Omnibook 6000 to Wega TV with DTS sound?

[galaxycinema]

Hi everyone.

I purchased a second-hand Omnibook 6000 (with 256mb ram and running at 850mhz or there abouts!) and it plays DVD's really well....

But - I want to use it as a home cinema system too. With the Power DVD software it can play my DTS DVD's wonderfully - but I want to get the pictures up on my Sony Wega TV... I would also like to pump the DTS sound through my existing Sony DTS amp kit.

Problem is - my laptop doesn't have a Super Video output...

So how do I hook it all up in simple terms? Will I need to get a new laptop graphics card (easy to do?) or is there a simple way to hook this up to the SCART connection on the TV?

I want to use the laptop as I have ripped some of my DVD's to Vob's and I want to add different types of DTS intros and silly adverts at the start etc

Please, if anyone has any advice or suggestions I would really appreciate it!

 

[Zef]

Hmmm Tricky one.

I cant see the outputs on the laptop, has is got any video out at all (apart from VGA) ?. If is has then this can go into your TV - At best I think you can only get composite... Or you need to go VGA to Scart (if there is such a thing)

Installing a new vid card in your laptop may be tricky as the display is built on the motherboard and Its not as simple as putting a card in..

Sound.
well unless you have twin phono out (i doubt it) then you can get a lead that goes from headphone socket to twin phono - this way you can plug them into a spare input on your amp - very much doubt you will get DTS though..

hope this helps

 

[galaxycinema]

Thanks for the advice!

I wonder if you can get a PCMCIA graphics card that will do it or something like that?

Mmmm perhaps I should forget getting this laptop hooked up then...

 

[refinechange]

There is another option but it costs (for a change).

You could feed the VGA output from the laptop into one of the Keene Electronics boxes that (as I understand) converts it to RGB. As for the sound, you could try one of the Soundblaster external units that fits to the USB port but don't know how well that would work with your internal card.

Theres always a way - at a price!

Cheers
Alex

 

Margi make a PCMCIA card that allows you to run a S/Video connection from your laptop. The only requirement is that the PCMCIA port is Zoom Video capable.

Unfortunately my Vaio doesn't support Zoom Video so I've got one thats been sitting in drawer for a year if yer interested in buying one.

 

[Zef]

looking at the omnibook - it supports zoom video - Looks like this could be your option (for video at least)

 

[galaxycinema]

Thanks fatbhoyslim - is the quality good enough? I mean, can it do widescreen etc? Does it carry the sound over as well? Am I talking rubbish?

How much?

 

Honestly don't know what the quality is like cos I've never used it. As far as widescreen is concern I'd imagine so - given that your softplayer PowerDVD, WinDVD etc can all output widescreen. The S/Video is only the transmission medium - the software will dictate the picture output.

I'm at work just now but will dig it out tomorrow morning and post back tomorrow night. In the meantime you can get more info from...

www.margi.com/products/prod_dvd_dtg.htm

As for how much? I paid £110 for it a year ago so howzabout half that?

 

[galaxycinema]

Does it come with a TV and Audio Output Dongle?

 

I think so but as I said earlier I'll need to confirm when I get home - it's seriously been a year since I last looked at it (purchased 6/10/01).

I'll let you know as soon as.

 

[galaxycinema]

If you can match £35 (inc Dongle) then you have a deal....

 

[spamboy]

Just in case this doesn't work out here are some more options:

Get a docking station for the laptop with PCI slots - I don't know if there is one, but it's worth a look. Then get a video card with s-video out.

Get a vga - rgb converter. As per a previous post, www.trust.nl do one or www.averm.co.uk. I prefer the look of the trust one and am probably going to buy one, I'll post results if anone is interested. This is the easiest solution and cheapest, but I'm not sure about quality.

Or, get a PCI extender for the laptop. I think these are quite cool
http://www.mobilityelectronics.com/products/family.asp?FamilyID=103

They give you extra pci slots, ide controllers, space to put dvd \ cdr's, more drives etc.

For sound cards, either use a pci card with one of the above solutions (I've got a live! in the dock), or look at a USB card (sound blaster extigy perhaps?)

Good luck anyway!

 

[galaxycinema]

Thanks Spamboy for the suggestions... but that adds the cost up too much for me... I'm not normally so tight with my money, but as I'm moving to America in the next year or so I don't want to spend oodles of cash investing in UK bits and pieces!

Thank you anyway for taking the time to reply - really appreciated!

 

[spamboy]

Ah, I am stingy when buying gear (less you spend on one item, the more you can have ;-)

The vga- rgb converters only cost about £50, making them cheaper than most cards with tv-out and so long as they work, mean that you could transfer it to other machines.

 

[galaxycinema]

But is the quality any good with the converters? I was under the impression (and probably incorrect!) that S-Video was much better?

It's all very confusing

Any recommendations on good converters for a laptop?

 

[spamboy]

I don't know about quality yet. I'm going to buy one this week if anyone has any comments, if not I'll post with how I think it is. These converters output s-video, component etc depending on version.

 

[galaxycinema]

Brilliant - thanks! Would love to know how it turns out for you.....