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Saturday, December 08, 2007
Connecting a flat screen
I just got a Syncmaster 225MW 22" flat screen for my computer, up to now I was using a 19" CRT. So I unpack everything, start to connect the PC to the screen, and notice that the only video cable is a VGA cable. Now my Geforce 8800 GTS 640 MB only has DVI out, but came with a DVI to VGA adapter, and I can connect the PC with the screen just fine and it works. But somewhere it bugs me, and I wonder whether I would get a better image if the connection were totally digital.
So I go out and try to buy a DVI to DVI cable. No luck, none of the four stores I visit has one. But the last store sells me a DVI to HDMI cable, and promises me that this would work as well, as the screen also has a HDMI port. Well, first of all it isn't that easy, you need to push the "source" button on the screen a couple of times until he detects the signal from the PC via the DVI to HDMI cable. And then the image is much worse than before: it is bigger than the screen and not centered, so I'm losing part of the image. And it's far more blurry than the result I get with the cheap VGA cable.
Searching on Google didn't find anything, except complaints by other people that their HDTV isn't running well with their PC. The manual of the Syncmaster is silent on the issue, except saying that "you can't use a HDMI cable to connect a PC", but that might be a reference to HDMI to HDMI cables. The NVidia Settings screen, even in advanced mode, has nothing on DVI or HDMI. I'm stumped.
Anyone know whether I can use a DVI to HDMI cable to connect a flat screen to my PC? And is it even worth it? Should I buy a DVI to DVI cable, provided I can find one, or is the VGA cable going to give me the best result?
- posted by Tobold @ 12:25 PM Permanent Link
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http://www.hardforum.com
I can almost guarantee you that someone at that board will have the answer.
Good luck!
I can almost guarantee you that someone at that board will have the answer.
Good luck!
# posted by 
: 8/12/07 13:37
: 8/12/07 13:37
I'm not sure that the cable is your only problem, but check these guys for that:
http://www.monoprice.com/
They're hands-down the best place to buy cables online.
http://www.monoprice.com/
They're hands-down the best place to buy cables online.
To the best of my knowledge, HDMI is downgraded DVI. It's usually intended for home entertainment usage, not computer use.
Your absolute best option is a DVI->DVI cable, but frankly, I'm typing this on a flatscreen using VGA->VGA, and I've never really seen much of a difference between that and DVI.
Your absolute best option is a DVI->DVI cable, but frankly, I'm typing this on a flatscreen using VGA->VGA, and I've never really seen much of a difference between that and DVI.
My SyncMaster 2232bw came with VGA/DVI lead and a DVI-VGA converter and also both US and UK power leads.
HDMI is a different kettle of fish, as it carries both audio and visual signals, the dvi-to-hdmi converters are expensive you might as well just get a dvi cable (which should have been supplied in the first place).
HDMI is a different kettle of fish, as it carries both audio and visual signals, the dvi-to-hdmi converters are expensive you might as well just get a dvi cable (which should have been supplied in the first place).
HDMI carries the same video signal as DVI; it's not downgraded, it's basically just DVI plus audio. However, obviously, your monitor isn't set up to accept HDMI the same way as DVI, which is not surprising since as the previous commenter said HDMI is more oriented towards entertainment than computers.
I strongly second the recommendation for monoprice.com and a proper DVI-DVI cable. You'll save headaches, and you can't beat the prices.
I strongly second the recommendation for monoprice.com and a proper DVI-DVI cable. You'll save headaches, and you can't beat the prices.
http://www.monoprice.com
Can't recommend them enough for all your adapter/cabling needs. Grab a DVI cable from them.
Can't recommend them enough for all your adapter/cabling needs. Grab a DVI cable from them.
# posted by : 8/12/07 18:04
: 8/12/07 18:04
I'd buy a new monitor instead... 22" WITHOUT DVI? What are those guys thinking?
# posted by : 8/12/07 18:09
: 8/12/07 18:09
yeah i agree. i have never bought a flat screen that didn't come with a DVI cable. my 24" came with one and a 17" flat screen we bought for work came with one.
Easy there. The monitor does have DVI-D. In fact it got one of each of the 6 connections.
Tobold couldn't find a DVI-D or DVI-I to DVI cable and tried the somewhat buggy DVI to HDMI solution.
I have tried that on my 42" and it works like crap. In fact the picture from the laptop which uses the VGA is much prettier.
I recommend getting that DVI-D or DVI-I cable and have joy with that. You only need a single link cable to use the 1680*1050 resolution, but no harm done in getting a dual link.
Use the HDMI with your HIFI set.
Tobold couldn't find a DVI-D or DVI-I to DVI cable and tried the somewhat buggy DVI to HDMI solution.
I have tried that on my 42" and it works like crap. In fact the picture from the laptop which uses the VGA is much prettier.
I recommend getting that DVI-D or DVI-I cable and have joy with that. You only need a single link cable to use the 1680*1050 resolution, but no harm done in getting a dual link.
Use the HDMI with your HIFI set.
I'd buy a new monitor instead... 22" WITHOUT DVI? What are those guys thinking?
As stargazer said, the DVI port is there, there just wasn't a cable supplied for it. Which is a bit on the cheapskate side, a DVI cable is something I would have expected to find in the box, otherwise I would have gotten a cable right when I bought the screen.
As stargazer said, the DVI port is there, there just wasn't a cable supplied for it. Which is a bit on the cheapskate side, a DVI cable is something I would have expected to find in the box, otherwise I would have gotten a cable right when I bought the screen.
Whether the DVI cable improves the image quality compared to the VGA cable depends on the quality of the VGA signal of your graphics card, and on the resolution. My previous graphics card showed a noticeable bluriness at 1280*1024 on VGA, which disappeared when I bought a DVI-D cable. With my new graphics card, there's hardly a difference.
# posted by : 10/12/07 09:39
: 10/12/07 09:39
I have a Nvidia card, older model than yours, with both a VGA and a DVI port. I used to have it connected to an 32" LCD TV via DVI with excellent quality.
It is now connected to a 22" LCD monitor via VGA and the quality is excellent as well. I don't know if converting VGA to DVI is the cause of your problems, they could be also be due to your card or monitor settings.
Anyway you can find DVI cables at european web retailers such as redcoon, misco or pixmania, but their price is a rip-off (eur 30+). There is a site, www.compatible.eu that sells them for about 8 euro but I never bought from them, so I can't recommend them.
If you live in Germany you're probably better off doing a search in google.de for local retailers and remember, you shld always buy the cheapest DVI or HDMI cable you can find. Since they're digital, pic quality cannot be improved by fancy branding or gold plating, etc.
It is now connected to a 22" LCD monitor via VGA and the quality is excellent as well. I don't know if converting VGA to DVI is the cause of your problems, they could be also be due to your card or monitor settings.
Anyway you can find DVI cables at european web retailers such as redcoon, misco or pixmania, but their price is a rip-off (eur 30+). There is a site, www.compatible.eu that sells them for about 8 euro but I never bought from them, so I can't recommend them.
If you live in Germany you're probably better off doing a search in google.de for local retailers and remember, you shld always buy the cheapest DVI or HDMI cable you can find. Since they're digital, pic quality cannot be improved by fancy branding or gold plating, etc.
# posted by : 10/12/07 14:42
: 10/12/07 14:42
I purchased the Samsung 222WM recently and had a similar issues but I was using a DVI-DVI cable The monitor acted as if it did not receive any signal at all (stayed blank). I verified the source indicated DIGITAL but no luck. I switched to using the analog cable/ports and it worked fine. I hten tried the monitor on an older PC using the DVI ports and it worked there!
So, somehow, my new graphics card (8600 GT) is not puttingout a DVI signal.
Was you original 19" using DVI?
So, somehow, my new graphics card (8600 GT) is not puttingout a DVI signal.
Was you original 19" using DVI?
# posted by : 10/12/07 16:01
: 10/12/07 16:01
It does look better with DVI only than using the converter.
It will look perfect if you set the resolution to exactly the same as your monitor's physical pixels (or "native resolution". For instance I set mine to 1366x768 - which my tv is natively- and it looks amazing, much better than 1200x768, or even better a higher resolution.
I had to use a program to insert that as an extra setting in my videocard's driver file, but the 8000 series seemes to have a lot of hdtv resolutions in it. I forgot what the program was but it was free and involved a lot of swearing :)
www.avsforum.com is one of the best resources for this sort of stuff.
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It will look perfect if you set the resolution to exactly the same as your monitor's physical pixels (or "native resolution". For instance I set mine to 1366x768 - which my tv is natively- and it looks amazing, much better than 1200x768, or even better a higher resolution.
I had to use a program to insert that as an extra setting in my videocard's driver file, but the 8000 series seemes to have a lot of hdtv resolutions in it. I forgot what the program was but it was free and involved a lot of swearing :)
www.avsforum.com is one of the best resources for this sort of stuff.
# posted by : 10/12/07 17:49
: 10/12/07 17:49<< Home
