Hello, I just did a bunch of research on this pc to tv conversion thing and all the forums and all the people who have done it say its not even worth it if your going to use a vga to s video converter because of the bad picture quality you get. They said the best way to go is to buy a video card with a svideo port on it. Is this true? My video card does not have a svideo so i was thinking about upgrading to one that does if the vga to svideo conversion is not a good way to do it. Would this be my best option for pc to tv conversion. And also if i do get a new card, i want one that atleast matches the one i have now in quality and also has a svideo port. Anybody have any suggestions on what to get or where to get one? i have a NVIDIA GeForce 6100 graphics with PCI Express x16 expansion slot and up to 128MB shared video memory; high-definition audio (7.1-channel support) "http://www.nvidia.com/page/gpumobo_6100-410_features.html" with a Gateway 19" Flat-Panel TFT-LCD Monitor FPD1960 "http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7229493&type=product&id=1115363750704" Thanks
S-video is the easiest way to hook your pc to a tv but to be honest the quality isnt exactly brilliant either. ive not used RGB to tv but i hear that the quality is less than desirable. if you want to hook your pc to your tv you could just buy a cheap PCI- Express graphics card like a 6200. this will free up your systems memory as you wont be sharing 128 meg of it and youll have the s-video port you need AND the 6200 cards are dirt cheap and will perform just as well if not better than the onboard graphics your using at the moment what country are you from i can direct you to some component sites to check out
Hmm, i see. So if the quality is less than desirable, what would be a better way to get better quality? I live in Pittsburgh pennsylvania in the united states. I dont know to much about graphic cards and there specifications so if you could give me some info on what all those specs. mean i would appreciatte it. Also if you could direct me to some of those component sites, that would also be great. Can you recommend one or two cards? Also what does onboard graphics mean? and also when it says, "up to 128 mb shared", what does that mean for a graphic card and are there any benefits to sharing memory with the card?
ok.. basically onboard graphics means you have no graphics card as it is built into your motherboard. so as you can imagine this isnt as good as having an actual graphics card. also 128mb shared memory means that if you were to have 512MB of memory in your computer and the onboard graphics card was sharing 128mb the rest of your computer is left with only 384MB of memory... wheras if you had a 128 mb graphics card the memory is built onto the card leaving your computers memory alone which means that the computer can run faster. S-Video quality is OK but the problem with it is that TVs dont tend to have terribly brilliant resolutions which is ok when your watching movies or playing games through it, but if you want to use the TV as a monitor the quality is awful, the text doesnt display properly and everything is fuzzy, you can make it sharper but when you do the screen flickers. RGB output is good quality but not when its going to a TV basically for the same reason as the svideo cable. if you have a newer flat panel tv they tend to have higher resolutions so the quality is better. if you want to get a graphics card then id suggest a 6200. basically a 6200 is the same as the onboard graphics you alreafy have but, it has 2 monitor outputs, an S-Video output and it has the added advantage that it wont affect your system memory at all. one like this should do you great http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814135192 hope this helps you
Wow finnaly i get some good real answers. i have been researching this thing on different sites and forums and people have been no help. Thank you so much. ok a couple more questins sypher if you dont mind.Now if i do the conversion the svideo way and get this graphics card. How would that work when i go to install it since the card i already have is built in. Do i have to take that out somehow? Also my television is about 16 feet away from my comp so if i connect trhough s video i would have to get an extender. now would i lose quality with an svideo cable extender? All i want this for is to play games and to watch movies so i am probably going to get this card. But in the future if i wanted to use my tv as a monitor, is there a cable or conversion to get the text to display real good or is s video the best i can do? What is RGB? is that converting it through vga? I have saw some vga to svideo external box converters at radioshack. Would they be better than to use svideo? I see that on that graphics card it has one of the DVI outputs. Isnt that for hdtv? Thanks for all the great help
in answer to your first question... the process of installing a new graphics card is very easy. since it seems you are unfamiliar with the inside wqorkings of a pc ill try to keep it simple. your "onboard" graphics card is on your motherboard (hence the name on-board) so you dont have to remove anything from the system to put your new card in. all installing the card involves is firstly removing the PCI slot cover from the back of your case which is inline with PCI Express slot (thats where you graphics card will go) once youve done that simply slot the card into place and secure it with a screw... you cant put the card in the wrong way so dont worry about that. your onboard graphics will automatically be diasabled as soon as the new card is in place and the system is powered up. now for your next questions... i dont believe there is a limit on the length of an s video cable and you shouldnt lose any quality over a distance so short as 16 feet. RGB is the standard monitor connection that has been used for quite a long time.. depending on what kind of TV you have using a converter like you mentioned may improve the quality but if its a bog standard TV (ie not flat or HDTV) then it wont make a whole lot of difference compared to just using the S-video lead DVI ports are indeed for HDTV but you get a converter with the card so that you can plug a standard RGB connector onto the DVI port and use 2 monitors. one final thing... the card i showed you was just an example but seeing as you mentioned you want to use your computer for gaming id suggest getting a better card. let me know how much your willing to spend and ill advise you as best i can what card to get. if you have any other questions about the installation process dont hesitate to ask
I just purchased (but have not opened) a Norwood Radeon 9250 PCI Video card, but maybe I should have gotten the APG version? (Both slots are available on my Dell Optiplex GX260.) Which is better? I can't seem to find out what will happen when I connect to the TV? Any advice will be appreciated. Ed
Hey sypher I dont think we are talking about the same type of gaming here. When i said to play games i meant i download emulators and play simple ninetndo or genesis games. Not those intense computer games. I dont know if those types of games need a better graphics card or not? and another question, for people who do game like that, why would they need a better card than the one you recommended me? also i can go more expensive if you would like to recommend better ones or if i need a better one for those simple games? thanks again sypher.
ah emulated games will run nicely on that card i showed you in the first place then... hey they look great on my graphics card and mine sucks ass so that 6200 should do you nicely
@ efinigan i would leave that pci graphics card in its packaging... PCI graphics card are a big pile of steaming pigs testes... you most definately should have gone for the AGP version... however if its a PCI- Express graphics card youve bought you should still swap it out for thr AGP as you dont have a PCI-Express port. PCI-Express is the replacement for AGP as AGP has been around for a while but AGP replaced PCI graphics cards... basically because they were rubbish
hey sypher, about your other reply to efingan. You said that he might not have a pci express port? Would this be the case for me? how can i find out if mine has one? Also what are better cards, pci express or agp?
movies will look good every graphics card that came out in the last few years. basiacally that 6200 is the card for you, inexpensive, high quality for movies and mid range 3D specs. plus it perfectly matches your motherboards chipset so you shouldnt have any compatibility issues at all. ittl literally be plug and play
by the way, how did you know it matches my motherboard chip set? When i told you what graphics card i had?
Hey Sypher, I was just about to make up my mind and place the order for that nvidia card you recomended then someone just recomended another one. Can you give me your thoughts on which one is better and why. Here it is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130253 This one is about 25 dollars more. I have the extra 25 dollars to spend but is it worth it?
Previously I wrote: I just purchased (but have not opened) a Norwood Radeon 9250 PCI Video card, but maybe I should have gotten the APG version? (Both slots are available on my Dell Optiplex GX260.) Which is better?.) On your advice I did swap it for an APG, but I still haven't figured out how to connect the card to my PC? (When I loaded the 9250 ATI drivers that came with the card, it wiped out my DVD drivers?)
@ mike that card is a higher powered one and while it is better than the card i showed you originally, you said that you didnt need a great graphics card as your not going to be playin games. the one i showed would be fine for what you need but if you want to go for the better card incase you want to use your pc for something else in the future by all means do. edit ~ also the card ive shown you gives you more choice when it comes to connection to a tv as it has a cable for converting to S-Video and composite outputs, wheras the other card limits you to just s-video
i just now saw that the brand for that 75 dolar card is Evga. Now will that be compatible with my motherboard. I remember you saying "plus it perfectly matches your motherboards chipset so you shouldnt have any compatibility issues at all. ittl literally be plug and play" Will this be the case with the Evga 75 dollar one? Thanks again
