Sony VGN-NS160DW

Hey guys,

A friend of mine wants to buy a new laptop, preferably one with HD capabilities. However, his budget is limited to $700-$800. So we were looking at this laptop:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10116461&logon=&langid=EN#

Now, it has a Blu-Ray ROM, but it doesn't have a HDMI output. It only has a standard VGA O/P. Will that restrict his ability to watch BD movies on his TV? He has a 36" CRT TV that has standard S-Video or Composite inputs.

Secondly, the max resolution of the screen is only 1280x800. Does that mean that he will not be able to watch BD movies on his laptop at full HD @1080p/1080i, but only @720p?

Thanks in advance!

 

VGA, HDMI, DVI any will be fine for watching movies on a TV. S-video and composite has bad quality though.

Sure he can watch any movies on that screen, even 1080p/i or so. But it will be at 1280x800.
Same will go for his tv, a 36" crt tv with s-video or composite seems old, so it will have like half that resolution. But it will be no problem watching full hd movies anyways. But, if his tv only has s-video and composit, you need any of those connections on the notebook too.

So why is the hd-capabillity so important when his tv is old

 

So that he can be prepared when he gets a HDTV in the future. So when that happens, can he use his VGA out to watch full HD quality movies on the TV? Or will the lack of a HDMI prevent it? Do most HDTVs have VGA-in ports? And lastly, I've been told that the lack of HDMI means that he will never be able to transfer hi-def signals to a HDTV, thus making the purchase of a HDTV unnecessary in the first place. Is that true?

 

Yes, he can use VGA out for that, i use that myself to my HD-tv, works fine.

I can't honestly see a difference when using HDMI or VGA, i wouldn't know which is which if i did a blindtest. All HD-tv's has VGA-in, or atleast what i've seen.

 

Thanks, you've been a big help!