How would I connect an HDTV LCD to older computer for internet access ?
I have been looking at TV's online & mom & dad have said a 42in TV would be best, with an eye on Sony LCDs. They have left it all up to me to figure out what is best to get. Since neither of them are tech minded.They are sort from the analog era of the 1970's & 1980's, all my mom knows is tube TV with antenna with free over the air signals, & VCR. I am pretty much the same since I have not had anybody in my home to show me new tech. just giving anybody here this background info to know where we are coming from for explanations.
My concern is how would it be connected to our PC. The PC closest to the living room & that would be closest to the TV is our 2004 Dell PC with windows XP service pack 2. It is a little older, so it only has 1 VGA connection for a monitor, & an audio line out. It does not have dedicated graphics, & or a video/audio card. All it's on board video & audio is integrated. It is also located in the kitchen. Nor does it have any wi-fi, it has a wired connection on it, with modem wired to an Ethernet switch of which my mac is connected in my bedroom. How would we hook up or enable the HDTV in the living room to have access to the internet, mom & dad would like to be able to surf the internet on the big screen from their couches. I looked around on amazon & can only find 40 inch Sony LCD's. I saw this one; http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BRAVIA-KD...6921345&sr=8-1 we would also have a converter box, antenna,VCR & DVD player hooked up as well. another thing I have to consider is volume, parents are hard of hearing, the tube TV is often cranked up because they have a hard time hearing sounds. I read that standard def TV does not look good on the newer HDTV's, but we do not have cable or satellite with HD, we just have standard def, but we are faced with replacing out dying tube TV, so it seems everything has moved to flat widescreen TV's. which online merchant would be best o get a TV from if we buy one online? I did read one bad review on amazon saying the Sony TV they bought, arrived in a dented box, & the screen did not work, since it was traveling on a truck that was going through Palm Springs CA, the TV got overheated in the delivery truck. I want to avoid something like this. |
Quote:
Quote:
There has been an evolution in connectivity: - Well into the 1980s, everything was coaxial "RF" only. Your parents probably remember this. - Then came composite. Then s-video. This was in the 80s/90s (mostly 90s). - Then component was added. Around the same time came VGA and DVI connections. Most of that is from the early/mid 2000s. - Right now, we're on HDMI, commonly found starting the late 2000s. - In the future, who knows? I'm sure several competing connection types are in R&D. Some televisions come with built-in features. That's not new, however. I remember Magnavox televisions from the 1970s that came with Pong integrated. There were was the TV + VCR, and later the TV + DVD player. These days, you'll get an HDTV + USB + online apps (Netflix, etc). Quote:
For example, this: HDMI to Composite /S-Video Converter 3RCA CRT TV CVBS It's $50 from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0047PDBP0 That takes care of video, but leaves audio connections as a problem. You need a mini-to-RCA audio wire converter. Get this for under $5: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00004Z5CP That takes care of that. :thumb: Quote:
Quote:
There's an awesome deal on a 46" Sony LCD right now, only $728 + free shipping (+tax in certain states) Quote:
These are cheap, at $85: http://www.amazon.com/Audiovox-Acous...6926632&sr=1-8 Quote:
which online merchant would be best o get a TV from if we buy one online? Quote:
Good merchants include: I would buy an HDTV from any of those stores without fear. (And I have, FYI. As have many others online.) |
So the only way for the TV to connect to the internet would be through a wifi router? does the TV have some sort of built in receiver to get the wifi signal? if not this way, do HDTV's have Ethernet ports to connect to a wired network?
From what I gather, the TV would connect to the PC with the cables you mentioned, the TV would then act as a monitor, but how would it get the internet signal? & when the TV is acting as the monitor, would I have to disconnect the computer monitor that is currently connected to the PC? so if someone wanted to use the computer, with the internet, & others wanted to watch over the air TV, would the cables connecting the PC to the TV have to be disconnected & hooked back up to the computer so the computer could be used with it's monitor? for the cables, would an HDMI to VGA converter work? to connect TV & computer? |
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Think of the TV as a really big monitor -- and as nothing more. You can always build/buy another computer for cheap, if needed. If somebody only wants to browse the web, for example, a Linux box could be built from scraps. At this point in time, even Windows XP would run a lot of what qualifies as scraps (single core Pentiums and AMD systems). It all depends on what you could buy, or salvage from friends/family. I once found a computer dumped by the street, pitched out for trash day. I recycled it for myself, taking all good parts and sticking them in a new $25 case -- worked great! |
So from what I gather so far, the computer will need a wifi router hooked up to it, which it does not right now, it is purely wired to a modem & Ethernet switch. unless the HDTV we get has an Ethernet port.
to prevent having to connect & disconnect the monitor from computer to TV all the time, would I get a VGA splitter? like this? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...x=vga+splitter so both computer monitor & TV could be hooked up at the same time? although I am not sure if this would work since the computer has only integrated graphics. & to connect the TV & computer video cable could I use something like this? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...o+hdmi+adapter would it take care of audio as well? as I thought HDMI carried both video & audio. I thought the single cable vga to HDMI cable would be cleaner as it is just one cable. |
Site design, images and content © 2002-2024 The Digital FAQ, www.digitalFAQ.com
Forum Software by vBulletin · Copyright © 2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.