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I was hoping to find someone who's running their computer on their TV. I have a Samsung 42inch LCD I'm hoping to run my 5 y/o Dell on. The Dell has an old 15 pin VGA monitor hookup. I'm wondering how to conver from the 15 pin VGA over to the HDMI? I have young kids, so the prospect of using Netflix instantly on the 42 inch is highly appealing.
You have to convert it to digital with something like this: VGA to HDMI | VGA to HDMI (never used this particular product and I'm not endorsing it; it's just an example)
Might be cheaper to buy a video card with a digital output..
You have to convert it to digital with something like this: VGA to HDMI | VGA to HDMI (never used this particular product and I'm not endorsing it; it's just an example)
Might be cheaper to buy a video card with a digital output..
There are many budget video cards out there for less than $100 that will most likely not only be an upgrade over what you have now, but will also off HDMI or DVI outputs that you could use with your TV.
What you need to find out is whether or not your computer can even use a newer video card that will be based on the PCI Express architecture. If your case can't accept a PCI Express card, you may have no choice but to use a converter like the one above.
There are many budget video cards out there for less than $100 that will most likely not only be an upgrade over what you have now, but will also off HDMI or DVI outputs that you could use with your TV.
What you need to find out is whether or not your computer can even use a newer video card that will be based on the PCI Express architecture. If your case can't accept a PCI Express card, you may have no choice but to use a converter like the one above.
A 5 year old PC probably has an AGP slot. There's plenty of cheap AGP cards out there with DVI outputs. DVI can easily be converted to HDMI for the TV although I'm surprised the TV doesn't also have a VGA input. Either way, they'll also need to get audio from the computer to the TV or receiver. The details of that depend on exactly what inputs and outputs they have but shouldn't cost more than a few bucks for a cable.
A 5 year old PC probably has an AGP slot. There's plenty of cheap AGP cards out there with DVI outputs. DVI can easily be converted to HDMI for the TV although I'm surprised the TV doesn't also have a VGA input. Either way, they'll also need to get audio from the computer to the TV or receiver. The details of that depend on exactly what inputs and outputs they have but shouldn't cost more than a few bucks for a cable.
Completely forgot they still made AGP cards, lol. I just looked real quick and something like this offers VGA, DVI and HDMI outputs and costs $79.99, but is $59.99 after the mail in rebate.
As was said though, you still need a way to get the sound from the PC to the TV, but they do make 3.5mm to RCA jacks that should work and they are very cheap.
Before spending any money ... is your computer capable of streaming video right now in decent quality? 720p is low-end high definition. 480p is DVD resolution; if it can't handle this now, don't bother, as any lower resolution will look horrible on a large screen.
With that said, what Dell model is it? That way, we can look up what interface it is and how large of a card (standard, half-height, length, etc.) it can handle.
I use my 42" tv to stream netflix through my desktop. My tv has a VGA PC input so it was easy I just needed to get the audio cable. However, I did purchase a video card with HDMI and like it much better, especially the audio. You can purchase a VGA to HDMI adapter but as mentioned if your VGA card doesn't support digital out then you need a digital converting VGA to HDMI adapter which is more expensive than a video card with HDMI. Netflix streaming is beautiful on it but keep in mind it all depends on your internet connection.
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