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Tv to Computer help

ComradeComrade Registered User regular
edited February 2008 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
Hi all,

I recently purchased a nice TV and I'm looking into hooking it up to my computer so that I could watch some
internet programs on the TV. What would I need in order to do that?

The TV is a Sony, Bravia XBR2, 52”
The Receiver is a Onkyo , TX-SR-705

I also have a small problem with my computer. I bought a USB 2.0 PCI card and installed it into my computer. When ever I hook up a USB 2.0 compatible device, the little pop-up on the lower right warns me that the device would function faster if it were connected to a USB 2.0 slot. Is it because my motherboard doesn't recognize the PCI card as a USB 2.0?

Thanks for the help.

Comrade on

Posts

  • bigwahbigwah Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Depends on your video and sound card. You can pick up a DVI to HDMI converter on monoprice.com for cheap. As for sound depends on what your sound card can do. I just have onboard, and use a 3.5mm connector running to TV (I dont have a receiver), but you may be able to do optical out to your receiver.

    bigwah on
    LoL Tribunal:
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  • LockedOnTargetLockedOnTarget Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I myself am curious as to how I can hook my PC up to my surround sound setup. Usually when hooking something up I either do HDMI to TV then an optical cable from the TV to the reciever...or I do component to the TV then an optical cable connecting the reciever and whatever I'm hooking up(cable box, game console, etc.).

    But my vid card has no HDMI and there's no optical output on the PC. Using a DVI to HDMI cable should work to get the picture on my HDTV, but DVI doesn't do sound, right? So is there any other way to hook my PC up to the 5.1 reciever?

    LockedOnTarget on
    iYBQTfcwSi2EW.jpg
    My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
  • ComradeComrade Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    bigwah wrote: »
    Depends on your video and sound card. You can pick up a DVI to HDMI converter on monoprice.com for cheap. As for sound depends on what your sound card can do. I just have onboard, and use a 3.5mm connector running to TV (I dont have a receiver), but you may be able to do optical out to your receiver.

    Thanks for the reply. My computer has everything onboard. It's an older Dell model I got from a friend about three to four years ago, so the video and audio on the computer are both OnBoard. Since that is the case, do you have any recomendations as to what video card to get that would be up to the task?

    Comrade on
  • bigwahbigwah Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    You dont need to upgrade if you just want to watch youtube and surf from the couch(unless you have VGA instead of DVI. But if you want to play games, even at 720p, you'll need to upgrade. Personally, I'd just get a new machine instead of try to salvage that one into something that can run the games.


    Here is a listing of graphics cards that have HDMI. For about $65-$75, you can pass your video+audio to your receiver. This would be the easiest way to do things, but not the cheapest.

    Even cheaper would be to get the cheapest graphics card with DVI + DVI-2-HDMI converter (would cost about $30 together), and use 3.5mm connector for sound (would run you another few bucks from monoprice.com).


    And about your other issue, if your machine is was a lower end model from a few years ago, it could possibly not do USB2.0, there for any cards and such you put in will just run at 1 instead of 2 regardless of its capabilities.

    bigwah on
    LoL Tribunal:
    "Was cursing, in broken english at his team, and at our team. made fun of dead family members and mentioned he had sex with a dog."
    "Hope he dies tbh but a ban would do."
  • bigwahbigwah Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    LockedOnTarget wrote: »
    I myself am curious as to how I can hook my PC up to my surround sound setup. Usually when hooking something up I either do HDMI to TV then an optical cable from the TV to the reciever...or I do component to the TV then an optical cable connecting the reciever and whatever I'm hooking up(cable box, game console, etc.).

    But my vid card has no HDMI and there's no optical output on the PC. Using a DVI to HDMI cable should work to get the picture on my HDTV, but DVI doesn't do sound, right? So is there any other way to hook my PC up to the 5.1 reciever?

    Yes, DVI-2-HDMI will work for you. Check monoprice.com for the best prices. Does your computer come with a S/PDIF connector?

    bigwah on
    LoL Tribunal:
    "Was cursing, in broken english at his team, and at our team. made fun of dead family members and mentioned he had sex with a dog."
    "Hope he dies tbh but a ban would do."
  • LockedOnTargetLockedOnTarget Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    DVI to HDMI will get me sound, too?

    LockedOnTarget on
    iYBQTfcwSi2EW.jpg
    My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
  • bigwahbigwah Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    No. You'll need to do optical from sound card, 3.5mm from onboard sound, or SPDIF.

    bigwah on
    LoL Tribunal:
    "Was cursing, in broken english at his team, and at our team. made fun of dead family members and mentioned he had sex with a dog."
    "Hope he dies tbh but a ban would do."
  • BeazleBeazle Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Before you drop money on a video card open up your Dell and make sure it has either an AGP slot or a PCI-X slot. Some of the lower end Dell's do not have these slots. I've had many a customer who tried to save money buying lowend thinking they could upgrade later only to find out that the motherboard did not have an AGP slot. Also for the sound you need a 3.5mm to RCA (Red and White) audio cable like this http://monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2

    Beazle on
  • ComradeComrade Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Thanks for the help guys. As you all have predicted, the Dell does not have an PCI-E slot, only AGP. So I might have to upgrade after all.

    Comrade on
  • BeazleBeazle Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    If you are only going to use it for watching movies/videos then get a lowend AGP card with a DVI connector. An ATI 9600 or 9800 would work. Also any of the Nvidia 5000 series would work for what you want.

    Beazle on
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