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Best way to get graphics card output into CRT?


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Old 18-04-2009, 19:38
rikkus
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Hello,

I have a recent-ish CRT TV which can take RGB input and would like to feed this from a graphics card in a nearby computer (which currently only has onboard graphics with a VGA output).

I have been thinking of buying a cheap Radeon to stick in its PCI Express slot. The cards I've been looking at (3450/4350) say they have 'TV out' and look like they have an S-Video port for this.

I can't find useful information on how I should go about getting the best possible picture from such a card. Any suggestions would be most welcome!
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Old 18-04-2009, 20:25
Nigel Goodwin
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Sorry, but it's a really poor idea, the quality is VERY low, as is the resolution - personally I've never even managed it with various graphics cards, they never seem to work.
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Old 18-04-2009, 21:22
RobAnt
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My Radeon card came with a circular DIN connector (which looks similar, but has more sockets then an S-Video connector) to 3 x component (YPbPr). You can, of course connect by S-Video too - and it is certainly the simplest.

It's okay if you want to play DVDs or (via a receiver card) broadcast TV.

You can configure the card so that videos are played on the TV, leaving the desktop on the computer's monitor.

I wouldn't recommend using a TV as a desktop, though. The resolution will be restricted and the quality much lower than a monitor or LCD HD TV. I cannot comment on Plasma TVs, but I understand they make quite good monitors too.

If you want to turn your computer into an HTPC (Home Theatre PC), then if your monitor is large enough you could use that instead of your CRT TV, using all the resources available for a PC - DVD/Blu_Ray player playback (& writer); TV Freeview & Satellite PCI Cards. Satellite cards can receive BBC & ITV HD and there are extra bits you can add in order to receive the other Sky supplied HD channels, which are encrypted. You can't even consider HD with a CRT TV.

You don't need any special software to do this, just the software that comes with the cards & DVD/Blu-Ray drives and either XP or Vista. But there are a number of (often free to use) Media Center software solutions.
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Old 18-04-2009, 21:34
Chris Frost
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Nigel is correct that the TV out from a graphics card is not a great solution.

Loewe CRT TV's also had the ability to accept a VGA signal. The pixel resolution is 640x480. The refresh rate is 60Hz. This resolution and refresh rate is very close to a line doubled NTSC signal (720x480 @ 60Hz) from a progressive scan DVD player playing an NTSC disc.
[LIST][*]Buy a PCI graphics card and install it.[*]If there are drivers available for your TV then load them. If not then choose the OAK drivers from within windows. [*]Set the graphics card resolution to 640x480[*]Set the graphics card refresh rate to 60Hz[*]When running dual monitors you can specify if the two screens show the same image (albeit at different resolutions) or if the desktop simply extends to the second monitor. Extended desktop means you can just have a video player window or gaming window on the second screen and none of the other desktop junk. You will need to have the PC monitor on though to navigate Windows and run the system.[/LIST]
If the above doesn't work it's because you've either set up the card wrong (not installed correctly, wrong driver with min 800x600 setting), wrong refresh rate (anything higher than 60Hz might be above the bandwidth for the TV i.e. too high to accept) or there's a problem with the cable, or in the case of some Loewes where the VGA input was optional then there's no internal option card fitted.

Final note: Yes, 640x480 looks course, the text is big and blocky, the diagonals on text and graphics look like stair cases. That's just what it is. The TV isn't likely to have enough dots per square inch to do much better than VGA anyway, but it should look pretty reasonable with video.

Hope that helps

Chris
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Old 18-04-2009, 23:50
rikkus
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I wasn't hoping to use the TV as a monitor - only to play video. Thanks for the tips, I'll try it out by using the S-Video-like port and seeing what the TV makes of it. If it's rubbish, I'll just have to wait until I get an LCD TV and can use a digital output.

Cheers!
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Old 19-04-2009, 01:10
RobAnt
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I wasn't hoping to use the TV as a monitor - only to play video. Thanks for the tips, I'll try it out by using the S-Video-like port and seeing what the TV makes of it. If it's rubbish, I'll just have to wait until I get an LCD TV and can use a digital output.

Cheers!
Then you won't be disappointed with either of those Radeons. You will need to set up the Catalyst Control Centre to force TV detection, as there is no datafeed back from a CRT, and it just looks like an unused port to the graphics card.
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Old 19-04-2009, 09:34
muxed ip
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There is a way of doing this if you have the right kind of graphics card and are prepared for some DIY soldering work and a lot of tweaking parameters. It's an old thread but if you're still interested try
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...1&page=1&pp=15

Last edited by muxed ip : 19-04-2009 at 09:36. Reason: bad link
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Old 19-04-2009, 13:52
Nigel Goodwin
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I wasn't hoping to use the TV as a monitor - only to play video.
Like RobAnt says, you should be OK then, quality won't be great, but it's enough for watching video - won't be as good as DVD, but 'should' be better than VHS.
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Old 19-04-2009, 13:57
rikkus
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Thanks for all the help.
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