So I'm wondering...Vid question

[Jadal]

So I'm surfing around and start to wonder.....

I'm running an AMD 2800 on a Gigabyte 7N400, 1g Corsair XMS, and 9800 XT

I also have a nice widescreen HDTV in the other room. Is it possible to hook up puter to TV and still get good resolution??

Let me know if you need any other specs to answer.

Thanks

[insaneferret]

sure, as i recall, it varies but most HDTVs run at a 1920x1080 resolution, no challenge for a 9800XT, and the tv should have a DVI port, just hook up the TV, then go to the radeon config panel and you can set up alternate displays resolutions etc for both displays, you can even get fancy and use both screens at once, your desktop just gets gigantic, the mouse skips from one screen to the next

[Jadal]

Thanks...I'm not very up to date on linking computer to TV. What kind of cost are we talking here and/or are we just talking about some type of wire without a converter? I wonder if the world would look stretched out or not??

[insaneferret]

no big cost, we're just talking a cable to link the two machines, the type of cable is dependent on what ports you have on the back of your PC and on the back of the TV

look at this pic below, this is a 9800xt:
the upper blue port is your standard analog monitor port
the middle black port is an S-video port
the bottom white port is a DVI port

traditionally, most modern high definition displays such as LCD monitors use DVI (digital video input) ports so i think your HDTV might have a DVI port on the back of it

however both DVI and analog connector cables are gigantic, around the size of standard Coaxial cable which most tvs are hooked up to, also i have never seen DVI cable that long, but i'm sure its available in a computer store

another probably easier to get solution would be S-video cable, which is a bit easier to find in a radioshack

what you have to do is take a peek behind your TV and see what connection options there are for you, then find an appropriate cable to connect them

no convertor is needed as computers naturally work with digital output

as for the stretching, you just have to set the right aspect ratio and resolution for your HDTV on tour computer's video drivers, i'm not entirely sure how this is done but i know its possible

http://www.ixbt.com/video2/images/r9800xt/collage2.jpg

[SiFi]

You bastard! I'll still be stuck with a 17" CRT ;)

[Gambit]

If you went S-VID, wouldn't you lose the HDTV and be back to standard-type video? Admittedly much better than broadcast...

(I admit upfront to complete n00bness when dealing with HDTV.)

[Jadal]

Well here is the deal......

I went out and bought an S-video cable only to find out that there is no S connection on the 9800 XT sooooooooooooooo doesnt look like that will work.

Guy at radio shack said there was a DVX converter fot the monitor plug but it is $100. Not sure if I want to spend that kind of jack /shrug maybe I'll get some overtime lol

[Ghryphen]

Here are your vid card specs http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9800/radeon9800pro/specs.html
It looks like it has some kind of "*optional HDTV adapter available from ATI Online Store (http://www.ati.com/buy/index.html)"

What model TV do you have?

[Jadal]

Panasonic HDTV 1080i (I believe)

[Ghryphen]

So for that model you have these connectors

Rear Input Connectors: Audio (RCA) x 2, HDMI x 1, Composite x 2, Component x 2, S-Video x 2

Front Input Connectors: D-Sub (RGB PC) x 1, Audio (RCA) x 1, Composite x 1, S-Video x 1

[Ghryphen]

Here is the connector, http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2537967 You will plug this into the back of your video card, then run component connectors to the tv.

You should also be able to run your regular monitor and hdtv at the same time for dual display.

[Jadal]

Man you guys are awesome :) The pieces to the puzzle are coming together lol

I looked at the accessories on the same web site and noticed that the 7 and 9 pin HDTV outputs have female ends. I'm assuming the 7 pin is the one that goes in the S video slot on the TV. So that would mean a jumper cable to connect the adapter and 7 pin plugs?

the 7 pin plug
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2550138

would the connecting wires just be a regular RCA wire (as long as I connect same color to same color?

I also found some connectors on that site that were lables as S video cables

http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=20

but these do not have the same color coding as the adapter...so that is confusing plus none of them have the right number of connectors.

sorry for my noobness :)

[Ghryphen]

I think the DVI out will be better than the S-Video, but I am not sure about that. If you go the DVI route, all you need is the connector I posted and some composite cables..regular RCA cables may work but I haven't used composite before.

If I had a HDTV I would go that route with my 9600 xt.

[Jadal]

ooooook, now i see the red, blue, green connections on the back of the TV

hehe now it is getting very interesting, if WoW doesnt get stretched out it would be really incredible to be able to play that on such a big screen

now i wonder what a recliner would cost, then i could build a base and lift the TV up another foot off the floor, ok then I could move my mini fridge next to the chair.........

oops getting a little ahead of myself hehe

thanks again I'll let you all know how it turns out :)

Wal-Mart at midnight 4tw!!!

[Ghryphen]

Hehe nice :D

[XMEN Ashaman DTM]

Don't forget the toilet....

Otherwise, get Depends. Change regularly. :D