I have a 32" RCA TV which is relatively new. I tried connecting my computer to the television but the picture is very poor. I see vertical and horizontal lines and it's pretty fuzzy. Is it possible to get a crystal clear computer image on my TV? If so, what video card should I get? My TV on only has svideo, rca, and maybe component if I recall correctly.
M
Poor tv image from my computer
Sat, 01/14/2006 - 20:17
#1
Poor tv image from my computer
Analog TVs are significantly lower in resolution than PC displays, so you're not going to get a "computer monitor" like picture. However, the S-video ouput is a low-res output scaled in direct relation to the PCs current resolution setting. The S-video image will scale better the lower the selected resolution is in your display settings.
Select 640x480 16bit, 60hz or 480x720 16 bit, 60 hz. (you may need to go into the advanced menu under the monitor tab to see these choices). You'll still see lines, the nature of the beast with interlaced displays, but the image should be much clearer. Your only issue is that everything will be particularly large. If you just can't deal with it, set your display output to 800x600, but don't go any higher.
Hey Matt,
Thanks for the help. Ultimately I just want to watch downloaded web videos on my TV. Will what you say work for that? and will it look good enough? I'm not really using my tv as a computer monitor. So given this new info, what would be your dream set-up?
Thanks,
Mike
Will what you say work for that? and will it look good enough?
Yep. It will work just fine. The closer you match your TVs native resolution, the better the output from the computer will look. In other words, the less the computer has to scale the picture for the S output, the better. Using a lower display resolution will help achieve this.
To adjust your resolution - Right click on the desktop and click on properties. Click the Settings Tab, then click the advanced button. Click the adapter tab, then click "List all modes". Find one of the resolutions I listed above, and press okay. Play around with different formats until you find one that works best.
Looking good enough is really a subjective question, but it should look better than it does now.
I wouldn't go so far as to saying there is a dream set up, but using a high-res monitor capable of displaying progressive 480p or 720p images will look better than an analog TV.