I would like to hear from SZ owners who have a docking station

Hello,

I'm probably about to buy a Sony SZ with a docking station but I would like to find out if it will do what I want it.

I would like to use the DVI connector from the dock to run my 24" LCD screen at 1920 x 1200 resolution. Has anyone tried this?

I've searched all over the internet and the only thing I can find is some reviewer on Amazon complaining that his computer kept crashing when the SZ dock DVI was connected to his 24" monitor.

This is making me a little bit nervous about upgrading. I know that it seems like a very small detail, but it's an important consideration for me.

- Cliff

 

I have a Sony VAIO SZ120P/B and the SZ docking station. The DVI output on the docking station is plugged in a Dell 24WFP RevA02 monitor. I use a resolution of 1920x1200. No problems to report after 6 months with this setup.

 

That's great news! Thanks for helping me make my decision!
- Cliff

 

Will it work on 52" to 59" LCD TV that supports 1089p resolution thang via DVI-HDMI cable?

 

So you get the Sonys 13.3" at 1280x800 and the external 1920x1200 at the same time? Thats a lot of pixels, is there any problems with multitasking?

 

i am using docking station to dvi output to projector
works fine

 

Probably not a 1080p projector though.

Does the SZ show the option of outputting at 1900x1200?

 

yes its 1024x768

no such option at my sz381

 

I can display 1920x1200 pixels on the external monitor and 1280x800 on the laptop LCD at the same time. There are no problems while using the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 card.

I can play DVDs full screen on the external monitor without any problems. However, playing HD DVDs (using the external XBOX HD DVD player) does not give good results and the video is not fluid.

I ordered last night 2 x 1 gig of DDR2-5300 RAM to increase my total RAM from 1 gig to 2 gigs. I will report back to let you know if there is an increase in performance while playing an HD DVD.

Note however that HD DVDs cannot be played on my Dell 2407 external monitor while using the DVI connection because of HDCP compliance problems. I need to use the VGA connection.

 

At 24-bit color, it specifically states 1920x1200 as an option? Why wouldn't they include the DVI on the machine itself, why only the dock?

Is that a problem with the monitor, or the laptop/dock?

 

I do not know for sure if it is the dock or the monitor. I know some people have reported HDCP compliance issues with the DVI port on Rev.A02 of the Dell 2407. But I have no way of knowing for sure it is the monitor.

As for the DVI port on the dock only... I believe this is more a question of space available on the laptop... Since the VGA connection is still more used in business environments (for projectors), it probably made more sense to include it on the computer.

 

I have a similar successful experience with my SZ340 and docking station using the DVI-D connector. There is no problem running a higher resolution monitor. Someone posted the resolution limits for the external monitor, but I cannot find them (different thread).

Unfortunately I have to sell my whole setup (not the monitor) as I move to a corporate supported machine.

 

What about higher resolution LCD TV like Sharp Aquos. Has anyone ran DVI port to HDMI 1080P? The only reason I want to get the docking station is to be able to run DVI-HDMI connection.

 

Uhh...Seems like there are a lot of things being confused here.

The SZ/7400 can output 1200 lines of horizontal resolution - which is enough for a 1080 TV. But whether or not what is being output is i [interlaced] or p [progressive] depends on the device that is doing the outputting and the capabilties of the TV itself.

As for DVI-HDMI...why? You could get a DVI to HDMI cable but the copyright protection built-in to HDMI will knock a 1080i/p signal comming from a DVI-out down to 720 anyway so why bother. The only way to get a protected 1080p HDMI signal thru is to go HDMI-HDMI which the SZ can't do.

And since the SZ does not have a Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, or other native 1080p source option why go to the trouble?

 

Both DVI and HDMI are HDCP-compliant. 1080p content can therefore be carried through DVI and not only HDMI.

In this particular case, an XBOX HD DVD drive is plugged to the SZ through the USB port. Using Cyberlink's latest PowerDVD edition, you can actually watch the HD DVD on the SZ built-in LCD display (in only 1280x800 resolution of course). To get full 1080p resolution, you have to output it to an external monitor.

My Dell 2407 can be connected to my SZ either through VGA or DVI. However, I can only output the HD DVD content in full resolution through the VGA connection, because it seems that either the DVI connection on my docking station or the one on my monitor is not HDCP compliant. It works with VGA, because HDCP is a non-issue on analog signals.

 

My intention of getting the docking station is to display the 1080p TV digitally from the SZ primarily to display the overall PC operation. I've heard folks complaining about their smaller 23" size monitor not displaying correctly. I've heard at AVS forum that few people were running the high resolution 52"+ TV as a PC monitor and they claimed they were as good as a stand alone high resolution PC monitors. Due to copy protection, does it mean that the DVI is only as good as the VGA? Has anyone run the 52"+ size LCD TV as a pc monitor?

 

AFAIK, the receiving end of the DVI has to be HDCP compliant. I don't believe any of Dell's monitor are compliant to date. As long as the DVI port on the tv is hdcp compliant, you should no problems displaying dvd's. If you are only looking to display the desktop and such on the tv, you should have no problem.

 

Look, maybe I am missing something here but I understood the question to be that the poster wants to use a DVI-HDMI cable to run DVI-out on his/her Sony Dock into the HDMI input on some TV/monitor [not as you suggest DVI to DVI].

As I said in my post, since the DVI-out on the Sony Dock is not HDCP compliant then the 1080 signal will be down res'd to 720.

 

HDCP compliancy has only to do with digitally transferring protected material, is it not? Therefore it has nothing to do with resolution. It will either transfer the signal or it won't. As the OP stated, he does want to do DVI to HDMI but for desktop use which I don't see as a problem unless there is something wrong with the dvi ot hdmi convertor.

 

???

What is the point of worrying about HD material if you don't consider resolution?

The only advantage that HD offers is higher resolution.

The SZ screen has a max of 800 lines of horizontal resolution and the 7400 can output up to 1200. If all you are worrying about is getting a signal thru then this is all you need to know.

As to your other question - No.

If the system detects that a protected HD signal [and virtually all native HD content is protected] does not have full HDCP protection at both ends then it will automatically down res the projected native 1080 signal to 720 regardless of whether or not you are actively trying to copy it.

 

nazca360,

I am thinking to buy notebook and next notebook I'd like to play HD-DVD also.
Please let us know how 2GB will help play HD-DVD.
Which CPU are you using?

 

This sound **** interesting, do you have a link?

 

Probably that post has been buried over thousands of others. But I'll be able to test its claim in three weeks.

 

Are there news on this question? I mean, playback of HDCP-protected HD DVD thru Nvidia 7400 and DVI of docking station PRSZ1? Really important for me

Has anybody used HD-DVD player for XBOX3600 with SZ3/SZ4/SZ5? Only digitally, of course...