Help my notebook speak to my shiny new TV
December 28, 2012 11:01 AM Subscribe
What's the best way to connect my Samsung series 5 TV with my Acer Ferrari One notebook so I can use the TV as a monitor? The laptop doesn't have a HDMI port...
This is the Samsung TV. This is the Acer notebook.
The TV has HDMI, composite, component, scart and USB ports.
The notebook has a vga port and a hole (sorry, I mean an ATI XGP port).
I've done some amateur googling and, short of tracking down a rare as hen's teeth XGP box, there's seems to be a couple of options. They all seem like a bit of a bodge, I've no idea which one would be best, and I don't know if there's another option I'm missing. They seem to be:
1) Take a pitch that the VGA port will support TV and buy a VGA to composite/component cable and cross my fingers. I've found one discussion that indicated that this will work with my Acer and a lot of others who doubted this would be possible on a laptop, but none of those were talking about this Acer specifically.
2) If 1) doesn't work, get a transcoder box that will convert VGA to composite.
3) Use a VGA to HDMI convertor box.
4) Something else?
What is my best option? I will use the TV occasionally as a straight monitor, but I mainly want it so I can watch on demand TV like 4OD which isn't available as a Samsung app.
I want to avoid buying cables that won't work full stop (there seems to be a lot of people selling these), I want to keep it as simple as possible, so I'd rather not get a transcoder/converter unless I absolutely have to, and I want the best picture possible.
This is the Samsung TV. This is the Acer notebook.
The TV has HDMI, composite, component, scart and USB ports.
The notebook has a vga port and a hole (sorry, I mean an ATI XGP port).
I've done some amateur googling and, short of tracking down a rare as hen's teeth XGP box, there's seems to be a couple of options. They all seem like a bit of a bodge, I've no idea which one would be best, and I don't know if there's another option I'm missing. They seem to be:
1) Take a pitch that the VGA port will support TV and buy a VGA to composite/component cable and cross my fingers. I've found one discussion that indicated that this will work with my Acer and a lot of others who doubted this would be possible on a laptop, but none of those were talking about this Acer specifically.
2) If 1) doesn't work, get a transcoder box that will convert VGA to composite.
3) Use a VGA to HDMI convertor box.
4) Something else?
What is my best option? I will use the TV occasionally as a straight monitor, but I mainly want it so I can watch on demand TV like 4OD which isn't available as a Samsung app.
I want to avoid buying cables that won't work full stop (there seems to be a lot of people selling these), I want to keep it as simple as possible, so I'd rather not get a transcoder/converter unless I absolutely have to, and I want the best picture possible.
Best answer: This USB-to-HDMI converter worked pretty well for me before I got an HDMI-capable laptop - just pop it into your laptop's USB 2.0 port and you're good to go.
http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Plated-Premium-Adapter/dp/B004MS0DIK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356759996&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+to+hdmi
posted by UncleBoomee at 9:47 PM on December 28, 2012
http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Plated-Premium-Adapter/dp/B004MS0DIK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356759996&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+to+hdmi
posted by UncleBoomee at 9:47 PM on December 28, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks guys! A new video card isn't an option without completely reworking the whole notepad...
I took a punt on a £5 vga to component cable, just in case it worked. It didn't. So I went for a USB convertor for much more money. But it works! And I can now check Metafilter from my sofa. The future is here!
posted by Helga-woo at 1:08 PM on February 20, 2013
I took a punt on a £5 vga to component cable, just in case it worked. It didn't. So I went for a USB convertor for much more money. But it works! And I can now check Metafilter from my sofa. The future is here!
posted by Helga-woo at 1:08 PM on February 20, 2013
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posted by KokuRyu at 11:25 AM on December 28, 2012