Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Tv and HDMI

Big screen for home theater but no tuner? Can I get it?

usermac — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:54:03 -0800

I just want a 60" screen that just shows the video from the home theater and devices like Roku. Does it exist? I have a hard time understanding why I can't just buy an HDMI "screen". I don't need speakers as I have a home theater system. I don't need a tv tuner as I have a PC with a tuner connected. Why oh why can't I get just a big screen? Or can I?

Help my notebook speak to my shiny new TV

Helga-woo — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:01:20 -0800

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.

Have I ruined my TV

dcrocha — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:38:10 -0800

Have I ruined my TV? I have this Samsung LED TV, and up until last night it was working fine. I had it attached to the wall (using a standard tilt mount), and as a result the input plugs have become hard to see. Last night, I was trying to stick my USB pen drive into the TV to watch a movie, and as I couldn't see the input jacks correctly, I have stuck the USB plug from the pen drive into an HDMI input. It didn't go all the way; in fact, the contacts barely touched, but immediately after I did that, the screen went black and all I have now is the audio.

The TV seems to be working, since I can change channels, source (HDMI, set-top box, PS3), hear the audio, etc. But the Samsung logo disappeared from the boot screen, and I cannot see the pictures anymore.

Did I fry my TV's video card, or is there any kind of recovery procedure I can apply without having it serviced?

HDMI to multiple screens

Mike Mongo — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:27:17 -0800

HDMI source(s) to multiple televisions? Plus, with switch. Hooking up a PC to run slideshows at a local club. The teevees are all HDMI. Output comes from 1) cable, 2) PC, and 3) karaoke.

Presently the whole system is on coaxial cable. The teevees were just switched and connecting the whole mess has become an insurmountable challenge.

What I must do is rewire the bar for HDMI. Suggestions?

How to fix audio sync problems on Xbox 360?

Tapioca — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:19:03 -0800

How can I fix audio / video sync issues with an XBOX 360 playing DVDs? The voices and picture are out of sync with each other. Cable is HDMI, and the TV is an LG 32 LH3000. Discs are original not pirate copies. Any thoughts on what this could be?

HDMI Yi YI!

joelhunt — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:09:31 -0800

How can I connect my laptop to my tv, such that the sound comes through the tv and the screen is framed properly? Here are my laptop specs (and graphics/audio specs). I am running an HDMI from my laptop to my Panasonic Viera 42" Plasma tv. The picture works, but the sound only comes through the laptop speakers. The picture is also cropped on the bottom and sides when displayed on the tv.

I'd like to fix both those issues, but have thus far been unable to find a solution. Can someone help?

Mac Mini suddenly stopped working with my tv via HDMI

jdl — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:32:51 -0800

I've been using a Mac Mini plugged into my Panasonic HD tv for a little less than a year. A few nights ago I watched a tv show on it, then had a party, and now when I turn it on the screen is black. My Mac Mini originally was plugged into the tv with the standard s-video plug. A few months ago, I bought the DVI-HDMI cable and it worked beautifully right away.

A few days ago, I successfully watched a tv show on the Mini/tv combo. Now when I turn it all on, the screen is black/blank. I had a party recently and am wondering if someone touched the keys on the wireless keyboard (like one of the visiting 4 yr olds) while the Mini was on, but the tv was not and managed to do something weird to the machine.

The tv works fine with the cable box (via HDMI). The Mini works fine with the tv with the s-video plugged in. One weird thing happened--I moved the plug to a different HDMI port on the tv and it worked! And then I clicked on "overscan" in the system prefs and when it refreshed... it was back to the blank screen!

I have restarted in safe mode, accessed the Mini remotely from my MBP and tried to change the resolution, plugged and unplugged a ton... all to no avail.

Now I'm stuck. Any ideas?

Need several remote-controled switch boxes

bodgy — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:42:53 -0800

Need help with AV switchbox selection I am setting up a game room with several consoles new and old.

At present my TV has enough HDMI inputs (360 and PS3 only) but for component inputs (PS2, X-Box), for standard RCA inputs (Nintendos and PS1, etc) and even coaxial inputs (Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision) I need multiple inputs.

I am hoping to control all of this with a Logitech Harmony remote, so ideally the switchboxes I get should be IR remote cpable.

My problem is I cannot find switchboxes with enough inputs (I am thinking I will need at least 8 RCA inputs), and I am concerned if I get two switchboxes the remotes will be keyed the same so I will not be able to remote control them.

More I cannot find remote control Coax boxes.

Has anyone done something like this and have recommendations for switch boxes for me to purchase?

Thank you for your help!

Can you help me decide how to build my home theater?

Fiat124 — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:08:25 -0800

Yet another Can you help me decide how to build my home theater question I'm looking to finally put together a "real" living room home theater setup and would appreciate some recommendations on equipment, configurations, setup, etc. I have read all the previous askmefi questions regarding home theater posted in the last 12 months, but Im hoping to accomplish what I want with the equipment I have.

Here are my requirements:

R1 - Ability to watch Blu-ray movies
R2 - Ability to watch DVD movies
R3 - Ability to watch videos (movies, tv episodes, etc) ripped from DVD to file system (i.e. in VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders; NOT converted to AVI/MP4/WMV, etc)
R4 - Ability to watch videos in AVI/WMV/MP4 containers
R5 - Ability to watch videos in MKV containers
R6 - Ability to watch streaming Netflix, Hulu, etc
R7 - Reuse what equipment is decent but willing to spend up to $1000 total if it will make a big difference

Non-requirements:

N1 - No need to record TV shows/movies (a la Tivo)
N2 - No need to watch HD TV from over the air (not available in my city)

Here is all the equipment I currently own:

E1 - Vizio VO420E 1080p HDTV
E2 - Sony Playstation 3 (60GB non-slim 2006 Launch model - wireless G only)
E3 - LG 5.1 Surround Sound System (cheap crappy one; sorry, dont know the model #)
E4 - Windows 7 PC on 5 year old hardware (referred to henceforth at Win7PC)
- AMD Athlon64 X2 3800 2.0GhZ
- Asus A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard
- ATI Radeon 9250 (I think) No HDMI out
- 4x 1GB Memory sticks (unstable though; more stable with 2x 1GB sticks)
- Gigabyte Wireless G network adapter
- 1x 200GB Boot drive (SATA)
- 2x 1.5TB Data Drives (SATA) (movies, tv shows, backups, etc)
E5 - MacBookPro (Early 2008 non-unibody) (referred to henceforth at MBP)
- 2.4 GhZ CPU
- 2x 2GB Memory sticks
- 128GB Boot SSD
- 1x 1TB external USB drive (movies, tv shows, etc)
E6 - Various hard drives:
- 1x 500GB 2.5"
- 1x 200GB 2.5"
E7 - Prolink Hurricane 6300G DSL Modem/Wireless G Router (provided from ISP)
E8 - VPN Subscription terminating in the US

Current Setup:

PS3 connected to Vizio TV via HDMI
PS3 connected to LG 5.1 Surround Sound System via optical audio cable
Win7PC in bedroom connected to LAN via wireless G
MBP in bedroom connected to LAN via wireless G (but capable of wireless N)

Complications:

C1 - I live outside the US, thus the need for the VPN (E8) to get to Netflix, Hulu, etc
C2 - The PS3 doesnt play MKV files natively. What are ways I can view MKVs on my TV?
C3 - No SAN to function as central repository for media. Dont know if I really NEED one, but it would be nice.
Currently, my media is scattered between the Win7PC and 1TB drive that goes with my MBP
C4 - Wireless LAN is G only and dont want to run any wires
C5 - Prefer devices that are 220v but can support 110v if theyre not TOO power hungry

Here is what I THINK I need to do to achieve the above listed Requirements and overcome/eliminate the Complications:

D1 - Buy new wireless router that supports wireless N and PPTP VPN
- Configure existing dsl modem/router to bridge mode and disable the wireless G.
- Connect new wireless router to dsl modem and config new router for G and N (eliminating C4)
- Configure wireless router to route PS3 traffic over the VPN (eliminating C1 above and accomplishing R6)
D2 - Buy Media center PC (MCPC) and/or Streaming Device (Roku, WD TV Live, Google TV, etc)
D3 - Buy SAN and install the 2x 1.5TB drives currently in Win7PC into the SAN (eliminating C3)
D4 - Install software on PC to transcode MKV files to be played by PS3 (eliminating C2)

Help me reduce the footprint of my home theater components.

bondcliff — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:18:51 -0800

Help me reduce the footprint of my home theater components. Any and all options welcome. We have the perfect piece of furniture to hold our 42” flat panel TV in the corner of our living room, but unfortunately it’s not designed to hold components. It’s 100 years old, it has solid wood doors, a 4” strip of wood running down the middle, and it would be a total pain in the ass, if not impossible, to fit standard-size components inside. I thought about having a custom cabinet made, but I think that’ll be too expensive.

I currently have the TV on the corner cabinet with all the components on a side table next to it. It looks like crap and I want to get rid of the side table and have a nice clean look to the TV, speakers and corner cabinet.

The goal: Configure and/or replace things until I can fit everything into the cabinet and keep the doors closed except when putting in a DVD.

My components:

Samsung 42” TV 720p: Not a problem. Sits nicely on top of the cabinet.
Giant Okyno receiver: Big, heavy, hot. Will not fit into the cabinet. I’d like to eliminate this if I can.
HD TiVo: Probably will not fit into the cabinet. I could hide it under the cabinet. HDMI
DVD player: Standard size. I would like to replace this with a smaller size player. I have seen a small Sony player. Component, would prefer HDMI
Old school. Apple TV: Small. Will fit into the cabinet. Might run hot. Would consider replacing with the new Apple TV. HDMI
Squeezebox player. Small. Can fit in the cabinet or on a shelf. Needs to be hooked up to some sort of amp and speakers
Wii. Small. Will fit in the cabinet. HDMI
5.1 surround speakers. I’m not currently using the satellite speakers until I come up with a permanent solution. I could do without surround if I had to.
Harmony remote to control everything.

Questions/problems I need to solve:

Eliminating the receiver: This might be the tricky part. My TV doesn’t have enough HDMI inputs for everything. What are your experiences with HDMI switches? What other options are there? How can I get 5.1 without a receiver?

Audio: Audio-out from the TV is stereo-only, it seems. Another problem if I go with 5.1.

DVD player: Experience with small-footprint players? I don’t want to use the Wii to watch DVDs (if that’s even an option) because I don’t want to deal with another layer of menus and my Harmony won’t control the Wii.

Speakers: I’d like to have 5.1, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. The corner configuration (at an angle to the couch) might make it sound like crap. I’ve been looking into soundbars as an option for both the speakers and to eliminate the receivers. I’m not an audiophile and the TV is close enough where these might be an option. Thoughts? Sony makes one where the subwoofer is basically an HD receiver but I think that’ll just be a mess of cables and look like crap. Others have wireless subwoofers. Thoughts? Recommendations?

Remote: If the doors were closed I’d need a remote extender to control the components. Recommendations? I’d rather not pay a fortune.

Tivo: This holds my cablecards. I can hide this but I do like to see the two LEDs that let me know it’s recording stuff.

I can cut holes in the back of the cabinet for cables. Yes, I know it’s an antique and I shouldn’t do this, but it’s a corner cabinet and we’re going to keep it forever and ever.

What options haven’t I thought of?

I know there are entire forums devoted to A/V stuff but those places kind of overwhelm me.

How should I wire my home theater setup?

kbanas — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 07:19:03 -0800

Home theater conundrum. Ok, so, what's the best way to wire this up? Maybe there is no "best" way. Maybe there's just a couple different ways, each with their own sets of pros and cons - but I figured I throw it out there.

So, before yesterday I had a 42" LCD monitor I bought off of WOOT! acting as my primary TV. It had ONE HDMI input. My audio receiver, though, a nice number from Onkyo, had 4 HDMI inputs.

In this configuration, I wired all my HDMI devices (cable box, XBOX, media center PC, etc) through the Onkyo receiver, and then just had a single HDMI output run into my TV/monitor.

I was pretty happy with this solution. That meant the TV was basically set to a static input, and I just had to change the input on the audio receiver when I wanted to switch to a different device.

Except yesterday I got a new TV. It's glorious, but it has like 9824 HDMI inputs. Not only that, but the remote seems to be some sort of God-Box type thing. It can apparently control all the rest of my devices, so with a little work I could eliminate my four remote setup down to maybe like, you know, one. It can seemingly control both my cable box and my Onkyo receiver.

So I'm thinking about (read: did this about ten minutes ago) re-wiring everything. I took all the HDMI inputs and now I run them into the TV instead. And now out of the back of the TV I just run a single optical audio cable out and down to my receiver.

This seems kind of like six in one/half-dozen-in-the-other territory. The interface on the TV for switching inputs and such is kind of slick, and the TV regards all the signals as 1080p now (when going through the receiver they were all 1080i) but I don't know if there's a conventional logic to how this kind of thing should be done.

Any thoughts, hive mind?

HDMI CEC in the real world

Harald74 — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:47:22 -0800

HDMI CEC in the real world: I've got a new Samsung LED TV, which has got a number of DVD-like control buttons on the remote (play, pause, rewind etc). I'd like to use these to control a Blu-ray player when I buy one, but can I buy any (recent) player and be confident that the TV and player will work together (via HDMI Consumer Electronics Control) as advertised? Do they all play nice together in practice?

Recommend a graphics card for my new TV

muckster — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:59:50 -0800

Do I need a new video card to hook my PC up to my new HDTV? I have a Dell PC with a ATI Radeon HD 2400 graphics card. It has two connections, one DVI and one S-Video.

I used to convert the DVI to RGB and connect that to my Dell monitor at the max resolution of 1680 x 1050. The S-Video was connected to my tube TV, which worked just fine.

The new TV is a Toshiba 40" 1080p, so of course I'd like to feed it something better than S-Video. I tried connecting the RGB, which gives me a max resolution of 1360x768 -- but it leaves me with S-Video for the monitor, which is pretty freakin' ugly.

Here's the question: is there a way I can use a splitter or similar to feed the DVI (or RGB) into both the monitor and the TV at a resolution both will be happy with? Or do I have to get a new HDMI-ready graphics card? If I do, can you recommend one that might last me little while without breaking the bank? Under $100 would be great. I play the occasional game of TF2 but media is going to be the main use. Blu-Ray might be nice one day. I don't need to expand to a second monitor and would be just as happy cloning the same image on both screens. Thanks much.

Computer monitor as TV, and vice-versa?

st starseed — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:55:56 -0800

Computer monitor as TV, and vice-versa? My wife and I are now in the market for a new computer monitor that works quite nicely as a television. The idea is to put it in the den/man cave/playroom and utilize it as:

1. The full-time computer monitor for internet browsing, document creation, photo editing, video editing, and motion graphics...

and

2. A video display so we can sit about 6-8 feet back and watch movies or television.

1080p, 1920x1080, and an HDMI input (to run from the video card to the display) are my requirements; I'm not locked into any particular size, although I certainly don't want to go so big that I can't sit a few feet away and do some writing or webbrowsing.

Other notes: We already have a nice 42" LCD in the living room...Please don't mention the projector idea...I am not loyal to any particular brand, but I'd rather spend a few more dollars to get something better than try to hoard a few dollars and get something lame...the budget in my head is anywhere from $200-$400.

Has anyone had any luck finding something that works well for them?

Help me hook up a new HDTV to an old(ish) stereo receiver?

Dr. Wu — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:03:39 -0800

Can you help me connect my optical-out DVD players to my new HDMI-in HDTV? This is the kind of thing that drives me bananas.

Just got a nice, brand-new Sony HDTV, with several HDMI-in ports. I would like to get the highest resolution I possibly can out of my video components -- generally DVD. In the past, when I had an older, analog TV, I just used the stereo receiver as an A/V switcher, for which purpose it works very well. But now this functionality has been compromised by the new array of input/output jacks.

Here's the setup:
- The two DVD players I have (one "regular" and one multistandard) both have optical-out ports. I have an old laserdisc and an even older VHS player hooked up to the system, too, but I'm not terribly concerned about them right now.

- I have all audio and video components running through a good, but eight-year-old, Sony A/V receiver. LP/tape/VHS/LD are connected via regular old component RCA plugs, which are just fine. The CD player and the two DVD players can connect to the receiver with optical cables -- which I prefer to use whenever I can. They work well and provide good sound.

- The problem is that the new HDTV does not have any optical-in ports. (If it did, I'd just run the sound from the DVD players through the receiver, and the picture, via optical cable, right to the TV. But I can't do this.) It does have composite-in and component-in, but no optical-in. And the receiver has only composite-out.

The receiver I have is a Sony STR-DA 333 ES. The manual, in PDF form, is available on this page; click "primary user manual" and go to Page 5.

The HDTV I have is a Sony Bravia KDL-46VE5. The manual doesn't seem to be online, but you can find the details here by clicking on "Specifications." (The site will not allow me to access that page directly.)

- The upshot of all this (if you're still with me) is that my only current option is to run all video components into the receiver, and thence to the TV via a crappy composite video cable. Which would sort of defeat the purpose of the 1080p set that I just bought. (We don't have any sort of cable, satellite, or other TV, so this new HDTV is really just going to be used as a monitor for movies on the DVD players.)

What I would like to do is get the highest possible resolution (the HDTV can handle 1080p/24f) when I watch DVDs. Is there a simple, inexpensive way to convert the optical signal to HDMI?

I can imagine several options:
1. I find a magical converter device that can handle multiple optical inputs and output HDMI. This device would be a switcher, so I could run optical cables from both DVD players into it, and then a single HDMI cable from the switcher to the HDTV.

2. If it's cheaper, I certainly don't mind eschewing with the idea of the switcher box and just getting two separate optical-to-HDMI cables, one for each DVD player.

HOWEVER: the problem I foresee: What about the audio??
I want to run the audio from the DVD players through my stereo system, which has a nice 5.1 setup. HDMI handles both video and audio, right? So if I choose either option above, will I be locked into using the speakers built into the HDTV? Or would I then just add another cable, so that the setup would look something like this:

DVD optical out --> HDMI cable --> HDMI in to HDTV --> TV audio out --> receiver. (In which case the audio running from the HDTV to the receiver would be component, yes? Which would be a step downwards, yes?)

I am reasonably good with stuff like this, but the age disparity between the new HDTV and the older stereo system is giving me a headache.

What's the best, cheapest, most reliable way for me to get the highest-quality picture from the DVD players onto the TV, and still get the room-shaking audio through the stereo?

Should I just buy a new multistandard, HDMI-out DVD player? If I did, I could connect it right to the HDTV, but I'd still have the audio problem that I detail above.

*****
Related questions, for masochists and/or AV geeks:

- Let's say I solve this problem above. I'm still left with an LD and a VHS, both of which I still use occasionally, that will be unconnected. Is my best bet with these just to run A/V to the receiver, and thence to the HDTV via component cables?

- I'd like to minimize the number of A/V component switchers. Ideally, I'd still like my receiver to be the one and only device that switches between ALL a/v components. And what's nice is that I can split the audio and the video signals -- that is, I can listen to the CD player while watching the signal from the VHS, if I so desire. Is there some way I can use this functionality to refrain from buying any further switchers?

new Macbook Pro to tv?

cgs — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:12:48 -0800

How do I connect a new Macbook Pro to televisions? My question is identical to this older one, but that the new MBP's have Mini DisplayPorts instead of Mini-DVI.

I want to connect mine to my HDTV, as well as to older/regular tv's (composite). How many adapters do I need to buy? I'm guessing mdp -> hdmi for the hdtv. According to the wiki, I need to get two for the composite: mdp -> vga -> composite, which seems excessive to me.

Do any of you have first-hand experience with this? Can you recommend any sites that offer adapters/cables at good prices?

Thanks for your time-
cgs

Make PS3 games use 1080p?

Who_Am_I — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:08:22 -0800

How do I force PS3 games to play at their optimum resolution? I've got a PS3 hooked up to a 1080p native TV (Philips 42" LCD, can't remember model number) via HDMI. When I leave all the PS3 video settings alone, 720p-capable games play at 720p, but 1080p-capable games also play at 720p. If I disable 720p output from the PS3, then 1080p games go up to 1080p, but 720p games go down to 480p. I'm getting sick of switching the video setting around every time I play a different game, and I feel like I have to be missing something here. Why won't 1080p games use that resolution normally? How is this supposed to work?

How do I stop my surround sound system cutting out?

Beep — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:26:46 -0800

My surround sound system keeps cutting out at higher volumes. Please help me find a way to stop it happening. I'm using a Panasonic SC-AK600 receiver; it has 5 speakers and is programmed to receive digital signals. It's plugged into both my DVD player and Xbox 360 through a coaxial cable and optical cable, respectively. When the volume is at higher levels, all but the center speaker cuts out. And it cuts out at a single instance of sound (such as a sudden explosion or noise in the movie/game). I know that this may be some kind of safety feature to keep the speakers from becoming ruined, but I feel that the volume should be able to be higher.

Important point: the volume only cuts out when it is receiving a signal in 5.1 surround sound. If I'm not watching something in that configuration (ie, noise is still coming from all speakers; it's just not in 5.1) I can turn the volume up as high as I want, and nothing happens. So, I know that the fact the volume can't be higher is something to do with it receiving a 5.1 surround signal. The receiver is meant to be able to play this, so I don't know why this keeps happening.

Also, my left surround speaker has some additional speaker wire I had to hook up to it to extend the length, and has a lower volume than the right surround speaker. I don't know if that's a result of the additional speaker wire or not. I know it has nothing to do with settings on the receiver because I've checked that. Anyway, does this lower volume or additional speaker wire on the left surround speaker have anything to do with the speakers cutting out in 5.1 surround sound? I'm no sound expert, but thought I'd throw that out there for anyone who may know.

While I'm at it, there seems to be a slight difference between the audio coming from the TV and from the receiver's speakers (again, only in 5.1) when using the DVD player. I usually just turn down the TV's volume to 0, but feel as I shouldn't have to. There's an HDMI cable running from the DVD player to the TV. And again, the receiver is hooked up directly to the DVD player.

Thanks for reading this whole thing. Please help me with any knowledge/experience you may have.

Windows Vista Doesn't Work with VGA to HDMI Converter Box

ao4047 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:46:02 -0800

We have an HP Slimline machine running video with an Nvidia Geforce 6150 SE graphics card. We are wanting to use a VGA->HDMI box to convert the video output of the desktop and connect it to our television: 1) We know the VGA->HDMI box works correctly.

We tested with an Asus EEE Laptop running Windows XP and the video successfully outputs to the TV.

We tested with a Macbook Pro laptop and the video successfully outputs to the TV.

2) We know the HP Slimline desktop works sometimes.

When we boot up the desktop the 'HP INVENT' splash screen shows on the tv.

Then, the green status bar with 'Microsoft Corporation' displays.

Then, something happens to the video and the signal stops. I'm guessing that once the boot begins and then Vista settles in something is interfering with the signal being sent to the the VGA->HDMI box.

Any ideas? Thanks!

I found this previous thread but I think we're a bit further along in our testing.

Can't get DVI to HDMI working

crypticgeek — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:53:02 -0800

I'm trying to hook up my pc to my tv via DVI -> HDMI but it's not working. What am I doing wrong? Here are the pertinent facts:
- Windows XP
- nVidia GeForce 6200
- DVI to HDMI adapter and HDMI cable from monoprice.com
- Sony KDF-46E2000 LCD Rear Projection TV

I have the HDMI cable plugged into the video 6 input, and the audio going to the corresponding audio jacks for the HDMI input. I checked the manual, and made sure the video resolution was in the list of supported resolutions on page 85. I've tried 1280x768, 1024x768, etc. Nothing ever displays.

For what it's worth, I never hear any audio either but I thought it might not play the audio unless it also has a video signal. I plugged the audio into one of the composite inputs and verified that it is working, so I think that may be the case.

I'm stumped here. What am I doing wrong?

Help my friend select a HD Reciever unit.

Karmakaze — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 11:52:59 -0800

My friend is in the market for a new Hi-Def receiver unit. He need help picking the right one for him.

"So one of my goals for 2008 is to upgrade to a Hi-Def TV. Now that I have several toys in the house that handle HD (PS3, Apple TV, Verizon FiOS), it's time to get the screen to match.

Resources for choosing a good TV are easy to find. I'm not too worried about that... it's the Receiver I need help with. ConsumerReports.org's last review was November 2006, and is now a year out of date. I looked at Amazon and walked past a BestBuy just to take a peek, but both were lacking in the technical details I need.

What I need is a Receiver unit with the following specifications:

* At LEAST 3 HDMI inputs, and possibly more for down the line if we get another device to hook up.
* One set of inputs for a Wii (Which does not do HDMI, but can do S-Video and I think Component as well - not sure)
* HDMI out (for the TV)
* Optional: 5-speaker out for the current Bose cube setup I have. While I could also buy new speakers, I'd rather not upgrade the whole AV system in one shot if I can help it. If not, then recommend a good set of speakers to go with the Receiver. ;-)

Once I have the Tuner, I figure I can get the HD TV with the holiday bonus and the post-holiday / pre-Superbowl sales that usually happen.

If anyone who is knowledgeable about such things can recommend brand names & models, I would be eternally graceful. (Links to specs would make me even happier, so I could oogle them and know what I'm looking at.)"

(I'll give him the link to this question, or you can see his lj post on the issue.)

I need a simple system with TWO HDMI inputs.

rileyray3000 — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:58:48 -0800

What is the the best "Home Theater in a Box" system I can get with TWO HDMI inputs? I'm not going to put this thing together piece by piece. I have a small place and an HTIB would do just fine...if I could find a system with more than one HDMI input. My TV has only one input and I really want to run everything through the receiver. AND I'd love to cut down on cable tangle. And if this works it'd be perfect. Cable from the DVD player to stereo. Cable from Time Warner to the stereo. Cable from Stereo to TV. PERFECT.

So the mission is simple:

Home Theater in a Box
Two Inputs for HDMI (not digital optical cable, not component video, just HDMI inputs with complete passthrough ability).

As for the speakers, I'm open. If there's a great 3.1 that sounds good and there's two HDMI I'll be fine.

Any suggestions MEFI?

Do so-called 'upconverting' DVD players upconvert 480p to 720/1080 over component cables?

drgonzo — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:30:39 -0800

Do so-called 'upconverting' DVD players upconvert 480p to 720/1080 over component cables? Is the difference between HDMI and component cables noticeable when watching standard DVDs on an HDTV? Ok, so I'm new to the HDTV game - the wife used her bonus to buy a 32" Sony Bravia. It looks great with the with our new HDTV cable service via HDMI cabling. However, when I loaded up the old DVDs, they appeared very grainy on the DVD player I bought less than a year ago. I went out and bought the Sony upconverting HDMI DVD Player (DVPNS75H), but since there is only one HDMI input on the Bravia, I'm using component cabling to connect the DVD player. Am I dumb expecting this analog source to be upconverted? Should I just have stuck with my old player?

Any 1080p HDTV reviews/recommendations ?

ringmaster — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:47:16 -0800

Given the wife's blessing to buy a big screen for our new home, I'm laden with the burden of selecting a TV that will meet our family's needs until we move again (unlikely). That said, what's a good future-proof 1080p TV, and where can I compare models for myself? A little background on where the TV is going might be useful. Our family room is not wide, maybe 15 feet, but it is connected through to the kitchen over about 50 feet, and it would be nice if the TV wasn't a glowing speck on the far wall when viewed from the kitchen. I originally thought that the 37" screens would be fine, but the 50" screens look about right, too. 42" might be the ideal size - I'm still waffling on this, unsure what will work best in the available space.

Also, I fully intend to upgrade other components for the best picture. I currently have an XBox 360, and will likely upgrade to HD-DVD when it's available (and I have a TV that supports it) for movies. I will play games on this set, so refresh rate and burn-in resistance are important. We'll probably use satellite for HD programming, so cable-card access isn't a necessity.

I also intend to invest in a new AV receiver that switches between composite and HDMI signals. The TV should accept HDMI input (and none of that HDCP stuff) and probably composite - at least, just in case.

One of the primary issues with the TV search is finding somewhere that does actually compare the TVs. Consumer Reports has a few HD sets reviewed, but they don't provide enough detail in their specs to know which are 1080p. Most sites that review TVs are so riddled with ads, it's hard to even operate them, much less find the type of high-end TV I'm looking for.

My hangup on 1080p is that this is a long-term investment. I have no interest in spending $2000 or (probably) more on a TV and then wish I had gotten more. Perhaps it's not even an issue of noticing the difference (oh, but you can), but knowing that it isn't the best picture and that I'm locked into that set until the wife agrees to another big TV purchase - in other words, for quite a long time.