory answers. Chatting with a sales rep with one of the major manufacturers, I was informed of the following:

If a laptop has HDMI it can support a higher resolution external monitor than its native screen. Is this true?

I already have all the laptops I want of various sizes for general work.

Now I want one just for internet browsing, video streaming & playing Blu-ray.

I have Dell™ UltraSharp™ 2709W Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor I would like the laptop to support at full resolution.

I am relatively indifferent about the laptop's own screen resolution (I would like it matte however.)

So is this possible? or is the laptop's resolution support for an external monitor affected by what resolution its own screen has?

 

I'm not up on HDMI, but can address your other question. For Thinkpads, the PSREF doc will specify the max resolution for your video card. This is usually much higher than the laptop screen itself. Therefore, just about any(all?) recently made Thinkpads will easily drive an external monitor in WUXGA/1920x1200 mode. This has been the case for several years. If you have an older Thinkpad, you may have to connect the monitor to the VGA port(I do that on an old 2006 Z61p on which I'm writing this response). Newer Tpads have some combo of DVI, DP, HDMI ports.

So, you're probably OK; just be sure the monitor has a port that'll match an output video port on/from your Tpad. The specific Dell monitor you listed has a DVI-D port, so you'd need either a DVI port on your Tpad, or a DVI-to-xxx converter to whatever port you wanna use. It's possible the Dell monitor may have other ports to use, but I didn't see that when I scanned the write up.

1920x1200 has been out there for several years; not a problem.

 

Yes, it is possible, you have nothing to worry about. The external monitor really has nothing to do with the laptop's screen.

Also don't worry about the ports on the monitor. DVI and HDMI are pretty much the same, so all it takes is a simple cable with DVI on one end and HDMI on the other. These can be found very cheap (a dollar or two) online.

 

HDMI 'High-Definition Multimedia Interface'

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data.[1] It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency (RF) coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA. HDMI connects digital audio/video sources (such as set-top boxes, upconvert DVD players, HD DVD players, Blu-ray Disc players, AVCHD camcorders, personal computers (PCs), video game consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and AV receivers) to compatible digital audio devices, computer monitors, video projectors, and digital televisions.

Thanks Wikipedia. It's amazing what google can tell you if you just ask.

If you have a 42" Television like I do, or any sort of decent TV with an HDMI port in it you can plug the laptop (if the laptop has an HDMI port) into the television and then select to make the screen as big as the tv allows. As long as the laptop is powerful enough to run the external screen... 'television or monitor' then yes you can plug your laptop into an external screen and indeed use it.

Point is, you need a powerful enough laptop. A little integrated graphics chip and a slow dual core is going to have problems decoding 1080p HD video with a high bitrate... (God I hope you understand).

Point is. HDMI is a signal. You don't need gold plated pins and the quality of the cord doesn't really matter. It's just sending a signal. It also supports surround sound too. So the sound actually comes in the cord with the signal. Which is something that VGA and DVI don't have. So you don't have to worry about a tiny little audio jack that carries low quality stereo sound.

HDMI is far superior than any of it's predecessors. I would definitely suggest buying a laptop with an HDMI port built in. It gives the clearest colour display on a good monitor/tv. Far better than that of VGA and quite a lot better than DVI.

So remember.

VGA - Analouge. Meaning the quality of the wires etc matters.
DVI - Digital, but old. With the quick advancements in technology this didn't last long. People were also annoyed at still having to have a second cord/etc. for audio.
HDMI - Todays solution to the hugeeee colour rich displays etc. that we have in the world at current. Also carries crystal clear sound.

I'm too tired and hungry to explain better. Do yourself a favor and use google.

Short answer to your HDMI question. Yes, your 27" screen has an HDMI port. Plug an HDMI cable from your laptop to your 27" monitor and enjoy the visuals as long as your laptop doesn't suck. On top of that if your monitor has inbuilt speakers they should work with your laptop's sound too. If not you still need a set of speakers or you will be using the laptops speakers. (Doesn't seem worth it to me if so). If your laptop has an HDMI port then it shouldn't be that bad that it cant use the large screen fluently. Get a cheap HDMI cord on Ebay, don't trust idiots that think that Gold Plated makes a difference. Any old cord will do. Don't pay $50 dollars for a cord that is only worth $5 on Ebay or Amazon/Newegg.

 

You are wrong on a couple of points. Any laptop is going to be able to drive a 1080p display. What you are talking about is different, but even then any laptop more than a netbook and less than 4 years old is going to be fine playing whatever video. Also HDMI is the exact same thing as DVI. The only difference is that DVI also can support a second video channel plus analog video, and they use a different connector. If you use a DVI female to HDMI male cable, you can also get sound from the DVI port.

 

Thank you everyone -- your info was quite instructive. I am not a novice re computers but, after having no TV for a couple of decades, now there is a demand for on-line streaming, etc. Hence my ignorance re: HDMI, etc.

So based on my needs -- would any care to venture a suggestion for a laptop. Again, I tried this on "What notebook should I buy?" to no avail.

I want to drive the external monitor well, blu-ray player that also plays DVDs. Burner is not necessary as I have a blu-ray burner on my SONY Vaio Z.

And keep my costs down unless there is something really good to make it worth it to spend a few hundred bucks more.

 

.......................Your vaio Z has hdmi.

Your needs are too broad, there are probably 100s of laptops that would be perfect.

 

I guess what I didn't make clear is that I want this laptop to be used solely for this. I sometimes end up on unsafe sites so I don't want any work or any important info on this laptop. I have virus, firewall etc -- but someitmes something breaks through even the best of them.

I truly just want it for video streaming. And there don't need to pay for any other features upgraded.

 

Any cheap core i3 or i5 laptop with HDMI should fit your purposes nicely. The integrated graphics should be more than enough for even 1080p streaming.

 

Almost all GPU's handle the decode of HD video. My daughters U81-a P8400 and GMA4500 worked fine for that (1080P over HDMI) and the native res is 1366x768. For a while I was using it strictly for the TV. Now I just DLNA when the need arises with my new TV...............

 

Why would these things happen?

 

Why not get a cheap net top? Get one based of AMD's new E-350 and you would be sorted.

Example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004TS2M...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B004TS2MHI

 

The Intel GMA 4500MHD has H.264 acceleration capability. It does 1080p without issue if you use the right software (basically, you just need to be running Windows 7 and use Windows Media Player, but other applications can be set up to use the decoder that WMP uses).

 

Umm, my intel GMA 4500 worked flawlessly for everything as long as its not 3D rendering.