No TV Display

[Goski]

I have live TV and recorded TV on my PC and PC monitor but I can't get it to display on my TV. I have a composite connection from my PRV500 card to the TV (Yellow, Red, White). What am I doing wrong?

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Goski

I have live TV and recorded TV on my PC and PC monitor but I can't get it to display on my TV. I have a composite connection from my PRV500 card to the TV (Yellow, Red, White). What am I doing wrong?

Hi Goski,

Welcome!

The composite connector on the PVR500 is an input connector. The PVR350 is the only hauppauge card that has video out. Hopefully your video card has s-video or composite out. You will also have to use the audio out from your sound card.

Aloha,
Mike

[Goski]

So what do I have to get if I want to use my TV as a display.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Goski

So what do I have to get if I want to use my TV as a display.

You need a video card with an output that is compatible with your TV. Most recent video cards have s-video out and most also have an adaptor for composite video out. What video card do you have? and what inputs are available on your TV? You may already have what you need.

Aloha,
Mike

[Goski]

My video adapter is identified as an Nvidia GeForce 6150 LE. It looks like it is built into the motherboard. That probably means I will have to by one that support composite or S-Video. Do you have a recommendation??

[blade]

Originally Posted by Goski

My video adapter is identified as an Nvidia GeForce 6150 LE. It looks like it is built into the motherboard. That probably means I will have to by one that support composite or S-Video. Do you have a recommendation??

The 6150 supports TV out, it is just a matter of what type of connections the manufacturer decided to include. Some of the 6150s don't have the connector, but have headers on the motherboard so that you can add an expansion bracket.

If you can post your motherboard model and manufacturer someone can probably help you figure out if it has the header or not.

[Goski]

I didn't see anything that indicated the motherboard model. It is an HP Pavilion 061 computer model EX265AA-ABA a1510n.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Goski

I didn't see anything that indicated the motherboard model. It is an HP Pavilion 061 computer model EX265AA-ABA a1510n.

I looked through HP's site and found your model. Drilling down through the pages I found this page for setting up a monitor. Halfway down it shows a picture of the video connections that should be on the back of your computer. Does your computer have this set of connectors? If so, then you already have both s-video and composite connectors available. Choose the one you want to use (s-video is much better if your TV has the input) and use the built-in audio output to get your sound out to the TV (You will need a 1/8" stereo to RCA adaptor for this).

Hope this helps.

Aloha,
Mike

[Goski]

Unfortunately, I do not have a S-Video or composite connectors. It appears that I will have to buy a video card. I'm not sure what the headers on the motherboard look like that Blade referred to. I was also thinking that I might be able to use a media extender rather than buying a video card. Does that make sense?

[MeInMaui]

The media extender is a great option for viewing on a standard definition TV (SDTV).

But beware that there are a few limitations with the MVP:

You cannot legally watch encrypted DVD's through the MVP.
Any video that is not mpeg2 will have to be transcoded by the server into mpeg2 for the MVP to play back. (not really a limitation, but it takes horsepower on your server)
Some plugins will not work on the MVP such as the Web Radio and its successor Slimplayer plugins. I'm not sure if there are others.

The MVP does have some advantages:

Smooth FF and RW (If you like that method)
Silent (a really big plus)
Video looks really really good on a SDTV.

If you want to add a new video card to your computer, you will probably have to open it up and see if you have an AGP slot or a PCIe slot. It may not have either, depending on how much HP cut corners. This will determine your options for a video card. If you get one, remember to keep fan noise in mind. Try to get one that has a quiet or passive cooling mechanism. It seems odd to me that HP would sell a "Media Center" computer with no TV outputs. Of course that is part of the reason I've built my own computers since 1989.