I recently watched a few dvds through my computer and projector via vga and was really happy with the results but i want to be able to also watch tv. I plan on getting a composite cord to run from my vcr to my projector to control dvd, tv, videos, etc... Now i know what your all going to say "DONT DO IT", but what I want to know is if the quality is that much worse. I could always use svideo but my vcr doesnt have svideo out, so i would only be able to watch dvds (compleatly defeating the purpose of this), and i dont know if i would be able to find 15 feet of svideo cable. Anyway, let me know what you all think.
I use s-video from my xbox and dvd-player and think the quality is pretty amazing. I wouldn't know why it would be any different. I personally wouldn't touch vga because of the fact that your electricity bill will be huge because you have to have the pc on.
PCs don't use that much power when the monitor isn't on. They use less than a TV I'm sure, and half the world sleeps with the TV on...
I read some place that you could run a PC all day, every day, all year, for about 25-35 bucks per year. That was a while back, but I dont think it could be too much higher now.
CB.
CB.
scan conversion
The best way to go is a scan converter. You can get a scan converter that can quadruple the video lines up to XGA for $68. It also comes with monitor (vga) passthrough and a tv tuner/remote. Another nice feature is the ability to make color/contrast adjustments.
http://www.audioexchange.com/kworexlcdtvb.html
The best way to go is a scan converter. You can get a scan converter that can quadruple the video lines up to XGA for $68. It also comes with monitor (vga) passthrough and a tv tuner/remote. Another nice feature is the ability to make color/contrast adjustments.
http://www.audioexchange.com/kworexlcdtvb.html
My PC is on 24/7 365 days a year. Even with a 400 watt power supply I'm barly pulling 4-5 amps. A common AV receiver pulls more juice. So you dont have to worry about that. Figure about 1 amp per 100 watts of power.
For your VCR I'd use a line doubler (Same as Brainchild recommended) There are many different models that will improve video quality.
If you wanna watch TV get a MyHD card. HDTV right from your PC that'll look AMAZING on any XGA projector.
Run everything from your PC except the VCR and XBOX. Look online for the XBOX VGA mod for a direct VGA commection. (NOT A VGA BOX for the XBOX!!... you can mod the unit itself and make your own real VGA output) And run the VCR through the line doubler.
Forget about s-video... old school analog 🙂
For your VCR I'd use a line doubler (Same as Brainchild recommended) There are many different models that will improve video quality.
If you wanna watch TV get a MyHD card. HDTV right from your PC that'll look AMAZING on any XGA projector.
Run everything from your PC except the VCR and XBOX. Look online for the XBOX VGA mod for a direct VGA commection. (NOT A VGA BOX for the XBOX!!... you can mod the unit itself and make your own real VGA output) And run the VCR through the line doubler.
Forget about s-video... old school analog 🙂
How does this device- http://www.x2vga.com/x2vga_info_eng.php
compare with the one above? Which would be better for an xbox?
compare with the one above? Which would be better for an xbox?
If you want to run tv on your computer simply buy a tv tuner card. My favorite is the wintv go by hauppage. Best free scaling program is called Dscaler.
Hauppauge makes Great cards, I have a WinTV GO as well. They also make some nice high end cards, with stuff like surround sound and sattelite tuners.
hmmm
Well the X2VGA only doubles the scan rate and has no tv tuner/remote...the box I referred to (TV-EXT221R) quadruples the scan rate, ie: turns the TV signal into a 'true' XGA output.
Sir_Vival said:
Well the X2VGA only doubles the scan rate and has no tv tuner/remote...the box I referred to (TV-EXT221R) quadruples the scan rate, ie: turns the TV signal into a 'true' XGA output.
TV Tuner cards are great... but for the price you might as well move up to HDTV if your going to buy one. DVI inputs and outputs... component inputs and outputs... 1080i... it's off the hook! WinTV cant come close.
"Forget about s-video... old school analog "
I thought all connections are analog except dvi-d and Sdi?
I thought all connections are analog except dvi-d and Sdi?
Might as well move to HDTV? Not a chance. Hauppauge WinTV GO is $50 at Best Buy, Circuit city, etc. and about $35 on eBay. HDTV tuner boxes go for at least $200, as do the MyHD cards. TV cards are just a cheap alternative to a line doubler, HDTV stuff is a different field altogether.
wow i think im more confused now than i was before. But thanks for all your input. The line double sounds like the way to go but my projector is only 800x600 native so 1080i would be kinda pointless. I just ordered an attachment for my projector to convert analog and svideo to dvi (dvi and vga are the only stock inputs). I wonder if this adapter acts as a line doubler, if not that kinda sucks because the line doubler is alot cheaper and would most likely produce better results. I will let you know later today. I think im gonna go with a long composite cord, due to the ease and the fact that everthing i have runs through composite (vcr, tv, dvd, ps2). I also heard that the longer the composite cord the worse the quality, is this true?
Sure... if your only looking to spend 50 bucks... get an old TV tuner. But wouldn't you like to spend more and get a TV picture thats looks better then your DVD player? I dont know about you but thats well worth the investment if you ask me.
And your right, all connections are analog, even component video. Which is why I recommend getting a video card with DVI-D output and running everything through your computer. The results will be out of this world.
And your right, all connections are analog, even component video. Which is why I recommend getting a video card with DVI-D output and running everything through your computer. The results will be out of this world.
Well i dont know if my computer could handle that, and i only have a laptop. I used a composite line today and it looks like complete crap, not even worth watching (tvs, and vhs) I then hooked my ps2 up via composite and it was ALRIGHT... not that good though.. especially compaired to the dvd through my computer... im dissapointed.
ok so i figured out that i had my cable hooked up wrong, so the tv is a lil clearer but still not as good as i would like, its still a bit grainy. I also got a better quality dvd and was pretty happy with it, definatly better than the vhs or cable tv (on my projector). But I think im still jaded by my first results from the dvd through my laptop. So would the line doubler (68ish$) make it look as good as if it were ran through my laptop? That doesnt seem possible if its being ran through composite first... Im happy with the color, brightness, contrast and all, but something is missing and i think its the resolution.
tasty goodness
It'll look great through the scan converter...not as good as a pure digital signal but hey, little is pure digital yet. Video (TV) resolution is equivalent to 320x240, and half the lines aren't visible half the time due to scan. The scan converter actually resamples the video signal and adds in all the needed information to get the resolution up to XGA. It's important to get a scan converter that goes at least as high as your projector resolution, or you'll have to look at your video smaller or live with a crappy picture at full screen. You should have at least a line doubler to deinterlace (un-scan) any analog video watched through a digital monitor.
It'll look great through the scan converter...not as good as a pure digital signal but hey, little is pure digital yet. Video (TV) resolution is equivalent to 320x240, and half the lines aren't visible half the time due to scan. The scan converter actually resamples the video signal and adds in all the needed information to get the resolution up to XGA. It's important to get a scan converter that goes at least as high as your projector resolution, or you'll have to look at your video smaller or live with a crappy picture at full screen. You should have at least a line doubler to deinterlace (un-scan) any analog video watched through a digital monitor.
but im not watching it through my monitor im watching it through my projector but i get what your saying, ive been reading aboot it for a couple mins. Now i need to find someplace to buy the line doubler... that place linked earlier had an invalid email address, i doubt id give them a credit card number.
place..
That place does a huge amount of business so I'm sure they're on the up and up.
Another place
What are you using in your projector for a panel? An lcd monitor or a projection panel? Either way if it's just VGA in you'll still have to scan convert for composite..
That place does a huge amount of business so I'm sure they're on the up and up.
Another place
What are you using in your projector for a panel? An lcd monitor or a projection panel? Either way if it's just VGA in you'll still have to scan convert for composite..
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