Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with dvi

How can I attach my Wii to a computer monitor?

DMan — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:57:58 -0800

How can I plug my Wii into a computer monitor? So I'm going back to college in about a month, and since I'll be living in a dorm room, I've decided to not bring a TV. One of my roommates is going to have one, but his will be in his bedroom (which is separate from mine) and so that's not really convenient for me.

I have a USB TV tuner (it's an "AVerMedia Hybrid Ultra USB") that I use to watch TV. It has a cable plugin and the yellow, red, and white RCA plugs, although I've never been able to figure out how to use the RCA hookups.

My question is, what can I do to be able to play my Wii on the computer monitor? This would be a no-brainer if the Wii had an HDMI cable, but the best I can get is component. I have a composite cable, but I'd really prefer to use the component one since it allows for 480p. My computer monitor has VGA and DVI plugs, and I'm also fine with using a USB-based solution if that will work. I have those RCA hookups on the TV tuner, but I can't find a single thing in the user manual about how to use them. I'd prefer component anyway, but that would work if someone knows how to set it up.

I hope this makes sense--I can clarify as needed. Thanks for the help in advance!

How do I display 6 slide shows on 6 LCD displays?

MrBobaFett — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:06:43 -0800

We are building a video display wall for our new office and I need to figure out the best way to do it, with out spending too much. The output source are 22 LCD displays, there are 6 of them all showing different slide shows. DVD? PC? Any help would be appreciated. More details of what has been tried are inside. We started with the idea of 6 LCDs hooked up 6 DVD players, with slide show CDs in them. Turns out it's a huge pain in the ass to get computer monitor LCDs (1680x1050) to play an HD (720p or 1080p) video signal. (The method I have been using is an HDMI to DVI cable going into the digital in on the LCD, also the DVD player is a Philips DVP5982)

I had two Acers (AL2216Wbd) from my desktop I used in the prototype which worked and displayed 720p fine. Then I ordered six of the same model to use in the wall and Acer changed something in the manufacturing in the last year so none of them will display 720p or higher, and Acer doesn't want to help unless I am plugging them into a computer.

So I went out and got a Samsung (2253BW) monitor that looks great and I can sent it 1080p video signal, for up to 1 minute. Then the monitor tells me this is not the optimum video mode and turns it self off.

I don't have the time and money to keep getting LCDs and testing them to see if they will work with a DVD player. Also because of budget I am focusing on the $200-300 range.

The other obvious answer would be to use a computer to drive the displays. But I don't want to buy 6 shuttle PCs, I'd rather just get 3 dual head video cards and run all of the monitors off one machine, but I haven't found any slide show software that will display different slide shows at full screen on different displays.

Am I going about this all wrong? I thought I was fairly competent but so far this project is proving otherwise.

KVM that doesn't suck?

dyslexictraveler — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:13:38 -0800

Do you know of a USB/DVI KVM switch for 2 computers that doesn't suck? I'm looking into buying a KVM (keyboard video mouse switch) to run a Macbook Pro and a windows box on the same keyboard, monitor, mouse and keyboard. However, I'm skeptical of even buying one, because it seems that ever product review I read says that the KVM makes the USB connection "flakey" and that it drops out frequently (e.g. this) which would drive me nuts.

Are there any good ones? Is there something inherently difficult about building a good USB KVM (reviews for the PS2 ones seem to be slightly better)? Any good experiences or recommendations for a KVM that natively supports both USB and DVI?

Avoiding DVI interference on stereo for Macbook

tonci — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:43:58 -0800

Macbook- DVI question: How to avoid "hum" sound interference on stereo cable with DVI/HDMI cable hooked in? I tried connecting my Macbook from the DVI port through adaptors to an HDMI cable to hook up to my projector for the first time and the video worked great. The problem is that when I plugged in the stereo cable into the Macboo's headphone jack to plug into my stereo it picked up lots of hum-sounding interference. Any ideas on how to remedy this problem?

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?

Yet More Mac Mini-DVI Hearbreak

ChasFile — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:13:26 -0800

MacBook DVI output connected via adapter to my TV results in nothing. I'm pretty handy with a Mac, but I guess not handy enough.

I'm trying to get a MacBook (model A1181) to play a DVD on my TV (its an exotic region code, otherwise I'd just use the DVD player). And first off, the DVD plays fine on the Mac's LCD, so that's not it.

So I went out and got a mini-DVI-to-Composite-Video adapter, which I plugged into my MacBook, and then connected to the TV, which is a fairly old standard NTSC 4:3 CRT set, a Panasonic. What I see is a slight change in the margins around the TV's "blue screen of no input" and occasional flickering. Changing the resolution on the Display Control menu in the toolbar results in a slightly different flicker in the blue screen of inputlessness. The options said menu offers me are "800x600, 60Hz" and "640x480, 60Hz." Again, neither produces anything other than than the flickering blue screen.

In my attempts to solve this myself, I've Googled around and found some people who say putting the Mac to sleep and then waking it solves this. I tried this and several full restarts and the output on the TV is always the same. I also tried using DisplayConfigX to detect the TV and set the output, and it wanted to use 100Hz, which I tried but only resulted in (predictably) higher frequency flickering. I've hit "Mirror Displays" and just about every other button I could find in the display control panel, and nothing changes much. I bought an s-video cable and used that (this adapter has both composite and s-video outputs) which again resulted in a slightly different flavor of flicker but nothing substantial.

So, um, any ideas?

MacPro Dual DVi->VGA problem with the Quadra 4500

Towelie — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:00:17 -0800

MacPro Leopard 10.5.2, Problems with the Quadro FX 4500 card. It has dual DVI ports. It'll run 2 DVI devices when it's DVI to DVI, but it won't run the same two screens if they go via VGA (both DVI ports having a DVI to VGA adapter). The second port (port 2) has the screen detected in the Displays System Preferences but the screen never lights up. Yes, I know all about DVI extenders, etc; I need the VGA to work.

Makeshift production monitor from a computer LCD?

UnnotciedTypo — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:12:52 -0800

Can I use my computer monitor as an HD production monitor? I'm putting together a camera package with a Sony PMW-EX1 camera and a 35mm lens adapter. My budget, however, cannot support a decent professional production monitor (yet). My interim solution (which will be used for focusing, not color/exposure evaluation) is to use my LCD computer monitor instead. Obviously not an ideal solution, but could this possibly work?

It's an older model with only VGA inputs, and I'm using a DVI-to-VGA adapter on it now, as I'm using a newer video card.
The camera (which has yet to arrive) has analog component outputs. The most detailed information I've found states the following:

The EX1 uses the same micro-D-shell connector used by most Sony HDV cameras for analog component outputs, and another micro connector carries stereo analog audio and composite video. Y/C is not provided.

The camera also has an HD-SDI output. My background is in film, so I don't have a good enough handle on video signals to figure this out. Can I convert an HD analog component signal to DVI somehow (which would then be adapted to VGA)? My fear is that this will take an expensive converter box that costs just as much as a real production monitor. Does anyone know if this is true?
Thanks so much, in advance.

Please monitor don't blow up...

SpacemanStix — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:01:37 -0800

If I hook a monitor up to two devices (using a different video port for each device), will it be able to tell which one is using it (assuming just one device is on), if I keep both plugged in? And is there any potential harm to the monitor, if it's plugged into two active devices at once? I'm planning to use my LCD monitor for both my computer and a console gaming system. One would utilize the DVI port, and the other the VGA port. I'd like to keep them both hooked up without having to change the connections when I want to use one or the other. Is it reasonable to expect that I'll be able to do this without problems? I'll have all of the required cables to make use of the ports.

I'm assuming that the monitor will be able to tell which device is giving it input, but I'm not super tech savvy. I'm sure this is a question that makes tech people chuckle, but I'd hate to wreck this monitor, for the same reason.

Also, if there is a better that I'm not thinking of here, I'd be happy to hear it.

DIVX/XVID from PC to TV by DVI

onshi — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:08:45 -0800

I want something just like an Apple TV, but without the reliance on iTunes. Specifically, I want to view DIVX/XVID content from my Vista PC, wirelessly, with DVI output. With a $200 budget, have I no hope? All the CES coverage has reignited my interest in this product category. If streaming devices are too expensive, are there any simpler products analagous to the SanDisk TakeTV... again, with DVI or HDMI out?

DVI out (or HDMI in a pinch via a converter) is important because I'll be viewing content on an LCD monitor lacking component inputs.

Is HDMI a Deal Breaker on an LCD?

chrisWhite — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:58:39 -0800

I'm looking at getting a new LCD that I'll be using with my computer and really like the HP 2408 & LP2465. However, will I end up shooting myself in the foot for not having HDMI? Primarily I'll be using it with my Vista workstation doing 3D and other media production. I also use this workstation as a Media Center, DVD player and TV (web based, don't have a tuner card--yet) and a PC gaming machine. Finally, I'll be getting an Xbox 360 and probably the HD-DVD add-on before too long that I would also like to run through the LCD.

I've read that DVI is very similar to HDMI (without audio) and that you can just put an adapter on and it works just as well.

I assume this workaround would still support 1080P? If I did do this would I be losing HDCP support?

I've done some searching and a lot of the information I'm finding is either too over simplified or they expect you to know all about it already so I'd really appreciate your help!

How to force a MacBook Pro to re-detect video?

colecovizion — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:36:04 -0800

How to force a MacBook Pro to re-detect video? When moving my Macbook Pro between my Dell 24" and my LCD TV, I've been having some detection problems. If I unplug the monitor while the computer is still on and plug into my LCDTV (VGA), the screen is blank on both the TV and the and MacBook Pro built-in screen.

The only way I can get it to work is:

* Completely shut down the computer
* Unplug DVI
* Connect to LCD TV (DVI/VGA)
* Boot computer

Is there a keyboard command to redetect video sources (such as the PC FN+F8).... or.... is there a way that I can change my MacBooks video source without rebooting? The old Powerbooks seemed to do this seamlessly.

The little LCD that couldn't . .

datacenter refugee — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:07:34 -0800

Flat Panel's DVI interface works during POST, windows startup graphic, nothing else :(. I've got a few-year-old Dell 2405FPW that works using it's D-Sub interface, but I'm having trouble getting it to work via DVI. If I attempt to use the DVI interface, the BIOS/POST screens display, the windows startup graphic works (the moving bar), but as soon as I get into windows the display blanks out.

The monitor does detect that it's connected to something, as unplugging the cable on either end resets the monitor to it's 'no input' screen. Same goes for the PC, as unplugging the DVI cable on either end elicits the windows hardware insert/removal sound. The DVI cable is brand-spanking new and <6' long.

Attempting to configure the LCD via it's buttons while it's connected to the PC via DVI reveals that the LCD thinks the PC is in power-save mode. I can VNC into the computer while it's in this state. The video card (a BFG GeForce 8600GT) detects that an analog display is connected (as opposed to a digital). All attempts to reset resolution (even at 800x600) or refresh rate (even at 60hz) fail. Forebodingly, I cannot get the display to fire up on my laptop's DVI interface either :(.

One side of me is saying 'give up, it's hosed', but the other says 'but it works during POST!' What the hell is going on here?

Help me avoid teevee timesuck

Happy Dave — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:56:35 -0800

Help me mix a monitor, an old-school xBox and a couple of Macs. So, my other half and I are moving into our first place together (yay!) and we're leaving my enormous tv with our current housemates. We don't want to get a replacement one, partly to reduce slack-jawed staring at the TV time and partly to avoid the license fee (we're in the UK), which isn't all that much, but is still money I don't want to spend if we're trying to cut-down the slack-jawage.

What I'd like to do is buy some kind of decent-sized monitor that would allow me to:

- Plug in an old-school xBox for some alien-slaying action (while I want to massively reduce passive screen-watching, I quite like a bit of button-mashing now and again)
- Plug in either a Macbook or an older iBook to watch DVDs, and use as a big monitor for working on.

What are my best options - I'm at a bit of a loss, with all these cables. I think I need something which accepts DVI and SCART. Is that right?

Budget - maybe £150-200 (is this realistic? Could I do it for less?)

Size, well, ideally 19 inch or a bit bigger.

Any ideas or recommendations?

Can I get s-video or component video out of a Mac G5 using a cable or other device?

jeremias — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 06:09:02 -0800

Trying to capture video off a Mac G5 and looking for a hardware solution. Can I get s-video or component video out of a Mac G5 using a cable or other device? I'm working on some training videos and I want to capture the users screen movements on Machine A and capture it on Machine B. Machine A is an intel G5 with two DVI outputs.Is there some sort of cable or adapter that connects to DVI and converts to s-video or component video?

Also if you've had some experience with a hardware solution to capturing video off of a Mac (usability tests, screencasts, etc.) I 'd love to hear about your workflow. Please note I'm not looking for software solutions like Snapz Pro or iShowU.

How do I connect a Nintendo Wii to a Samsung Syncmaster 940BW monitor?

lia — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:39:25 -0800

How do I connect a Nintendo Wii to a Samsung Syncmaster 940BW? Yes, I'd rather be playing on my big TV but that's in tucked away in storage, and I'm too busy to get it anytime soon so my monitor will have to do for now. Help me figure out what cables I need to get to make the fun happen!

Wii to LCD via DVI @ 1680 x 1050?

onshi — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 04:24:00 -0800

Wii to LCD via DVI @ 1680 x 1050? Pipedream? Is it (or will it soon be) possible for a Wii to drive my Dell e228wfp 22" widescreen LCD monitor via DVI-D or even analog RGB/D-Sub/whatever at 1680 x 1050 without a ludicrously expensive device to convert the signal?

Do DVI-out PCI-Express cards work?

onshi — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 19:09:48 -0800

Will this [see Newegg] DVI-only, PCI-x add-on card work with many/any motherboards? My new Dell E521's onboard video is DVI-less, and I was pondering the merits of a cheap, low-end 3D card to hold me over until I can afford something fancier. Then, I saw these barbones DVI-out cards. Any rants, raves, or cautionary tales?

Why is my video/image quality grainy?

jimdanger — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 22:55:46 -0800

20" LCD Monitor + GeForce Video Card = Grainy Images/Video. I just built my first computer. My video card is a PNY Verto GeForce 7600 GS and my new LCD monitor is the 20.1" LCM-20v5 from Westinghouse. Both of them have pretty good ratings from what I can tell.

I installed all the drivers that came with the video card, and have tried both a VGA cable, with and without the DVI adapter, and just a straight DVI cable but my monitor quality is still giving me two major problems:

1) The max resolution is 1400x1050, which is the only one I can use, otherwise all text looks blurry and blocky, like there's no anti-aliasing.

2) All images and video, regardless of format or codec, look grainy. It's like I can see the tiny dots making up the picture, or see the different layers of shading. This is especially noticeable for dark colors. I was hoping to have some good quality DVD playback, but it looks like I'm watching a good quality VHS instead. Nothing is crisp or clear.

I've played around with the advanced options that the nVidia card offered, but had no luck. I reset it to default so I'm not working against myself. I know nothing about video card stuff, so I'm hoping I'm just making some newbie mistake. Am I?

How can I get my Sony HDTV to listen to my MacBook Pro?

Embryo — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 07:36:43 -0800

Please, help me understand DVI, HDCP, etc., so that I can use my HDTV as a display for my MacBook Pro. I have a Sony HD Trinitron -- a KV-30HS510 -- that I'd really like to connect via DVI for use as a display for my MacBook Pro, but I have no idea what cables or converters I need to get -- there seem to be so many types of DVI! I also have a sneaking suspicion that Sony's copy-protection scheme, HDCP, may actually succeed at impeding my ability to do this very simple, non-piracy-motivated thing with this hardware that I ostensibly own, which seems too ridiculous to be true, but I'd like some independent confirmation. Thanks for your help, friends.

Making the most of your Xbox 360 on a computer display?

Sevenupcan — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 17:55:44 -0800

What's the best computer display available for connecting an Xbox 360 to? I'd like to buy a 30" Apple Cinema HD display, and connect an Xbox to that, but I can't find any concrete information on whether it is possible at the moment. While searching some people have referenced to these products DVI-male to DVI-female and component adapter and VGA to DVI conversion box. Does anyone know if these work and what the quality is like? If not anyone got any other ideas?

Failing that, what other large (~30") HD flat paneled displays are available that the Xbox 360 will work with? Preferably looking for something that looks pretty sexy and minimalist.

And last question, are there any products that will allow you to switch between your computer and console without having to unplug the cables?

Thank you for your time and effort,
Gavin

HDMI out -> dual-link DVI in. Success stories?

nicwolff — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:09:55 -0800

HDMI out -> dual-link DVI in. Success stories? Horror stories? The death of my old ReplayTV and the announcement of the Series 3 HD TiVo - with dual CableCards! - has inspired me to update all my video gear. I'm thinking of running the TiVo's HDMI output to a 30" Apple Cinema Display, which I can swap onto my MacBook Pro for gaming. The TiVo has only HDMI out, and the Apple display requires a dual-link DVI input. I know HDMI->DVI-D cables exist, but how well do they work? Is anyone here using the 30" Apple display as a TV? How's that working out for you?

toys not playing well together

tiamat — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 21:44:57 -0800

ATI x850 does not seem to detect LCD connected via DVI (tried a cheap DVI-D and a DVI Dual Link cable). My system is P4 3ghz, 1024mb, running WinXP with an ATI x850 with dual DVI outputs (and one S video I ignore).

I've been trying to use a new Proview 19' widescreen LCD with odd results. . .

When I plug in the moniter to the primary DVI, it does not detect the connection (screen goes to power saving) at boot - can't see POST or the Windows logo booting.

Sometimes, about 1/3 of the time, the LCD kicks in when windows has booted to the login/dekstop screen. It's usually at the wrong resolution.

Most of the time nothing happens - once or twice I got garbage on the screen, a few random lines. I know the computer has booted because I've been able to get in via remote desktop - but sadly you can't set the 'real' display properties via a remote connection, or at least, I can't find a way.

I thought I had the wrong kind of DVI cable, but I tried a more expensive one with all the pins (the Dual Link) and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

When I plug in a CRT via a VGA-DVI adapter the resolution autodetects and the screen works fine. When I plug in the LCD and the CRT with the LCD on the secondary DVI connection the LCD kicks in mirroring the CRT, and seems to work thereafter if I change the settings in Display properties to enable the secondary moniter - but I don't want to have to do that every time I reboot, I only have the desk space for one moniter right now.

It also sometimes works when I just plugin the DVI-VGA adapter on the other DVI connection, with no cable attached, but I couldn't find a predictable pattern for making that work (order of plugging in the cables, before/after boot, etc.) And again, the LCD would usually start at the wrong resolution.

The LCD works a fine at 1400x900 when it works, but I can't seem to make it work predictably.

The CRT works fine 100% of the time, whether I plug it in before boot or after, on either of the two DVI connections, (via it's VGA-DVI connector, of course.

Any suggetions?

What's the deal with my video card?

RustyBrooks — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 07:34:06 -0800

What's the deal with my new video card, and it's propensity to hate DVI? I bought a video card from LeadTek based on the nvidia 6600GT. It's a dual output card, which is why I bought it, not for it's 3d-gaming capabilities. It has one DVI output and one VGA output, with converters so you can use it as two DVI's or two VGAs.

Using a DVI cable with one monitor, I had terrible results. The picture was snowy, would go black on occaison, and would not go above 1280x1024 (the monitors can do 1650x1024 or what have you). Using the second connector with a vga-to-dvi connector and a dvi cable, I could not get it to recognize the second monitor.

If I switch the cables to VGA (using the DVI-to-VGA connector on one of them) I get excellent picture at full resolution on both monitors. I guess I should not complain because it works great, but what's the deal? Shouldn't DVI be more capable than VGA, since it's digital and not analog? Do my DVI cables suck? Or does the DVI capability of the card just suck?

The symptom I got when I switched to higher res, by the way, was all kinds of colored snow/noise on the upper third of the screen.

Laptop/VGA/DVI-D connection

robbie01 — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 19:55:32 -0800

So I got a new LCD monitor as a second display for my VGA-outputting laptop, but I want to use the DVI-D in on the monitor, because the analog VGA-in flickers. Technical details inside. I have an HP ZD7000 laptop with a VGA output to connect an external display. I do a lot of design work and needed a very large second screen for palettes, etc., so I got a 21" widescreen LCD, the Samsung 215TW.

When I connect the VGA out from the laptop to the VGA in on the LCD, I get a really annoying constant and random flicker on the LCD, particularly when there is nothing being displayed and the screen is black. I've taken to keeping my e-mail open on the second screen just so I'm not distracted by the flicker, but even that is distracting in a different way because it's so bright all the time.

The laptop runs at a native res of 1440x900 and the LCD's native res is 1680x1050. The video card in the laptop is an NVidia GoForce FX Go5600 with 128MB of RAM. Both the video card and display are set at the default 60hz, so I don't think that's the issue.

But even though the laptop can drive the displays at those resolutions, I can only guess that it just doesn't have enough juice to send a solid enough analog signal to the large LCD (the connection is fairly short, otherwise, so I don't think it's picking up interference along the way (I tried attaching some ferrite cores to the VGA cable with no effect.)

(feel free to offer alternative suggestions to this problem, as it's the fundamental issue at hand).

So, because the LCD also supports a DVI digital connection, I wanted to try using that, since perhaps a digital connection will not suffer from the same flicker as the analog -- digital should either be there or not, right? No flicker?

Therein lies the problem. I can find any number of cheap (< $10> VGA->DVI adapters. But, in my research I learned that there are actually several flavors of DVI (thanks, IEEE) and the particular flavor on the back of the Samsung is DVI-D Dual Link.

Of course, there are no cheap adapters for that, I imagine because it's not possible to just magically change an analog signal to digital with a $7 adapter.

I'm guessing at this point that I would need a ~$300-$400 VGA/DVI signal converter to use the DVI input on my LCD, which is of course not feasible since that's almost the cost of the monitor itself. Even if I did decide that it was worth it, I'd be buying it under the assumption that a digital connector would even solve the flicker in the first place, and likely have to return it (to an online retailer, no less) if it doesn't.

Is that the boat I'm stuck in?

I really like the resolution and form factor of the LCD, but I'm still within the return window at Best Buy. Should I just get a really large analog CRT instead, or will I get flicker on that analog connection too? Perhaps try a different make/brand of LCD that has a "regular" DVI connector?