Help me hook up my new LCD HDTV please?

[heavylee]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this and help me.

I have a Dell Precision 330 with WinXP Pro using SageTV 2.0.20. I currently have an AGP video card with a regular RCA/component output and I was running that cable to the video input of my old TV. Everything worked well.

Now, I just got a Westinghouse ltv-32w6 32" LCD HDTV. When I plugged the RCA video cable in to the new TV, the picture was ok. It was kinda pixelated at points, and obviously didn't fit the widescreen ratio. So my question is, what new video card and cable combo can/should I get to make the picture really pop on the TV? I've also considered upgrading the recording quality from Normal (1.5GB/hour) to something better. Will this make a significant difference?

These are the inputs available:
HDMI-HDCP + L/R Audio
VGA/D-Sub/RGB + Audio mini jack
YPbPr Component Video+ L/R Audio
Video/S-Video + L/R Audio

Also, in the Detailed Setup of the software, I can choose the aspect ratio. Do I want 'Source' 'Fill' '4x3' or '16x9'?

In the computer, I have PCI and AGP slots available. It's a P4 1.4GHz with 512MB RAM and a 16MB AGP video card (currently).

Thanks for your help. Please feel free to make other suggestions I didn't think of to help make the best use of what the TV can do.

[Fluffdaddy]

Some ideals
1) Use the Component Connectors or VGA output on you TV

2.a) you can buy a Video card that has HDTV adaptors for Component inputs........there are many

2.b) I use HDTV adaptors (link below) for my ATI 9700 and 9800 pro. These are older cards. There are newer cards and other brands out now that may look better

2.c)You can even go right into "your" TV with the VGA output of the card without the need of an adaptor

ATI VGA to Component HDTV Adapter Model 6140016500 -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999204

For DVI-I to Component
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999203

This thread will give you some more ideals
http://forums.sage.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=22555


good luck and enjoy your new tv

[heavylee]

Thanks for replying, F Diddy.

Originally Posted by Fluffdaddy

Some ideals
1) Use the Component Connectors or VGA output on you TV

2.a) you can buy a Video card that has HDTV adaptors for Component inputs........there are many

2.b) I use HDTV adaptors (link below) for my ATI 9700 and 9800 pro. These are older cards. There are newer cards and other brands out now that may look better

2.c)You can even go right into "your" TV with the VGA output of the card without the need of an adaptor

So are you saying to use the DB-15 'monitor' output on the video card and the same input on the TV? Optionally, I can use an HDTV adaptors for this arrangement? If so, is it worth getting a new/better video card?

Originally Posted by Fluffdaddy

ATI VGA to Component HDTV Adapter Model 6140016500 -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999204

For DVI-I to Component
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999203

These links aren't working for me. NewEgg's site says the page doesn't exist.

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by heavylee

So are you saying to use the DB-15 'monitor' output on the video card and the same input on the TV? Optionally, I can use an HDTV adaptors for this arrangement? If so, is it worth getting a new/better video card?.

Yup, just get a VGA cable to go from the video card to the PC and you can use it as a computer monitor. If you are justing watching SD programming, your existing card may be good enough, but you want to watch HD, your may need to get a better card.



As for the best aspect ratio to use, it depends on your needs. You can adjust the settings on each ratio to best fit difference AR-sourced content to your screen.
for instance, I use source for all recorded 16x9HD and 4x3SD content. The 4x3SD content is pillarboxed, with black boxes on the sides. I use 16x9 adjusted to zoom in letterboxed 4x3SD content so that instead of being letterboxed and pillorboxed, it fits fullscreen with just a little bit of quality reduction.

[heavylee]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

As for the best aspect ratio to use, it depends on your needs. You can adjust the settings on each ratio to best fit difference AR-sourced content to your screen.
for instance, I use source for all recorded 16x9HD and 4x3SD content. The 4x3SD content is pillarboxed, with black boxes on the sides. I use 16x9 adjusted to zoom in letterboxed 4x3SD content so that instead of being letterboxed and pillorboxed, it fits fullscreen with just a little bit of quality reduction.

Thanks for your help. I think we may not be on the same page here for aspect ratio. I was refering to the software setting in SageTV, about which ratio setting to use. It sounds like you are talking about a setting in the TV, correct?

[Fluffdaddy]

Yes as ke6guj said, just get a VGA cable to go from the video card to the PC and you will be good to go.


fixed links
DVI to Component Adapters

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999903

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999205

Newegg seem to be out of vga to component HDTV Adapters but you can find them elsewhere if you want one

[heavylee]

Thanks for your help guys. Which do you think will perform better? A VGA cable, or the adapters suggested?

[Fluffdaddy]

5 years ago my first HDTV "36 inch RCA 300 pound monster" that had both VGA and component inputs. I used both and could not tell a difference between the two.

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by heavylee

Thanks for your help. I think we may not be on the same page here for aspect ratio. I was refering to the software setting in SageTV, about which ratio setting to use. It sounds like you are talking about a setting in the TV, correct?

No, I am talking about the 4 aspect ratios in Sage. Each AR can be adjusted separately to help fit the video content to your display the way you want it.

Originally Posted by heavylee

Thanks for your help guys. Which do you think will perform better? A VGA cable, or the adapters suggested?

I think a VGA cable would be the easiest. It is the designed output of the video card. In many cases, just plugging in the monitor, your computer will detect the model of your monitor. YOu should also be able to easily set the video card output to the native resolution of the monitor.

Having to add an adapter, which didn't come with the video card, adds complexity to the setup.