PC to TV: HDMI vs "PC-In (D-Sub)"

lareadiohead

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I don't really know much about the PC-IN connector on my tv. I was hoping somebody could explain the differences in quality and price, with regards to choosing which of these inputs to use when connecting my computer to an LCD tv. Thanks!
 
HDMI is preferred, however can be tricky to get working sometimes, with certain sets at certain resolutions. Also, if your computer doesn't have a hdmi output but only DVI, a converter dongle can be the ticket, if you can get it to work.

I have mine connected through d-sub, which is theoretically more susceptible to interference, but I'm very happy with it. Nothing to complain about.
 
Make and model of your GPU please?
 
Hdmi in or DVI in (if you can get or have it) there higher resolution inputs i.e 1920x1080. D-sub (VGA input) your limited to 1366x768 ..


but as above said Graphics card needs tobe said ..
 
I'll be buying a new graphics card, so it sounds like buying an HDMI compatible card is the way to go. HDMI > PC-In. I'm sure I can figure out the configurations. I just wanted to hear that there isn't some major incompatibility issue I didn't know about. Thanks again everybody.
 
Does you TV support blacker than black? If not, you'll have to make sure the card you buy supports YCbCr color space (or RGB limited)
 
Hdmi in or DVI in (if you can get or have it) there higher resolution inputs i.e 1920x1080. D-sub (VGA input) your limited to 1366x768 ..

Well that would be a limitation of the TV and/or graphics card then and not the VGA connection to TV's in general. My desktop is connected to my Sony 32W5500 using VGA and it's definitely running at 1920X1080. I have an Nvidia GeForce 7900GT with 256MB of RAM.
 
Well that would be a limitation of the TV and/or graphics card then and not the VGA connection to TV's in general. My desktop is connected to my Sony 32W5500 using VGA and it's definitely running at 1920X1080. I have an Nvidia GeForce 7900GT with 256MB of RAM.

Agreed but 99% of time D-sub connection is limited to 1366x768 , with the Op not posting up screen you just post the General idea.. but if D-sub on the Op tv does 1920x1080p that would be a nice surprise to him :)

with that sony you have you want tobe using DVI to HDMI :thumbsup:
 
Mine's running 1920*1080 on dsub as well and the quality is actually great. 46W5500 Bravia here.

Wouldn't know why dsub would be limited to 1366*768. Before flatscreens, CRT monitors were running 1600*1200 and beyond ? Maybe the TV's implementation would only allow such a resolution, but you can certainly do higher resolutions just fine over vga cable.
 
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Most HDTVs have poor VGA (D-Sub) support, and it's better to use DVI/HDMI (if the display provides 1:1 support)
 
I went from Dsub to HDMI on my 40w4500 and the difference was HUGE. Not only full 1920x1080 support (incl 24p) via Nvidia Vista drivers but big jump in PQ and proper control over the input settings :smashin:.
 
:thumbsup: That's because you have gone Analogue to Digital .. the latter or newest drivers (Nvidia) are allot better now for detection for Lcd/plasma screens you can also pick between RGB and YCbCr444 in Digital colour format there is also HCDP detection Status..
 
with that sony you have you want tobe using DVI to HDMI :thumbsup:

I would do but I don't have any spare HDMI connections as all are in use. :D

HDMI 1 - PS3
HDMI 2 - Xbox 360
HDMI 3 - HD-DVD Player
HDMI 4 - MacBook Air ( Using DVI to HDMI ).

I use my MacBook far more them my Windows PC so I rather have that connected using HDMI.


The only issue I have is if I mirror my MacBook's desktop then I get black bars on either side. If I extend it then I get full screen. However if I extend then I have to drag application windows to the TV display, resize them and then resize them again when moving back to the MacBook. With the Windows desktop using VGA I mirror and get full screen. I don't know if it is possible to get full screen when mirroring the MacBook using DVI to HDMI.
 
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I would do but I don't have any spare HDMI connections as all are in use. :D

HDMI 1 - PS3
HDMI 2 - Xbox 360
HDMI 3 - HD-DVD Player
HDMI 4 - MacBook Air ( Using DVI to HDMI ).

I use my MacBook far more them my Windows PC so I rather have that connected using HDMI.


The only issue I have is if I mirror my MacBook's desktop then I get black bars on either side. If I extend it then I get full screen. However if I extend then I have to drag application windows to the TV display, resize them and then resize them again when moving back to the MacBook. With the Windows desktop using VGA I mirror and get full screen. I don't know if it is possible to get full screen when mirroring the MacBook using DVI to HDMI.

:D your Lucky you have 4 Hdmi's ..

not sure on that mate sounds a pain:( , not a mac man myself .. but only thing i could put that down to is drivers .. i had a similar problem in a away a while back when i got a newer 1080p screen, the drivers would not detect the display properly, i had to use the Resize desktop in the drivers this did my head in due every reboot it reset:mad: the drivers after that solved that issue ..

What are the latest your using? 185.85 are latest well for xp/vista/win7
 
:D your Lucky you have 4 Hdmi's ..

not sure on that mate sounds a pain:( , not a mac man myself .. but only thing i could put that down to is drivers .. i had a similar problem in a away a while back when i got a newer 1080p screen, the drivers would not detect the display properly, i had to use the Resize desktop in the drivers this did my head in due every reboot it reset:mad: the drivers after that solved that issue ..

What are the latest your using? 185.85 are latest well for xp/vista/win7

Macs don't use drivers as such. Plus as it's a MacBook Air ( it's advantage being compact and light weight not powerful ) it uses shared memory and does not have a dedicated GPU. That may have something to do with it. It does have the capability of running an external display at 1920x1080 and it does that just with vertical black bars on either side.

To be honest I asked one of the tech guys at the Genius Bar in one of my local Apple shops and he said that I would likely have black bars. I'll probably ask in the Mac forums and see if anyone there can shed any light.
 
Macs don't use drivers as such. Plus as it's a MacBook Air ( it's advantage being compact and light weight not powerful ) it uses shared memory and does not have a dedicated GPU. That may have something to do with it. It does have the capability of running an external display at 1920x1080 and it does that just with vertical black bars on either side.

To be honest I asked one of the tech guys at the Genius Bar in one of my local Apple shops and he said that I would likely have black bars. I'll probably ask in the Mac forums and see if anyone there can shed any light.

Good idea, hope it works out :smashin:
 
If you're cloning, the cloned image will be identical to the original image.

So for example, if you clone Desktop 1 with res of 1440 x 900 onto a 1080p set, it will have two black bars on the sides (AR correction).

To bypass this, you'll have to extend the desktop.
 
So am I to gather from this that HDMI will always be as good or better than using the PC-In? In my particular case, the television will be the only monitor this computer has; but I really appreciate this discussion being in a more general sense rather than limited to my specific setup. I'd like to point out that I'm more interested in quality of picture than I am in saving money.

Also, Nielo asked:
Does you TV support blacker than black?

That's a great consideration to point out and will actually be important to what I'm using this all for (photography viewings), thank you. It's a pretty new television and I'd assume it does, but what Spec should I be checking to determine this?
 
So am I to gather from this that HDMI will always be as good or better than using the PC-In? In my particular case, the television will be the only monitor this computer has

You can never expect a TV set to be as good a PC display as a dedicated monitor. Nielo will I am sure be able to give you chapter and verse as to why. It's all to do with TVs - even high-end ones - not adhering as closely as they might to VESA standards.

However it does stand to reason that a digital connection will potentially give you a better picture than analogue :).
 
So am I to gather from this that HDMI will always be as good or better than using the PC-In?

That is now usually the case, providing the display supports 1:1

In my particular case, the television will be the only monitor this computer has; but I really appreciate this discussion being in a more general sense rather than limited to my specific setup. I'd like to point out that I'm more interested in quality of picture than I am in saving money.

If your TV is not fully compatible, you could buy a cheap monitor and extend the desktop to the TV.

Also, Nielo asked:
Does you TV support blacker than black?

That's a great consideration to point out and will actually be important to what I'm using this all for (photography viewings), thank you. It's a pretty new television and I'd assume it does, but what Spec should I be checking to determine this?

You can't usually check from specs I'm afraid.

It should be able to accept blacker than black (RGB 0-255), but you could ask others by posting the model number of your TV.

PS: If it doesn't, enable YCbCr (16-235)
 
You can never expect a TV set to be as good a PC display as a dedicated monitor. Nielo will I am sure be able to give you chapter and verse as to why. It's all to do with TVs - even high-end ones - not adhering as closely as they might to VESA standards.

However it does stand to reason that a digital connection will potentially give you a better picture than analogue :).

Yap

TVs aren't monitors unless specified. They have limited timings, which means you can only use handful of resolutions and 'refresh rates'. On the modern cards, one could enable GPU scaling to combat this issue.

But if you want a quality monitor with the option to fully calibrate it, get the Dell 2209WA from Scan.
 
Thank you extensively Nielo.

The tv is a Sony Bravia KDL-52s4100.
 
If you're cloning, the cloned image will be identical to the original image.

So for example, if you clone Desktop 1 with res of 1440 x 900 onto a 1080p set, it will have two black bars on the sides (AR correction).

To bypass this, you'll have to extend the desktop.

Fair enough. I may just go with extending rather then mirroring in the future then.
 

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