Need advice - PC-Input on HDTVs

[Lutochris]

I've noticed that most newer HDTVs have a VGA PC-Input port somewhere on them. I've never tried using one of these, so I was just wondering - can these ports carry any signal you send from your computer, and make your TV truly function just like a monitor? If my video card is capable of outputting 1920x1080 to a monitor with a VGA connection, that's what I'll see on the TV through this port as well? How good does the picture actually look on these ports (as compared to, let's say, HDMI and S-Video)? Does it vary a lot between different TVs? FYI the TV I'm probably going to get is the Samsung HL-T5687S (http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/DLPTV/HLT5687SXXAA.asp) 56'' DLP with LED light engine.

The reason I'm asking is because I'm looking at buying a new HDTV and a new laptop. I'd like to watch videos, possibly HD, from the laptop on my new TV, and I'd like to have the best picture. I'd like to be able to output HDMI from the laptop, but the only laptops I've seen that have an HDMI output seem pretty expensive. So if the VGA port is still capable of outputting an HD resolution, I figured I'd just settle with that.

If anyone can suggest a lesser-expensive laptop out there with an HDMI output, please let me know.

[legoman666]

you can buy a cable that changes your DVI out port to a HDMI. It doesn't have to do any signal conversion since both are digital. I used to hook my htpc up to to my hdtv via VGA, but for some reason the max VGA resolution of the TV was 1024x768 (tv is 1280x720). So I upgraded my video to card to one that had a DVI port and now I can output the tv's native resolution.

The picture via HDMI is much sharper than it was through VGA. Also, I noticed some ghosting with the VGA that isn't there with the HDMI.

[Lutochris]

Yes I could get one with a DVI output instead of HDMI, however those are also pretty expensive, and only tend to come on the laptops with pretty high-end video hardware, which also usually have other high-end specs since it's assumed that they'll be used for gaming, and thus are pretty expensive. But all I really care about is the video playback ability.

So you're saying that when you hooked up your comp to the HDTV via the VGA input, it would only output at 1024x768? Interesting. Is that how most HDTVs are? If so then I guess I'd better keep looking for a laptop with DVI or HDMI output. Again, anyone know what the least expensive laptop with one of these outputs would be?

[Hobojobo]

I have got a Sharp HDTV with a resolution of 1920x1080.

You can run the display through HDMI or VGA.

The max. resolution over VGA is WXGA (1360x768)
Over HDMI you can go up to 1080p (1920x1080 progressive)
That is fun. :)
The quality is great. Not to compare to the VGA output.

If quality is important for you, then I would go for laptop with DVI output.

[Lutochris]

I see now, so VGA can't output 1080p. I guess I'll get one with a DVI/HDMI output then. Now my other question is, can any laptop with a DVI port output at 1080p, or does it depend on the kind of video card you have in your laptop? Because the Dell laptop I was looking at (Inspiron E1705 (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_e1705?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs)) gives you 3 choices for video card when you buy it: Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, 256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON x1400, and 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go7900 GS. But it doesn't tell you what max resolution each is capable of over the DVI port (it only tells you what resolution they have for the laptop screen).

Or if you know of a cheaper laptop that has a DVI that can output 1080p, please let me know about it.

Thanks for the info!

[legoman666]

you can reasonably priced laptops on newegg with DVI ports if you poke around a bit. Here's a decent one (actually pretty nice for the price): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834224072

It is my experience that even crappy video cards can output at super high resolutions. If my $80 video card in my htpc can do 1080p (it's not actually set that high, but it has the capability) then I'm sure the video card in most laptops can do the same as well.

[um3k]

My TV accepts 1080p through VGA, and my laptop is able to output it. So, yes, at least some systems support 1080p over VGA.

[Blue_MiSfit]

VGA can certainly do 1080p. It can do better, in fact.

It's your TV that won't accept any higher resolution than this, and if you see haloing or other artifacts, its because your TV has a crappy scaler and is messing up the image.

The only real advantage that DVI / HDMI can offer is a pure digital signal, so if you hook up via DVI or HDMI, there doesn't have to be any extra D/A A/D conversions. Your TV may accept its native resolution over DVI or HDMI, which is certainly ideal.

Component is also a good option, as most video cards these days can output component without issue, and most HDTVs have at least one component input.

~MiSfit

[Lutochris]

Thanks for the help guys. The TV I'm probably gonna buy (the Samsung I mentioned above) does have a 1080p native resolution, so that's good.

So I guess the only question I have left is whether or not I should spend the extra money to get an ATI or Nvidia video card on the laptop that I get, or if cheaper graphics hardware will still be able to give me a 1080p resolution when output to the TV. If it's as you say that it depends more on the actual display than it does on the video card, then I'm guessing I can go the cheaper route and just stick with the integrated graphics or a lower-end video card. Am I right in assuming this?

[SatansChild]

You may want to look at which of the video cards support video decoding offload and to a lesser extent HDCP especially if you plan to watch hddvd or blueray on you tv through your laptop.

[Blue_MiSfit]

I would say it depends more on the TV.

Most ATi or nVidia cards have a "true" 1080i or 720p output mode that you can enable, I'm not sure about (for example) Intel's GMA chips, or any other integrated cards.

On the desktop, an 8500gt is a great choice, as it has full H.264 decoding, and HDCP through HDMI. On the laptop, I'm not sure that there's anything equivalent yet.

~MiSfit

[Lutochris]

But the HDCP only matters if you're trying to watch something that's HDCP encoded, which at this point is just HDDVDs and Blu-Ray discs, right?

[Blue_MiSfit]

That's true :)