Connect Dell Dimension Laptop to TV

[Matt]

Hello. Is it possible to connect my Dell Dimension D620 laptop to my
TV? The laptop has a VGA output on the back, which using the Mobile
Intel 945GM Express video chipset in the laptop allows me to connect
the laptop to a second monitor usually. Can this same VGA output be
used together with the VGA to RCA/s-video converters on Ebay

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Converter-S-VIDEO-RCA-out-ADAPTER-PC-
TO-
TV_W0QQitemZ270156645821QQihZ017QQcategoryZ41999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

to export my laptop display to a TV? The only other cable I think I
would need is a male-male s-video cable as the converter above has a
female s-video connector like my TV. Is the s-video connector the
right one to be using or should I be going with the yellow RCA
connector? Whichever I use I will need to buy an male-male cable so I
need to know which will be best.

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[kony]

Hello. Is it possible to connect my Dell Dimension D620 laptop to my
TV? The laptop has a VGA output on the back, which using the Mobile
Intel 945GM Express video chipset in the laptop allows me to connect
the laptop to a second monitor usually. Can this same VGA output be
used together with the VGA to RCA/s-video converters on Ebay

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Converter-S-VIDEO-RCA-out-ADAPTER-PC-
TO-
TV_W0QQitemZ270156645821QQihZ017QQcategoryZ41999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

to export my laptop display to a TV? The only other cable I think I
would need is a male-male s-video cable as the converter above has a
female s-video connector like my TV. Is the s-video connector the
right one to be using or should I be going with the yellow RCA
connector? Whichever I use I will need to buy an male-male cable so I
need to know which will be best.

Kind Regards,

Matt

According to the link (fixed wrap-around):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Con...ryZ41999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It should work. S-Video is the higher quality connection of
the two, you'll want a standard (male/male) S-Video cable,
only as long as you need it to be for best results.

 

[tg]

Hello. Is it possible to connect my Dell Dimension D620 laptop to my
TV?

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Converter-S-VIDEO-RCA-out-ADAPTER-PC-...

at first glance this looked a bit too good to be true. The line that
caught my eye though was:
'It will work with laptops and desktops with VGA cards that has TV-Out
function capability. '
I'm a bit vague on what 'TV-Out function capability' really means.
I've always understood it means the computer (or graphics card) has an
S-video or RCA socket on it but I'm no expert. For displaying a live
PC screen image on a TV I've always used a scan converter, I've never
heard of vga socket with 'TV-Out function capability', but then I may
be behind the times. What was the purpose you had in mind for
connecting your PC to your TV?
If you do get this gadget please post back and let us know what kind
of TV you have, how you connected it and the results.

 

[Matt]

at first glance this looked a bit too good to be true. The line that
caught my eye though was:
'It will work with laptops and desktops with VGA cards that has TV-Out
function capability. '
I'm a bit vague on what 'TV-Out function capability' really means.
I've always understood it means the computer (or graphics card) has an
S-video or RCA socket on it but I'm no expert. For displaying a live
PC screen image on a TV I've always used a scan converter, I've never
heard of vga socket with 'TV-Out function capability', but then I may
be behind the times. What was the purpose you had in mind for
connecting your PC to your TV?

To play DVD's from my laptop on my TV as my DVD player is playing up.

If you do get this gadget please post back and let us know what kind
of TV you have, how you connected it and the results.

Not a problem. I've e-mailed Dell and a company that sells these
adapters at www.ebest24.co.uk so I'll see what they have to say.

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[ThePunisher]

To play DVD's from my laptop on my TV as my DVD player is playing up.

Matt

Just buy an older dvd player from ebay.

 

[Nigel Barker]

Just buy an older dvd player from ebay.

Why not just buy a cheap one for 20-30 quid from a supermarket?
--

Cheers

Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

 

[Matt]

Just buy an older dvd player from ebay.

I'd like the option to play some old RTS games like RA2 on it as well.

 

[tg]

Not a problem. I've e-mailed Dell and a company that sells these
adapters at www.ebest24.co.uk so I'll see what they have to say.

one good thing is that even if it didn't work, it's only a risk of £6
which is not much. Not like the scan converter I bought for over £200
and discovered it was mostly rubbish...

 

[kony]

Why not just buy a cheap one for 20-30 quid from a supermarket?

That's not a bad idea, especially considering that wearing
out the one on the notebook will cost more to replace, and
that without a working DVD player, it's a lot more time
consuming to recover a laptop from eventual HDD failure.

 

[Resident Drunk]

Hello. Is it possible to connect my Dell Dimension D620 laptop to my
TV? The laptop has a VGA output on the back, which using the Mobile
Intel 945GM Express video chipset in the laptop allows me to connect
the laptop to a second monitor usually. Can this same VGA output be
used together with the VGA to RCA/s-video converters on Ebay

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Converter-S-VIDEO-RCA-out-ADAPTER-PC-
TO-
TV_W0QQitemZ270156645821QQihZ017QQcategoryZ41999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

to export my laptop display to a TV? The only other cable I think I
would need is a male-male s-video cable as the converter above has a
female s-video connector like my TV. Is the s-video connector the
right one to be using or should I be going with the yellow RCA
connector? Whichever I use I will need to buy an male-male cable so I
need to know which will be best.

Kind Regards,

Matt

Personally I don't think this will work - certainly not out of the box.
A VGA port sends the signal in RGB format, not S-Video/SVHS.

You may have some joy with the composite/RCA feed but you will have to
generate TV-suitable frequencies. I would imagine on XP, if your card is
supported you would need Powerstrip for this (it is quite easy under
Linux if your card supports generation of non-VGA modes).

A VGA to RGB-Scart is quite simple to make if your TV has RGB-in (and
again if your card can generate TV friendly frequencies).

 

[lastguy]

Hello. Is it possible to connect my Dell Dimension D620 laptop to my
TV? The laptop has a VGA output on the back, which using the Mobile
Intel 945GM Express video chipset in the laptop allows me to connect
the laptop to a second monitor usually. Can this same VGA output be
used together with the VGA to RCA/s-video converters on Ebay

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Converter-S-VIDEO-RCA-out-ADAPTER-PC-
TO-
TV_W0QQitemZ270156645821QQihZ017QQcategoryZ41999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

to export my laptop display to a TV? The only other cable I think I
would need is a male-male s-video cable as the converter above has a
female s-video connector like my TV. Is the s-video connector the
right one to be using or should I be going with the yellow RCA
connector? Whichever I use I will need to buy an male-male cable so I
need to know which will be best.

Kind Regards,

Matt

On my DELL D620 notebook, I use a pr01X dock and connect its S-
video(7pin) via a S-video cable(4pin) to TV, then press Fn|F8 to
switch the int/ext monitor, it works perfect. Note you can only
connect one ext. monitor here is TV. If not sure, use think link
below:
http://www.svideo.com/displayvideo.html

1. As far as your PC has s-video output, you can use similar method w/
o ext. converter. Dock is cheap and convenient and I prefer it. At my
case PC LCD is automatically changed between 1280x720(native) and
1024x768(when toggle to enable TV) when you toggle the mode.
2. If you buy cheapest VGA to video adapter (passive one), you need
extra s/w to reprogramming VGA controller otherwise it won't work.
3. you can buy active adapter (with chip in), costy and may not
support your native resolution if it is very high (say beyond
1024x768)
4. Some VGA controller is able to do s/w reprogramming as required in
entry 2. Say you can try ATI/Nvidia s/w, provided the the h/w has s-
video socket.
5. for seven pin S-video, two wirings are popular: ATI uses top as CV,
CV-GND is the one near old GND; the other wiring is top is NULL, near
old GND is CV, the last pin is CV-GND. No matter how, they are
compatible with 4pin S-video, and the extra 3pins are CV,CV-GND, NULL.
I hope my this close this case.

 

[Barry Watzman]

Re-Read the post: HE IS GOING TO USE AN EXTERNAL CONVERTER. Yes, it
will probably work. The converter is not just a "cable", it's a active
electronic circuit (quite complex, actually) made for just what he wants
to do.

To the OP: It will probably work, but note the input resolution
requirements of the VGA to RCA/S-Video converter. It may require that
you drop the resolution down as low as 640x480.

 

[Paul]

Re-Read the post: HE IS GOING TO USE AN EXTERNAL CONVERTER. Yes, it
will probably work. The converter is not just a "cable", it's a active
electronic circuit (quite complex, actually) made for just what he wants
to do.

To the OP: It will probably work, but note the input resolution
requirements of the VGA to RCA/S-Video converter. It may require that
you drop the resolution down as low as 640x480.

There is mention of TV capability in the specs for the D620, but no
mention of whether the signals travel as an overlay on the VGA connector
or not. The chipset has current mode drive for the VGA and TV signals.
I don't see a DIN connector on the laptop, and there is no purpose in
listing the TV capability, if it "cannot get out" of the box.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd620/en/UG/specs.htm

"TV support: NTSC or PAL in S-video and composite modes."

Paul

 

[Matt]

There is mention of TV capability in the specs for the D620, but no
mention of whether the signals travel as an overlay on the VGA connector
or not. The chipset has current mode drive for the VGA and TV signals.
I don't see a DIN connector on the laptop, and there is no purpose in
listing the TV capability, if it "cannot get out" of the box.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd620/en/UG/specs.htm

"TV support: NTSC or PAL in S-video and composite modes."

Paul

Well I've bought one anyway so I'll let you know how I get on once it
arrives.

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Barry Watzman]

IT DOES NOT MATTER. He isn't using "TV Out". He's going to take the
VGA ouput AS A VGA COMPUTER SIGNAL and feed it into a VGA to TV
converter box. Yes, there are such devices, there have been such
devices for 20 years.

Jeez .....

 

[Paul]

IT DOES NOT MATTER. He isn't using "TV Out". He's going to take the
VGA ouput AS A VGA COMPUTER SIGNAL and feed it into a VGA to TV
converter box. Yes, there are such devices, there have been such
devices for 20 years.

Jeez .....

This is the thing depicted in the original post of this thread.

http://i6.ebayimg.com/03/i/05/3a/60/94_2.JPG

That is a simple cable. There is no power source for any active
conversion.

Yes, there have been video solutions in the past, that had "TV
modes" for the VGA outputs. But evidence of such is hard to find,
at least I haven't seen any docs since I've looked for it on
occasion. I've seen those bloody passive conversion cables for sale
for eons, but never any reports of success using them.

It is a cheap experiment, and another failure means one more
conversion cable sitting in someone's junk box.

If I could see a picture of a control panel for a graphics
device, that said "TV over VGA cable", that would make a
believer out of me

When I see threads of this type, I try to recommend a scan
converter, as a "guaranteed to work" solution. But some
people just have to buy these converter cables and try them.

I wish I knew what the Dell specification was referring to,
but that is between the OP and Dell Tech Support to sort
out.

Paul

 

[Resident Drunk]

Barry Watzman wrote:
Re-Read the post: HE IS GOING TO USE AN EXTERNAL CONVERTER. Yes, it
will probably work. The converter is not just a "cable", it's a
active electronic circuit (quite complex, actually) made for just
what he wants to do.

Any chance you can show me where, in this :

http://tinyurl.com/23thob

- they have hidden A COMPLEX ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT? It's just to me it
looks like a cable with molded plugs on each end and the few converters
I have used over the years including the Creative one I am looking at
now are about the size of 2 cigarette packets and require an external
power supply. I'm fascinated how they have managed to miniaturize all
those components into a molded plug, sell it for a couple of pounds AND
do away with the power supply.

Thanks

 

[Richard Crowley]

Any chance you can show me where, in this :

http://tinyurl.com/23thob

- they have hidden A COMPLEX ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT? It's just to me it
looks like a cable with molded plugs on each end and the few
converters I have used over the years including the Creative one I am
looking at now are about the size of 2 cigarette packets and require
an external power supply. I'm fascinated how they have managed to
miniaturize all those components into a molded plug, sell it for a
couple of pounds AND do away with the power supply.

The photo clearly shows a passive circuit device.
Of course, it requires you to run your computer
video at a size and timing compatible with PAL
(or NTSC, etc.) since there is no scan-conversion
going on.

You will have to determine whether you can switch
your computer to run at that size/timing combo.
I wouldn't bet on it, especially laptop computers.
But you might get lucky, who knows.

 

[Resident Drunk]

The photo clearly shows a passive circuit device.
Of course, it requires you to run your computer
video at a size and timing compatible with PAL
(or NTSC, etc.) since there is no scan-conversion
going on.

You will have to determine whether you can switch
your computer to run at that size/timing combo.
I wouldn't bet on it, especially laptop computers.
But you might get lucky, who knows.

Erm...

Which is what I said 3 messages ago.

 

[Don Stauffer in Minnesota]

Hello. Is it possible to connect my Dell Dimension D620 laptop to my
TV? The laptop has a VGA output on the back, which using the Mobile
Intel 945GM Express video chipset in the laptop allows me to connect
the laptop to a second monitor usually. Can this same VGA output be
used together with the VGA to RCA/s-video converters on Ebay

(http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-to-TV-Converter-S-VIDEO-RCA-out-ADAPTER-PC-
TO-
TV_W0QQitemZ270156645821QQihZ017QQcategoryZ41999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

to export my laptop display to a TV? The only other cable I think I
would need is a male-male s-video cable as the converter above has a
female s-video connector like my TV. Is the s-video connector the
right one to be using or should I be going with the yellow RCA
connector? Whichever I use I will need to buy an male-male cable so I
need to know which will be best.

Kind Regards,

Matt

It should work, but be very careful of the quality of the VGA to NTSC
converter. Many are junk and create lousy video. Don't get the
cheapest one you can find and try to find a brand name unit.