how to connect pc to tv to watch movies

i'm trying to figure the best way to connect a pc to a tv so one can
watch a clear picture of what is on the pc screen.
i want to play movies that are stored on the network.

i dont mind keeping a computer near the tv, but i dont want to have a
monitor plugged into it, but would rather use the tv as a monitor.
i know i can buy a new lcd tv that has inputs to connect to a dvi on the
pc directly.
how is everyone else watching there movies on their tv's?
icant believe that you buying a new modern tv is the only solution.

i know about averkey and dont think the quality of the pic is that good.

i can use a hauppauge pvr-350 which has video out, but i cant figure out
how to pipe out the signal without a monitor on the main vga port.

i have a video card with s-video out, but that only works as a extension
of the primary display, and it would need to work as a clone of the
display.
is there a step that i'm missing? thanks.

"Jay B" <> wrote in message
news:bTPEh.876$...
> i'm trying to figure the best way to connect a pc to a tv so one can watch
> a clear picture of what is on the pc screen.
> i want to play movies that are stored on the network.
>
> i dont mind keeping a computer near the tv, but i dont want to have a
> monitor plugged into it, but would rather use the tv as a monitor.
> i know i can buy a new lcd tv that has inputs to connect to a dvi on the
> pc directly.
> how is everyone else watching there movies on their tv's?
> icant believe that you buying a new modern tv is the only solution.
>
> i know about averkey and dont think the quality of the pic is that good.
>
> i can use a hauppauge pvr-350 which has video out, but i cant figure out
> how to pipe out the signal without a monitor on the main vga port.
>
> i have a video card with s-video out, but that only works as a extension
> of the primary display, and it would need to work as a clone of the
> display.
> is there a step that i'm missing? thanks.

Your PVR-350 won't cut it. Very little software supports it.

Your video card will work as the only monitor, but you have to have the
drivers installed properly first, then boot the machine with ONLY the TV
plugged in and turned on.

Tom

There is no really good way to do this with an older TV set.

You can get a really good picture with HDMI, DVI, VGA and component video.

But not all video cards have these as outputs (indeed, all but DVI and
VGA are relatively rare), and older TVs don't normally have ANY of them
as inputs.

That leaves you with composite and S-Video. Both are readily available
(both on the computer and on TV sets), but unfortunately neither works
particularly well.


Jay B wrote:
> i'm trying to figure the best way to connect a pc to a tv so one can
> watch a clear picture of what is on the pc screen.
> i want to play movies that are stored on the network.
>
> i dont mind keeping a computer near the tv, but i dont want to have a
> monitor plugged into it, but would rather use the tv as a monitor.
> i know i can buy a new lcd tv that has inputs to connect to a dvi on the
> pc directly.
> how is everyone else watching there movies on their tv's?
> icant believe that you buying a new modern tv is the only solution.
>
> i know about averkey and dont think the quality of the pic is that good.
>
> i can use a hauppauge pvr-350 which has video out, but i cant figure out
> how to pipe out the signal without a monitor on the main vga port.
>
> i have a video card with s-video out, but that only works as a extension
> of the primary display, and it would need to work as a clone of the
> display.
> is there a step that i'm missing? thanks.

If you're just showing SD content, then s-video actually works remarkably
well, as do DVDs. You won't be able to read the Windows desktop at all, but
for a media PC, it works great. Did it for years.


"Barry Watzman" <> wrote in message
news:45e46cc1$0$5796$...
> There is no really good way to do this with an older TV set.
>
> You can get a really good picture with HDMI, DVI, VGA and component video.
>
> But not all video cards have these as outputs (indeed, all but DVI and VGA
> are relatively rare), and older TVs don't normally have ANY of them as
> inputs.
>
> That leaves you with composite and S-Video. Both are readily available
> (both on the computer and on TV sets), but unfortunately neither works
> particularly well.
>
>
> Jay B wrote:
>> i'm trying to figure the best way to connect a pc to a tv so one can
>> watch a clear picture of what is on the pc screen.
>> i want to play movies that are stored on the network.
>>
>> i dont mind keeping a computer near the tv, but i dont want to have a
>> monitor plugged into it, but would rather use the tv as a monitor.
>> i know i can buy a new lcd tv that has inputs to connect to a dvi on the
>> pc directly.
>> how is everyone else watching there movies on their tv's?
>> icant believe that you buying a new modern tv is the only solution.
>>
>> i know about averkey and dont think the quality of the pic is that good.
>>
>> i can use a hauppauge pvr-350 which has video out, but i cant figure out
>> how to pipe out the signal without a monitor on the main vga port.
>>
>> i have a video card with s-video out, but that only works as a extension
>> of the primary display, and it would need to work as a clone of the
>> display.
>> is there a step that i'm missing? thanks.

so Tom, exactly how are you actually connecting your pc's to your tv's?
i'm not talking about for recording, but for playback.

or is everyone only watching movies only on their computer screens?

i also have MS Media Center available to me. If i use that operating
system, can i then connect a TV as the primary monitor and use it for
playback? i'm thinking that I shouldnt have to use Media Center to have
this capability.

in fact, the pvr-350 does work perfectly fine playing back out to a TV
provided that i pipe the signal from the video-out on the PVR to the
video-in on a tv or cablebox input, and i play the movie using
hauppauge's tv2000 program. this works fine, but this requires a
computer monitor screen to do it. and to use the horrible tv2000
program instead of something nicer like media player. so you're right
that media player does not support the svideo out on the pvr-350 to play
video.

the main goal is to eliminate the monitor. ie. use the tv as the monitor.



<snip>

Tom Scales wrote:
>
> Your PVR-350 won't cut it. Very little software supports it.
>
> Your video card will work as the only monitor, but you have to have the
> drivers installed properly first, then boot the machine with ONLY the TV
> plugged in and turned on.
>
> Tom
>
>

Yes, the PVR350 works on some, limited applications.

MCE is fine, although it works in Pro too. I use BeyondTV. I ran BTV with
almost any video card with Pro, Home and MCE with my really, really old
projection TV using s-video as the only monitor. You HAVE to use 800x600 or
even 640x480, as the TV won't support higher, but it doesn't matter as
neither does regular TV or DVDs.

Media Player will work fine. Again, the problem is screen readbility
outside of an MCE like app.

Try it with MCE.

The easiest way to configure it is to plug ONLY the TV into the s-video port
on the video card, turn on the TV and boot the machine. You'll get a
difficult to use desktop.

Then use RealVNC to take over that desktop and do whatever you need. Once
it is configured, load the MCE type app at startup and you're ready to go.

Or buy a decent flat panel. A lot easier.
"Jay B" <> wrote in message
news:62%Eh.29$...
> so Tom, exactly how are you actually connecting your pc's to your tv's?
> i'm not talking about for recording, but for playback.
>
> or is everyone only watching movies only on their computer screens?
>
> i also have MS Media Center available to me. If i use that operating
> system, can i then connect a TV as the primary monitor and use it for
> playback? i'm thinking that I shouldnt have to use Media Center to have
> this capability.
>
> in fact, the pvr-350 does work perfectly fine playing back out to a TV
> provided that i pipe the signal from the video-out on the PVR to the
> video-in on a tv or cablebox input, and i play the movie using hauppauge's
> tv2000 program. this works fine, but this requires a computer monitor
> screen to do it. and to use the horrible tv2000 program instead of
> something nicer like media player. so you're right that media player does
> not support the svideo out on the pvr-350 to play video.
>
> the main goal is to eliminate the monitor. ie. use the tv as the monitor.
>
>
>
> <snip>
>
> Tom Scales wrote:
>>
>> Your PVR-350 won't cut it. Very little software supports it.
>>
>> Your video card will work as the only monitor, but you have to have the
>> drivers installed properly first, then boot the machine with ONLY the TV
>> plugged in and turned on.
>>
>> Tom

Jay B <> wrote:
> i'm trying to figure the best way to connect a pc to a tv so one can
> watch a clear picture of what is on the pc screen.
> i want to play movies that are stored on the network.

I've done this running XP (not media center - that probably has different
instruction.)

Most video cards come with s-video or composite video out. Use this to
connect to your TV. For audio, you'll have to connect your PC's audio out
(either headphone or aux. out) to the same input on your TV. You may need
to get an adaptor cable that'll let you go from the 3.5 mini-jack of your
computer to the standard red/white RCA audio cables for your TV. Check
with Radio Shack or some place similar.

You now need to tell your video card that your TV is your primiary
display. Windows Media Player and others won't display on a secondary
display (Boo!) To do this, right click on a blank spot on your desktop,
then choose Properties. Click on the Settings tab.

I always have a bit of trouble here, especially since different video
cards will make things work a bit differently here.

You'll need to change the screen resolution of your screen to 800x600.
This is about the maximum you can disply on your TV. If you click on the
Advanced button, you should be able to add your TV as a different
monitor. You should then see a two boxes, one with a '1' and another
with a '2' in it. Hopefully you see something on your TV at this point as
well, even if it's just your background. What you'll want to do now is
assign your TV to be the primary monitor. Click on the TV there, and
check the box that says "use this device as sthe primary monitor."

You may need to do some reboots in there, again, some cards make you,
others don't. Hopefully this gives you enough of a general idea so that
you can figure out the details without too much trouble.

If everything worked, you should see (most of) your normal desktop on the
TV. The desktop will scroll as you move your mouse to the edges of the
screen. At this point, you should be able to now open your video player
and play a file. The video should display on the TV. If you only get a
black box on your TV, be sure you made the TV your primary monitor. The
won't display on your TV unless it's the primary monitor.

Oh, and one final thing - be sure you disable your screen saver. Nothing
more annoying than having the screen saver kick in during a good part of
your movie

Hope this helps.

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