I have a video card I would like to use in a pc til i get the money to buy a new one but it doesnt have an svideo out to connect to the tv. Do they make vga to svideo cables that I could use to connect to the tv. I have found some converters but they were like 100 bucks. i am looking for a cheaper solution. -Rob
Do VGA to Svideo Cables Exist?
-
Now Available: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 19 Click here for details.
- Status
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
What does the ebay seller say they're for?
Some video cards used an HD15 connector for various other signals, such as Y/C and composite. The cable is just a breakout, it has no active circuitry in it, it cannot create a modulated subcarrier from teh RGBHV signals.
Some video cards used an HD15 connector for various other signals, such as Y/C and composite. The cable is just a breakout, it has no active circuitry in it, it cannot create a modulated subcarrier from teh RGBHV signals.
Quote:
There are a great many different signals that can be used and have been used for video. Among the simplest (maybe we should call it the coarsest, instead) is/was "Composite", for ordinary TV's, which produced a resolution on the order of 260 by 200 pixels when driven by the 8-bit PC's that preceded the IBM & MacIntosh. Early WinTel PC's had various video options that weren't much better, prior to "Super VGA" and XGA.
Since then, we've seen DVI emerge, and now HD. I thought that these two are both digital, but of the two, DVI seemingly can be converted somehow, with minimal difficulty, so maybe its name is confusing me ('cause I think it's "Digital Video Interface" or some such). Is S-Video still analog?
Anyway, Mr. TV Tech, *which*, if any, of these various connections CAN be converted in which direction without a lot of difficulty?
AND, Mr. "DMB". why don't you look for a pre-owned video card that does have an S-Video Out signal? I imagine you should be able to find a 3 or 4 year old graphics board with this for little more than the cost of shipping, on eBay or from any of the many used computer parts resellers. (I just looked on eBay, and there is a true WEALTH of Matrox adapters with TV-Out being sold today, starting at $7.99.)
| Originally posted by tvtech1 No, there is no way a cable can convert RGBHV to Y/C. [/b] |
Since then, we've seen DVI emerge, and now HD. I thought that these two are both digital, but of the two, DVI seemingly can be converted somehow, with minimal difficulty, so maybe its name is confusing me ('cause I think it's "Digital Video Interface" or some such). Is S-Video still analog?
Anyway, Mr. TV Tech, *which*, if any, of these various connections CAN be converted in which direction without a lot of difficulty?
AND, Mr. "DMB". why don't you look for a pre-owned video card that does have an S-Video Out signal? I imagine you should be able to find a 3 or 4 year old graphics board with this for little more than the cost of shipping, on eBay or from any of the many used computer parts resellers. (I just looked on eBay, and there is a true WEALTH of Matrox adapters with TV-Out being sold today, starting at $7.99.)
Quote:
Actually, of all the signal formats, composite is the most complex. It has to incorporate three channels of video information plus blanking sync and subcarrier.
Quote:
It can be converted to analog using a DAC, and various support circuitry, this isn't easy though.
DVI cannot be converted to analog with minimal difficulty.
A DVI-I connector has both DVI and analog VGA signals on it, no conversion is necessary.
None of these signals can be converted with just a passive cable.
| Among the simplest was "Composite", for ordinary TV's, |
Quote:
| DVI can be converted somehow, with minimal difficulty, |
DVI cannot be converted to analog with minimal difficulty.
A DVI-I connector has both DVI and analog VGA signals on it, no conversion is necessary.
None of these signals can be converted with just a passive cable.
Quote:
The answer is that none of them can easily (well I guess S-Video can be converted to composite with just an adapter).
The thing is DVI-D, DVI-A/VGA/RGBHV, Component (YPbPr), S-Video (Y/C), Composite (Y+C for lack of a better term) are all fundamentally different signals and it is not trivial to convert from one to another. I think you are getting confused by two common adapters: the DVI-I->VGA adapter, and the ATI HDTV adapter (DVI-I -> VGA). What you need to realize is that neither of those "adapters" converts the signal:
DVI-I->VGA
Note the DVI-I, that means the connector (like on a video card) supports both DVI-D, which is digital - what most people think of as DVI, and DVI-A, which is analog - essentially VGA via a different connector. All a DVI-I -> VGA adapter does is change the DVI-I plug (DVI-A signal) into a VGA (HD-15) plug.
HDTV adapter
This is the same thing as the DVI-I -> VGA, but with a twist. All the adapter does is convert the DVI-I plug into Component plugs. But as I said there's a twist, it actually does something else, it tells the card it's connected (probably grounds a pin or two) which tells the card to output YPbPr instead of RGB (VGA) via the DVI-A part. Again, it doesn't convert the signal (that's done on the video card) it just changes the connection.
The VGA-S-Video cable is almost certainly the same thing, a special cable that when plugged into a card that supports it (like some Matrox cards IIRC) it tells the card to output S-Video instead of VGA, and the cable just changes the connection.
| Originally posted by The Kiwi Anyway, Mr. TV Tech, *which* of these various connections CAN be converted in which direction without a lot of difficulty? |
The thing is DVI-D, DVI-A/VGA/RGBHV, Component (YPbPr), S-Video (Y/C), Composite (Y+C for lack of a better term) are all fundamentally different signals and it is not trivial to convert from one to another. I think you are getting confused by two common adapters: the DVI-I->VGA adapter, and the ATI HDTV adapter (DVI-I -> VGA). What you need to realize is that neither of those "adapters" converts the signal:
DVI-I->VGA
Note the DVI-I, that means the connector (like on a video card) supports both DVI-D, which is digital - what most people think of as DVI, and DVI-A, which is analog - essentially VGA via a different connector. All a DVI-I -> VGA adapter does is change the DVI-I plug (DVI-A signal) into a VGA (HD-15) plug.
HDTV adapter
This is the same thing as the DVI-I -> VGA, but with a twist. All the adapter does is convert the DVI-I plug into Component plugs. But as I said there's a twist, it actually does something else, it tells the card it's connected (probably grounds a pin or two) which tells the card to output YPbPr instead of RGB (VGA) via the DVI-A part. Again, it doesn't convert the signal (that's done on the video card) it just changes the connection.
The VGA-S-Video cable is almost certainly the same thing, a special cable that when plugged into a card that supports it (like some Matrox cards IIRC) it tells the card to output S-Video instead of VGA, and the cable just changes the connection.
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
- Status
Join the discussion
