OT: Help! To anyone who lives in the States

[David Shorthouse]

Hey folks,

I have a P4R800-VM and am desperately looking for a TV-out adapter for
the board because I am using as a home theatre machine. Seems ASUS doesn't
have it in their own warehouse and the only place in NA that carries it is
Newegg. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and Newegg is unwilling to ship
here. So, this is a plead for anyone who lives in the States and is willing
to do me a really big favor. Would someone be willing to order it for me and
then ship it to Canada? Here's the item:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-211&depa=0.
Of course we can make some compensatory arrangements for your help.

Thanks to anyone who might be able to give me a hand,

Dave

 

[Darkfalz]

Hey folks,

I have a P4R800-VM and am desperately looking for a TV-out adapter for
the board because I am using as a home theatre machine. Seems ASUS doesn't
have it in their own warehouse and the only place in NA that carries it is
Newegg. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and Newegg is unwilling to ship
here. So, this is a plead for anyone who lives in the States and is willing
to do me a really big favor. Would someone be willing to order it for me and
then ship it to Canada? Here's the item:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-211&depa=0.
Of course we can make some compensatory arrangements for your help.

Thanks to anyone who might be able to give me a hand,

U don't have one single trusted friend from the US?

 

[Ken Fox]

Dave,

Here is something else to consider; I assume that you want to change your
output from a vga port to either composite or S-video.

Instead of putting a new card into your machine, you could buy an adapter
cable, like this one:

www.cyberguys.com --- search for #131 0615

This is a cable that connects to a VGA port and produces both an S-Video and
a Composite female port at the ends of the short adapter cable. It costs
$1.99 US . You may be able to source this item or something similar from a
supplier in Canada, and if not, from what I can tell, Cyberguys will ship
outside the USA; at least you can put a wide # of countries in as your
shipping addresss country from the pull down menus, so I assume they will
accept a Canadian address. This company is very reliable and a great source
for cheap parts; they will ship by the US Postal Service also, which should
be a relatively cheap option for shipping to Canada. While you are at it
you can add a few more odds and ends to bring the order up to the point
where you won't be paying more in shipping charges than for the actual item.
The case parts collection for $2.49 US (Item #: 115 1025) is highly
recommended and has saved my butt on more than one occasion.

Hope this helps.

ken

 

[David Shorthouse]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-211&depa=0.

U don't have one single trusted friend from the US?

If I did, do you think I would resort to this?

Dave

 

[David Shorthouse]

Hmm. Now this is something to consider. I have seen similar items, but they
were all powered via a USB port. I guess you would have to be very careful
about the resolution and frequency settings on this thing before hooking it
up to a TV.

Dave

 

[David Shorthouse]

Ken,

Thanks for this, but it looks like shipping to CA is over $20US.
Unfortunately, the adapter you suggested is only ~$2US and this is really
all I need at the moment.

Dave

 

[Darkfalz]

it
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-211&depa=0.

If I did, do you think I would resort to this?

:-S

 

[RonK]

Have you got the part number and manufacturer - If so, list it here and I'll
check it out. IOf you have a web page for the card list it here as well.

 

[Ken Fox]

Ken,

Thanks for this, but it looks like shipping to CA is over $20US.
Unfortunately, the adapter you suggested is only ~$2US and this is really
all I need at the moment.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Where in Canada do you live? I go to Vancouver each year for about a week,
and I'll be coming again in late-mid-June. The shipping costs on something
so cheap such as either the converter thingie I suggested or even the part
you wanted are going to make the cost borderline prohibitive regardless of
how you get it.

Another option you may not have considered but that might be worth
considering would be to buy either an AGP or a PCI video card with memory on
the card, that has the ports you seek. I don't know about the Canadian
market, but there are tons of el cheapo last generation video cards out
there with composite and/or S-video ports on them that might serve your
needs. You can get any of a number of them, with 64 or 128MB of RAM on
them, for ~$50 USD plus shipping. If you put such a card into your system
it would speed it up to some extent and also offer you the ports you seek.

Even if you have someone living in the USA send you the part you wanted from
Newegg or something else like what I have suggested, you might find it does
not work in your application and also the shipping costs are apt to exceed
the cost of the item itself. If the item does not work in your system you
are going to be out a lot and have no recourse. You will do a lot better
with something you can return if it doesn't work.

As for the situation of wanting a $2 part and not wanting to pay $20 to get
it, I can sympathize. I have been in this situation on many occasions and I
really don't have a good solution. Usually, what I have done, is to either
pay up or to put the project on the "back burner," and to accumulate other
such items in my head and then a few months later assemble an order full of
stuff like that which in total will justify the shipping costs.

I must temper my sympathy for you, however, by relating the fact that I live
in a rural area with about 2% of the shopping options available to someone
who lives in a major Canadian city. You might think your options are
limited, but I think about it for a while before I buy a steak in the local
market . . . . .. there is always the Costco but it is 90 minutes drive
away.

If you are in the Vancouver area, and if you can wait until latter-mid-June,
I might be able to hand carry such a thing to you and then there would be no
shipping cost, only the inconvenience of waiting.

Good luck,

ken

 

[RonK]

Dave, I just sent you an e-mail. I think I have the one you need. My
Sympatico incoming e-mail is not workink right now (A problem with
Sympatico) but I will look for your reply in the morning. I included a
picture of it so let me know here as well. I live in Ontario Canada.

Ron

 

[Paul]

Hey folks,

I have a P4R800-VM and am desperately looking for a TV-out adapter for
the board because I am using as a home theatre machine. Seems ASUS doesn't
have it in their own warehouse and the only place in NA that carries it is
Newegg. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and Newegg is unwilling to ship
here. So, this is a plead for anyone who lives in the States and is willing
to do me a really big favor. Would someone be willing to order it for me and
then ship it to Canada? Here's the item:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-211&depa=0.
Of course we can make some compensatory arrangements for your help.

Thanks to anyone who might be able to give me a hand,

Dave

This doesn't directly solve your problem, but if you are handy with
a soldering iron...

The MSI website has a motherboard like the P4R800.

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/manual/mnu/spt_mnu_detail.php?UID=537

If you look on page 36 of E7003v1.1.pdf , there is a 2x3 header with
not exactly the same pin location as the P4R800-VM. But MSI has had the
good sense to label the pins. Also, you'll notice that the nice folks
at MSI use coax cables for their video signals. I think the video
signals are normally carried on 75 ohm cable ? The Asus ribbon cable
on the other hand, would be approximately 110 ohm cable, and could
cause reflections in the signal. To my thinking, the MSI looks like
a better solution.

The pinout on the MSI is:

GND, CVBS - You would connect these to an RCA connector, for baseband
video. A 75 ohm cable would match the transmission line
impedance.
GND, YOUT, COUT - This is the SVHS luminance and chrominance and needs
whatever connector is on your A/V equipment.

So, if you can get some coax cable, and the appropriate kind of connector,
you could make your own adapter. The potential benefit of going
this way, is maybe the VGA motherboard connector can still be connected
to a computer monitor, while you are working out the wrinkles of
getting the video to work. As for quality, I've yet to be impressed
with the output of any video card to a TV set. Hope YMMV. A TV
set doesn't have the display bandwidth to handle text, so controlling
the computer based on any text printed on the screen will be tough.
I've tried to boot a second computer using my television set (a FreeBSD
machine), and at 640x480 I cannot read the text well enough to
figure out if all is well or not.

HTH,
Paul

 

[David Shorthouse]

Thanks Ken, but I'll need this long before June. As for your PCI or AGP
idea, there are plenty of options on that front anywhere in Canada. However,
I am building a dedicated, low-profile system as an HTPC unit. Low-profile
AGP cards with TV-out _are_ hard to come by.

 

[David Shorthouse]

RonK,

No card, just want the optional TV-out adapter/connector for the ASUS
P4R800-VM. Made by ASUS, but they do not have it in their warehouse and
sorry, I have no idea what their part number is. It's a PCI plate with
external S-video and RCA and internal, ribbon cable to an onboard 5-pin
plug. Here's what Newegg has advertised for a different board, but has
exactly the same connector for the motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-211&depa=0.

Dave

 

[David Shorthouse]

I hadn't considered that, but this does make sense. However, I have never
any soldering and would probably make a mess of things.

Dave

 

[David Shorthouse]

So, if you can get some coax cable, and the appropriate kind of connector,
you could make your own adapter. The potential benefit of going
this way, is maybe the VGA motherboard connector can still be connected
to a computer monitor, while you are working out the wrinkles of
getting the video to work. As for quality, I've yet to be impressed
with the output of any video card to a TV set. Hope YMMV. A TV
set doesn't have the display bandwidth to handle text, so controlling
the computer based on any text printed on the screen will be tough.
I've tried to boot a second computer using my television set (a FreeBSD
machine), and at 640x480 I cannot read the text well enough to
figure out if all is well or not.

HTH,
Paul

Paul,

Missed the last part of your post. As for TV-out quality, this is to be
a dedicated HTPC unit running Windows MCE2004 and the Philips MCE IR
remote....that's all I'll say ~

Dave

 

[David Shorthouse]

Ken,

Just thinking about this converter cable. Wouldn't the 15-pin VGA have
to able to also transmit the 8-pin s-video and then wouldn't this be a
highly specialized video card?

Dave

 

[David Shorthouse]

Now I'm peeved. The only places in NA that carry the ASUS AV/S module for
the P4R800-VM and/or A7N8X-VM is Nutrend and Newegg, neither one of which
are willing to ship outside the US. So much for the North American free
trade agreement! Do they think my credit card won't work or something? Do
they think I'll be paying in beef products or softwood lumber?

So, this is another desperate call for someone (hopefully in the Western
States) who has purchased from Newegg in the past and who is wanting to make
a few $$ to help a Canuck out.

Here's how I see it:

$14.99 for the part + $9 shipping to you + $12 shipping to me + $5 for you =
~$41US. This is a significant amount of money (~$50CA) for one lousy piece
of metal, but there are no other options for me and the HTPC I have
assembled. The box is useless to me without the ability to display on my TV.

Please reply to me directly so we can make an arrangement.

Thanks for any kind soul,

Dave

 

[Ken Fox]

Ken,

Just thinking about this converter cable. Wouldn't the 15-pin VGA have
to able to also transmit the 8-pin s-video and then wouldn't this be a
highly specialized video card?

Dave

We are getting into areas which are way beyond my competency. This thing
claims to convert vga output into composite and s-video output. I bought
one because I ordered a bunch of other stuff from these people, the thing
cost $2, and I frequently buy things that I may or may not use in the future
if the need arises and they are cheap enough. I can foresee an eventual use
for a personal video recorder to replace my replytv that is approaching end
of life, so this is what I thought I'd use it for. But I haven't tested it
to see if it really works. For $2, I'd just pitch it if it fails to work.
I just assumed it would work, which might well be the wrong assumption!

Best,

ken

 

[Ken Fox]

Now I'm peeved. The only places in NA that carry the ASUS AV/S module for
the P4R800-VM and/or A7N8X-VM is Nutrend and Newegg, neither one of which
are willing to ship outside the US. So much for the North American free
trade agreement! Do they think my credit card won't work or something? Do
they think I'll be paying in beef products or softwood lumber?

So, this is another desperate call for someone (hopefully in the Western
States) who has purchased from Newegg in the past and who is wanting to make
a few $$ to help a Canuck out.

Here's how I see it:

$14.99 for the part + $9 shipping to you + $12 shipping to me + $5 for you =
~$41US. This is a significant amount of money (~$50CA) for one lousy piece
of metal, but there are no other options for me and the HTPC I have
assembled. The box is useless to me without the ability to display on my TV.

Please reply to me directly so we can make an arrangement.

Thanks for any kind soul,

Dave

--

Dave,

I'd like to help you. I think for this much money you are getting taken,
bigtime. This Asus card is worth about $5 US as far as I can figure it, and
that is on the high side.

For $41 US, I know what I'd do -- I'd buy an el cheapo PCI or VGA last or
older generation video card that has the right connectors on it. $41 for
this POS is HUGE RIPOFF. Nutrend is Newegg, I think, another branch or
somehow related. If you look at enough of their webpages you begin to think
they are the same company, which is what I think.

If you want to meet up with me in Vancouver in June, if this is the area you
are in, I'd be happy to help you and for a lot less money, as a lot of the
shipping would be cut out. I go to Vancouver every year, know the city
reasonably well, and we could pick a place to meet up in June if you live
there.

Just a thought. But if it were me, I'd buy a cheap castoff old video card
with the right connections and screw Asus and Newegg and Nutrend, for that
matter. You are not getting value for money with these add in card options.
If you want to try the converter cable I have we can work something out on
that also, although shipping cost will exceed the cost of the item no matter
how it is shipped.

Best,

ken

 

[David Shorthouse]

I'd like to help you. I think for this much money you are getting taken,
bigtime. This Asus card is worth about $5 US as far as I can figure it, and
that is on the high side.

For $41 US, I know what I'd do -- I'd buy an el cheapo PCI or VGA last or
older generation video card that has the right connectors on it. $41 for
this POS is HUGE RIPOFF. Nutrend is Newegg, I think, another branch or
somehow related. If you look at enough of their webpages you begin to think
they are the same company, which is what I think.

If you want to meet up with me in Vancouver in June, if this is the area you
are in, I'd be happy to help you and for a lot less money, as a lot of the
shipping would be cut out. I go to Vancouver every year, know the city
reasonably well, and we could pick a place to meet up in June if you live
there.

Just a thought. But if it were me, I'd buy a cheap castoff old video card
with the right connections and screw Asus and Newegg and Nutrend, for that
matter. You are not getting value for money with these add in card options.
If you want to try the converter cable I have we can work something out on
that also, although shipping cost will exceed the cost of the item no matter
how it is shipped.

Best,

ken

Thanks for the response, Ken. Unfortunately, I live in Edmonton and can't
foresee having to drive the 12-14 hours to Vancouver anytime at all.

You're probably right about the rip-off, but I can't find myself a
low-profile AGP video card (with low profile plate) and TV-out. I once had
one and am now kicking myself for having sold it.

Dave