PC-TV
ready for primetime?
Have
a dream of a connecting your PC to a widescreen HDTV
display? Well, with some study, it is more possible than
not. Does your HDTV have component, VGA, DVI or HDMI
input? Older televisions may require special care, but most
displays on the market today can act much like a computer monitor,
ideal for use with an entertainment PC or other video player
devices. Converters are available in cases where the source
and display does not share the same type of connections.
Windows based PCs pose the most challenge with wide range of
resolutions that they output. Game consoles and DVD players
generally follow ATSC resolutions and timings at 480p, 720p or
1080i at 60Hz.
Connecting to your
TV at the proper frequency
With
older analog only television sets in mind, to connect a PC to your HDTV equipment, it
is imperative to understand the limitations of your frequency
range. (Consult your user manual). Standard NTSC is defined as 15kHz, while ATSC's DTV standard definition at
480p (VGA 640x480 @ 60Hz refresh) will allow double that rate at 31.75 kHz. To receive High-Definition at
1080i, the set must accommodate 33kHz (960x540). There are caveats to connecting
PCs to your HDTVs mostly frequency incompatibility, or overscan
but software solutions like PowerStrip is available for the
PC.
Video
Signal Converters
Video
converters and processors can be used in cases where the device
and display uses differing types of connection for high-definition
video. The most common converter types are:
- VGA
to Component
- Component
to VGA
- Component
to DVI
- VGA
to DVI
- DVI
to VGA
- SDI
to DVI
Colorspace converter
or transcoders will
change the incoming VGA signal to Component and vice versa.
Digital to/from Analog converters simplify connections by
controlling the frequency to most common of the 18 ATSC
resolutions. Caveats are overscan built into many television
sets that resutls in less than perfect solution for some devices.
Getting
connected
Display
Technology and TV Types
