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how to hook up pc to crt tv

post #1 of 8
1/1/08 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
I am wondering if it is possible to hook up a pc to a crt tv like this one for instance.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1172880154412

What resolutions can you input into it? And what resolutions will it display? It is capable of outputting up to 1080i, but I think that it will also output 720p and 480 if that is what is fed into it since it is not a fixed pixel display. Anyone have some info on this? I would be interested in having the display output 1080.
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post #2 of 8
1/1/08 at 8:33pm
You could hook it up to your PC using a DVI to HDMI cable.

Given that it is a CRT I don't see why it couldn't display a wide variety of resolutions, but which ones it specifically supports I don't know. Most displays (CRT, LCD, whatever) can display almost any PC input res, it will just be scaled weird or cut off or fuzzy or whatever. If you are going to be using 1080 res then it should be fine.
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post #3 of 8
1/1/08 at 9:57pm
Thread Starter 
So the tv could probably accept any signal but it might be altered in some way. But, if 1920x1080 is input then it should be relatively unaltered and displayed.

I currently have a Mitsu 2060u 22" monitor. It is excellent quality but too small for my tastes. I hooked my pc up to my 50" 720p plasma recently and I love the size as it really adds to the overall experience. However, I want to be able to run higher than 720p rez.

So I am looking for cheaper alternatives after seeing the high prices on large pc monitors. One option is a 1080p plasma/lcd. You certainly get a lot more real estate for your money. But, it is still too expensive, so I got to wondering how an old crt tv would look running my pc games.

Anyone have any experience with this? How much decrease in quality is there between the crt monitor I have and the crt tv? And how would this crt tv compare to an lcd tv? I am aware of the general quality differences, but are there any specific concerns with plugging a pc into a crt tv?
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post #4 of 8
1/2/08 at 10:22am
Always use a DVI->HDMI cable. A digital connection will retain the image quality - using VGA goes from digital to analogue to digital. YMMV, but any newer TV should be auto-detected by the video card through a digital connection. This will tell the video card what the TV's supported resolutions and refresh rates are. Check the manual to see what the supported resolutions are.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jedimastergrant View Post

Anyone have any experience with this? How much decrease in quality is there between the crt monitor I have and the crt tv? And how would this crt tv compare to an lcd tv? I am aware of the general quality differences, but are there any specific concerns with plugging a pc into a crt tv?

An "old crt tv" with less than 720p will greatly diminish the resolution. I would suggest sticking with a 720p until you can afford your desired size 1080p set (50"+). As I mentioned above, try to stick with a DVI->HDMI cable. In the future all video cards may go to full HDMI anyway.
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post #5 of 8
1/21/08 at 9:47pm
I'm having this exact problem. Just bought a pc with video card for dvi output and used an dvi-hdmi adapter. It's a 34' Sony XBR960. The tv displays the PC's output image but it's missing the majority of the screen on all sides. I tried changing the resolution but each time I do it it still cuts off the exact same amount. The tv is not on zoom and I tried to change both the tv's settings as well as the resolution properties through the computer. Higher res just makes text smaller, but not the whole screen, it still cuts off even at 1920X1080. So I'm reallllllllly looking for help as to what I should do about this. Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks guys,
Rick
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post #6 of 8
1/21/08 at 9:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spinninhye View Post

I'm having this exact problem. Just bought a pc with video card for dvi output and used an dvi-hdmi adapter. It's a 34' Sony XBR960. The tv displays the PC's output image but it's missing the majority of the screen on all sides. I tried changing the resolution but each time I do it it still cuts off the exact same amount. The tv is not on zoom and I tried to change both the tv's settings as well as the resolution properties through the computer. Higher res just makes text smaller, but not the whole screen, it still cuts off even at 1920X1080. So I'm reallllllllly looking for help as to what I should do about this. Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks guys,
Rick

It's called overscan. I am not familiar with your TV's settings, but look through the manual and see if it has anything about a PC mode or similar. What you want to do is turn off all the image processing. My TV had a setting (PC mode instead of Video mode) for the specific HDMI port I was using, which fixed all my overscan issues. If the TV has a RGB input you might try that to see if it fixes the overscan.
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post #7 of 8
1/21/08 at 10:09pm
Just component and hdmi on my tv, no vga, problem is there is no component out on my video card only dvi and vga.
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post #8 of 8
2/15/08 at 6:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spinninhye View Post

Just component and hdmi on my tv, no vga, problem is there is no component out on my video card only dvi and vga.

You can get a DVI to component adapter for a couple of bucks.
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