Success with vga to component cable on T61?

I was just wondering if anyone has had any success using a vga to component cable to output video to a TV (CRT or LCD) on a T61? I am considering purchasing a T-61, and am a little concerned about the lack of S-Video out.

Thanks!

 

I have one at home that I used for my previous laptop that does not have S-Video. I have yet to try it with my t61, but I will give it a try. It supports component out. I remember the quality to be pretty good and it was USB powered as well.

 

I'm also interested. I suspect it would work but please let us know. Can you also share who makes it and what model.

Thanks.

 

Wow, quick and helpful response! Thanks Kriser. How have I gone so long without this forum in my life?

 

I did find this on the nvidia website in reference to the Quadro NVS card, but honestly don't know if this means it will actually work...the proof will certainly be in Kriser's pudding!

Integrated SD/HD TV Output
Provides world-class SD/HD (Standard Definition / High Definition)TV-out functionality (Composite/S-Video/Component/HDMI) up to 1080i resolution.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_nvs_notebook_fbs.html

 

I'm pretty sure a regular vga to component cable won't work. I haven't tried it myself, but I've been told it won't work. You need some kind of converter box to convert the signal.

 

I am not a big pudding fan, although pudding pops are pretty good. Anyway, the device I have works with any VGA output regardless of video card capability. What I bought was a transcoder. http://aver.com/ppd/quickplay.html

I also see this, http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/vga-rgb-component.html
but there is no guarantee that it would work at all. I think that is more what dhack is talking about. The page you linked doesn't mention if anything other then standard VGA is supported out of the 15 pin VGA port.

 

I was indeed thinking about a cable (see link below for exact one):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3012897&CatId=1408

It's not that much cheaper than the Aver, which may well be the way to go I suppose. I look forward to the results...

 

Dhack, the aver would work. I don't think the cable you linked would work without some kind of converter. The aver has that converter in that middle piece.

Another option would be to buy the advanced mini dock from ebay for around $100 and buy a dvi cable for around $15. It's a more expensive option, but there are other benefits to the dock besides being able to hook it up to your tv.

 

Thanks for the info, jd. I originally thought about the mini-dock/DVI route, but the portability front took a real hit (I'd want the dock in my office most of the time). I read somewhere that the third USB port was a trade-off for the S-Video...it's a tough call, but given how cheap USB expanders are I'd have preferred the S-Video port.

 

I see the transcoder kriser1 is using, but I am very interested in finding out if the card (NVS 140) actually outputs a TV/NTSC analog signal on the VGA out. It has been known to happen before with other video cards. Kriser1 (or anyone with the T61 w/nvs 140), is it possible for you to check the video settings to see if the output of the card can actually be switched to TV-out or something of the sort. Thanks.

 

I hate to bring a thread back from the dead, but did anyone ever find out if the T61 supported component output through VGA? I was thinking of getting VGA-component cables like these and connecting the laptop to my HDTV.

 

In the end I decided to hold off spending the money, and I never got around to buying a cable (I just used my xbox and vista to stream instead). It sounded like those cables would not work, but I'd be interested in hearing what happens if you go ahead and try...

Sorry I can't be more help.

 

I'm pretty sure those won't work. I bought cables just like the one mocha linked to from microcenter several months ago. They didn't work, so I returned them.