S-Video on video card to tv

[earthslash]

I already did a search on the forums for this, because its a simple question, but I don't know the answer. Anyways, I have an ATI Radeon 9600 pro video card and wondered where I could get a cable that would connect from my video card (s video output) to the tv, so that my computer would display on the TV?. I bought a cable a while back from Best Buy, and it wasn't what I needed. I don't know exactly what it looks like, and don't want to buy another one just to return it because its the wrong thing. If someone would direct me with a link to an online site or something, it would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

- Steve

[communist]

Hm... you card should have come with a cable / adapter. Anyway you'll need a S-Video -> RCA. Looks something like this: http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-196-1.htm. AFAIK you'll need a 7pin S-Video -> RCA coz it also carries the composite signal: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/radeon-tv-out/.

[earthslash]

There wasn't any cables that came with mine... just the video card, instruction manual, and cd disc in the box made by ATI. There are 7 pins on the Video Card for the S-Video, so it looks like thats what I will need... 7 pin S-Video to the tv. Any idea on how much these usually cost?

- Steve

[maciek_m]

Don't forget about the sound, as s-video conveys the image only :)

[rfmmars]

The 7 pin cable should not be the s-video cable. The S-video out on my ATI 9000 is the standard 4 pin S-video, so is my 8500DV.

Maybe you got a returned unit with the cable missing. I don't have a 9600, but I thought it was the same specs as the 9000 except for clock and ram . Go to ATI's website to see what the 9600 it takes.

richard
photorecall.net

[Soulhunter]

Read also this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28557) and this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72673)... ;)


Bye

[ukb007]

Hello, earthslash.

I am sorry I can't upload pictures here.

There are two common kinds of video terminals:

1. The S-Video connector – this looks somewhat like a PS/2 mouse (or keyboard) port, but is usually black or dark brown in color. It usually has four pin-holes: the lower two points on either side are for Ground; the upper right one is for luminance and the upper left one for chrominance. In case of 7-point terminals, the points are:

i Ground
ii Ground
iii Luminance
iv Chrominance
v -
vi Composite Video
vii Ground

2. The Tulip (RCA) connector (for both video and audio) has a more traditional look: a little like the audio port of your computer, but usually colored red (audio in - right), white (audio in - left) and yellow (video). The tulip video connector commonly carries composite video, where color and synchronization signals are mixed into one signal. Many modern TVs have three Tulip input terminals: one for video, and two for audio.

If your TV does not have a connector that matches with the one on your PC, then there are two things you can do:

1. You can use an adapter to bridge the two different terminals, like an S-Video to RCA.

2. Consider using your VCR instead if this one does have a suitable connector to accept your PC’s output. Connect the PC to the VCR. Set the VCR to AUXiliary or EXTernal. Set the TV to the AV channel for inputs from the VCR.

An S-Video connection from output to input always gives a better picture quality than mixed (s-video+RCA) or pure-RCA connections. After connecting hardware, you have to configure your video adapter software for dual viewing, and perhaps you may have to download the latest software from your adapter vendor's site.

The trade-offs in TV-viewing of PC videos:

There are three factors to consider when you think of viewing your nice crisp MPEG-4 videos on your TV:

1. Resolution. A computer monitor is a very sophisticated instrument. If you care to go through your monitor’s manual, you can see the astonishing range of resolutions your monitor can support. My monitor supports up to 1280 x 1024 at 32-bit. Now think about the displays on your TV. The NTSC standard calls for 525 scan lines, of which only 483 are active. The PAL standard has a slightly higher resolution at a lower refresh rate. Whether it is an NTSC or a PAL model, the quantity of sweat a standard television set will exude to display the lowest resolution (640 x 480) that a PC supports will drown an elephant. If your Video Card supports a resolution of 1280 x 1024, it does so on a monitor, and the matter has nothing to do with what you can see on your TV. Due to the scan-line limitations of the TV, higher resolutions on the monitor won’t translate into a more detailed picture on the TV. So 640 x 480 is fine for your desktop and even games, but playing back DivX or DVD movies using software decoding may literally show the strain.

2. Flicker. Not a big issue for broadcasts on modern TV sets. Modern Video cards have also tried to minimize that as far as possible.

3. Legibility of text. On your monitor you can read 8-point fonts without any problem. Put a lens in front of the text and magnify; you won’t notice any blurring. This is a feat the standard TV can’t match. Different cards do offer software tweaks that supposedly increase the legibility of displayed text and your TV's sharpness control or contrast control might help, but beauty is, finally, only in the eyes of the beholder.

Other methods of viewing the video from your PC in your TV:

1. By using a remote receiver-cum-transmitter set that, connected to your PC, can show pictures on your TV around 50 feet away or in another room. Visit Radio Shack or other electronic goods shops (you can find an amazing stock of wires and cables in Dollar Shops too), and shop around for many models. You need the same wires, though in shorter lengths.

2. Using a VGA to PAL/NTSC Scan converter through which the signal passes and you can see what’s running on your PC simultaneously in your TV. The quality is good. The downside is the expense.

One final word:

Although experience of TV viewing of PC’s videos varies widely depending on quality of hardware and fineness of software configurations, beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder. If you are happy with what you see, then that’s the reward for all the trouble you’ve taken and you can sit back and relax until the next bug bites you.

Happy viewing, and regards.

[earthslash]

Thank you everyone for the replies, sorry I havn't responded sooner. I double checked and it is a 7-pin connection for the S-Video on my video card. I also looked at the back of my TV and theres a spot that says "S-Video" and it has a 4 pin connection, which sounds like the one everyone has described. Will I need some sort of adapter then since my S-Video connections don't have the same number of pins?

Thats also really interesting that you can do a remote receiver thing to accomplish the same thing. I don't plan on using the TV as my main monitor (recently bought a new 17 inch lcd monitor), just wanted to try it out and use it a little bit to see how it worked.

[Asmodian]

You will not need a special s-video cable, the two extra pins are for the composite signal which, because your TV has s-video, you don't need or want. The rest of the pins are in the same form-factor as the standard s-video.

I have an ATI 9700np with the same s-video/composite video-out that works fine with a normal s-video cable.