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    HDMI, DVI, VGA, S-Video? What I need?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by ali_little, Feb 12, 2008.

  1. ali_little

    ali_little Notebook Enthusiast

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    I don't know about DVI & HDMI ports.
    What are exactly they?
    I'm going to buy a Compal IFL90. It doesn't have neither.
    It just has a VGA & S-Video output. What problems may I encounter?
    Can I connect it to a Projector device, TV, CRT, HDTV?
    thank you for help
     
  2. Kwakkel

    Kwakkel Weirdo

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    DVI & HDMI are digital outputs, that can be/need to be used to connect your PC/laptop to an external monitor or (HD)TV.
    VGA is the "regular" connection to connect a PC to a screen
    S-Video is another output connection. Never really got of the ground in Europe I think, so I don't know anything about it, except that its quality isn't great ;)

    To play BR/HDDVD on an external screen, you will need DVI or HDMI: these are the only 2 outputs (at present) that support the DRM that's built into the formats. However, if I'm right, currently, neither BR nor HDDVD actually enfore this DRM (for backwards compatibility), so you should be fine with VGA (if your TV has a VGA input of course). In the future, you could be needing either DVI or HDMI to be able to play your HD material on your HDTV in full quality.

    Hope my rambling made some sense to you ;)
     
  3. Nocturnal310

    Nocturnal310 Notebook Virtuoso

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    my Laptop doesnt have HDMI port... can i connect it to my ordered LCD HDTV?

    Can i use the standard LCD monitor cables?
     
  4. Kwakkel

    Kwakkel Weirdo

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    You have a VGA and an S-Video output.
    If your TV has a VGA input, you can connect it without a problem.
    If your TV has a DVI or a HDMI input, you can try adding a VGA/DVI connector, or a VGA/HDMI (if that exists) or (and I don't know if that will work, but you can try) a VGA/DVI and a DVI/HDMI connector.