conecting ur pc to tv

[dombanks]

whats the best way to connect a laptop to your tv to watch stuff thats on it so you get the best pic/sound? preferably 1080p HD

my new tv doesnt have a vga connection on it but it does have rj45 and the other suspects

i dont have a clue which connectors to use but i have ordered a vga to hdmi cable off ebay

i have a choice of laptops to use also, either a samsung notebook, normal pc laptop or a macbook pro

[Blatman]

Which model TV. I'd need to look at the specs before deciding the best way to stream...

I'm surprised by no VGA but an RJ45...

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

VGA connectors are an endangered species these days on the PC end though, with DVI steadily taking over, (on more domesticated machines at least).

[dombanks]

Panasinic tv

[Blatman]

Model number, or do they only do one?

[kitemark]

Depending on your card the VGA to HDMI wont work,

HDMI is a digital connector, DVI is a digital connector but VGA is an analogue connector.

Unless your graphics card will output digits on a vga port you will need a converter to convert analogue to digital.

Your best bet will be to connect your mac book pro to your tv, if you get the mac display adapter for a mac book pro to DVI (small white adapter widget) and then a DVI to HDMI cable from ebay all will be good, this will however only supply pictures to your tv and you will need to connect the sound separately as DVI soes not carry audio where as HDMI does.

Mark

[Blatman]

HDMI then 'cos the TV doesn't have VGA. But does it have DVI instead or is it devoid of anything even vaguely analogue?

Depending on how much complexity and cost adding DVI/VGA/HDMI conversion is, why not try one of these Add an optional USB wireless dongle and you can stream wirelessly from anywhere and with HDMI connectivity, audio is carried too. It would be much better if you could cable it though, and ethernet cabling is easy enough (where's Rich P? )

Seems like a simpler solution to me.

I'm still curious as to what the RJ45 on the telly is for though...

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I'm still curious as to what the RJ45 on the telly is for though...

Simple, very simple, web services are appearing on many sets. (Though they look more like prettified versions of old WAP mobile phone services.

[Blatman]

Are they programmable with some sort of IP protocol / standard thogh? If they are, couldn't the telly simply be added as a host on a network? If so, then as loing as the telly can put sound out to the surround sound, stream down the CAT5e

I really *need* the model number of this telly. A new network design for my house is rapidly hatching

[dombanks]

Sorry it's p42s21b, I was away from the house, the home cinema also has an Ethernet conection on it

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Hmm, as I say the handful of models I've looked at the feature on, have all had very simplistic browser/search engine combos only. I'm sure they'll improve though. On a side note, we are now starting to spec an Ethernet cable to TV points alongside the normal video and RF distribution cables. It'll come, even if it's not quite there yet.  

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

The home cinema also has an Ethernet conection on it

Yep, been getting increasingly common among the separates end of the market for a few years; some kit is using it for ip based configuration and/or remote control. Great for iPhones etc. Some items are just including the hardware with no real firmware/applications to take advantage of it yet.

[Blatman]

Can't find the manual for it on line, so I'll go with Gadgetmans suspicion that it's not going to be particularly useful for streaming purposes, but it would be worth you reading the manual to see what it says. Any hint of the phrase "streaming" and we'll ned to know.

Other than that, it is as suggested by Kitemark or myself. Connect it to one of the PC's or the Apple with the appropriate cable and adapter(s). If the Apple supports HDMI out, so much the better, or you're going to be stuck with pics on the telly but sound from the computer speakers.

Or you could have a look at the Netgear EVA2000 that I linked to earlier. It sits like a normal host on your wireless network (although I'd try to hard wire it...) and connects to the telly with HDMI, so sound and pics should come thrugh the TV and the surround sound for the full experience...

[dombanks]

thanks, when i skimmed through the manual last week it just seemed as if it was for getting updated for the tv, tbh i didnt really pay that much attention to the ethernet port on it i just wondered if there was a do-it-all-wonder-cable  that would work, i can always plug the sound in through the audio inputs to the tv and use the other cable for the pic.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Can't find the manual for it on line.

Here go blatman