Computer to Plasma TV...

[Mike]

I want to set up a plasmatv in a conference room that will have a pc
connected to it.
I want to be able to use it for presentations, video conferencing, etc., as
well as a plain ol' tv.
The TV I'm looking at is:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=535&item=329255&prDeTab=2&pCatg=5884#A
There is no DVI input, which concerns me, as I hear that should give me the
best picture.
The video card I'm considering is this:
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2784495
Also, would I need the XP Media edition, as opposed to XP Pro?
What does media edition have that pro doesn't?
Does anybody have any suggestions as far as TVs & cards in the same price
range?

 

[S.Sengupta]

You can get a clear idea here:-
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/default.mspx

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]

 

[Jim]

You can get a clear idea here:-
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/default.mspx

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]

I want to set up a plasmatv in a conference room that will have a pc
connected to it.
I want to be able to use it for presentations, video conferencing, etc.,
as well as a plain ol' tv.
The TV I'm looking at is:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=535&item=329255&prDeTab=2&pCatg=5884#A
There is no DVI input, which concerns me, as I hear that should give me
the best picture.
The video card I'm considering is this:
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2784495
Also, would I need the XP Media edition, as opposed to XP Pro?
What does media edition have that pro doesn't?

The ability to construct a (rather primitive) slide show in short order. If
you use a third party solution such as Pro Show Gold, XP Pro will work just
fine.
Jim

 

[Ron Martell]

I want to set up a plasmatv in a conference room that will have a pc
connected to it.
I want to be able to use it for presentations, video conferencing, etc., as
well as a plain ol' tv.
The TV I'm looking at is:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=535&item=329255&prDeTab=2&pCatg=5884#A
There is no DVI input, which concerns me, as I hear that should give me the
best picture.
The video card I'm considering is this:
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2784495
Also, would I need the XP Media edition, as opposed to XP Pro?
What does media edition have that pro doesn't?
Does anybody have any suggestions as far as TVs & cards in the same price
range?

Your video card should be fully adequate for what you what you want to
do. In fact you could probably get by with a less expensive model,
as long as it has the dual video outputs.

The TV is only 1024 by 1024 resolution maximum so there is no
requirement for any high quality video cards.

If your primary monitor is not DVI then you will need a DVI to VGA
adapter as well. Only a few dollars.

Depending on the software you are going to be running for these
presentations even XP Home would probably be fully adequate for the
job. I have a client (local Sears outlet) that is using Plasma and
LCD TVs to display PC output (web pages). They are using XP Home with
no problems.

When you set up the dual display options you will have two choices for
configuring the second monitor. The default configuration will have
both monitors showing the same image, which may be best for what you
want to do. If you use the "Extend my desktop...." option for the
second monitor then you will have one wide desktop spread across the
two displays and you can drag items from one side to the other.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Bob I]

You can get a clear idea here:-
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/default.mspx

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]

Mike wrote:

I want to set up a plasmatv in a conference room that will have a pc
connected to it.
I want to be able to use it for presentations, video conferencing, etc.,
as well as a plain ol' tv.
The TV I'm looking at is:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=535&item=329255&prDeTab=2&pCatg=5884#A
There is no DVI input, which concerns me, as I hear that should give me
the best picture.
The video card I'm considering is this:
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2784495
Also, would I need the XP Media edition, as opposed to XP Pro?
What does media edition have that pro doesn't?

The ability to construct a (rather primitive) slide show in short order. If
you use a third party solution such as Pro Show Gold, XP Pro will work just
fine.
Jim

Movie Maker 2 can do that.

 

[Mikey]

Your video card should be fully adequate for what you what you want to
do. In fact you could probably get by with a less expensive model,
as long as it has the dual video outputs.

The TV is only 1024 by 1024 resolution maximum so there is no
requirement for any high quality video cards.

If your primary monitor is not DVI then you will need a DVI to VGA
adapter as well. Only a few dollars.

Depending on the software you are going to be running for these
presentations even XP Home would probably be fully adequate for the
job. I have a client (local Sears outlet) that is using Plasma and
LCD TVs to display PC output (web pages). They are using XP Home with
no problems.

When you set up the dual display options you will have two choices for
configuring the second monitor. The default configuration will have
both monitors showing the same image, which may be best for what you
want to do. If you use the "Extend my desktop...." option for the
second monitor then you will have one wide desktop spread across the
two displays and you can drag items from one side to the other.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

The TV will be the only monitor & I'll be in an AD domain, so I'm
assuming media edition can join domain?
If not, Pro should be fine.
As far as software, mostly powerpoint & demo web sites, which makes me
concerned as far as text being readable..

 

[Rock]

Mikey wrote:

The TV will be the only monitor & I'll be in an AD domain, so I'm
assuming media edition can join domain?
If not, Pro should be fine.
As far as software, mostly powerpoint & demo web sites, which makes me
concerned as far as text being readable..

Media Edition cannot join a domain.

 

[Mike]

Mikey wrote:



Media Edition cannot join a domain.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Ron Martell]

The TV will be the only monitor & I'll be in an AD domain, so I'm
assuming media edition can join domain?
If not, Pro should be fine.
As far as software, mostly powerpoint & demo web sites, which makes me
concerned as far as text being readable..

Given the resolution capabilities of the TV you should be okay with
text unless the text size is very small, resulting in the equivalent
of more than 150 characters on a full-width line.

Powerpoint should be just fine, and most web sites as well unless they
are designed for resolutions higher than 1024 x 768. Most web sites
are designed to display the full image at 800 x 600 but some are now
using 1024 x 768 as the design base. Very few use higher resolutions
(e.g. part of the page is off-screen to the right even when viewed on
a 1024 x 768 monitor).

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Rock]

Thanks for the tip.

You're welcome.