Connecting PC to CRT TV

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@@GJC@@

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Hi all,

So I want to connect one of my old pc's to my old CRT TV, with an avi connection, to watch movies on and so. What would I need for this, just a graphics card with composite out or a tv tuner card perhaps? At the moment the PC only has onboard graphics. Any help would be appreciated.
 
You will need a graphics card/tv tuner with composite/AV outputs to be able to watch movies on that TV, unless perhaps you've got a DVD player of some sort that can take HDMI input (and hopefully you do have onboard HDMI output) and relay it to the TV.

Personally I won't like to view PC stuff on a CRT due to the very low resolution of that kind of TV. I suppose SD quality series would still be OK on it though.
 
You get RCA to VGA converters but rather go for a gfx card that has an RCA out... I think they're quite rare these days though. A TV tuner card would just allow you to watch TV on your monitor which I assume is the opposite of what you want.

The resolution of Windows is going to be awful so make sure to set that as low as possible to begin with.
 
Watching SD series on the TV would be about the same as watching DSTV with a SD decoder right? Also how much quality will I loose if I use a VGA to AVI converter, if any?
 
Fudzy said:
You get RCA to VGA converters but rather go for a gfx card that has an RCA out... I think they're quite rare these days though. A TV tuner card would just allow you to watch TV on your monitor which I assume is the opposite of what you want.

The resolution of Windows is going to be awful so make sure to set that as low as possible to begin with.
Click to expand...

Just remember that this isn't just a cable adapter- that won't work. This is actually an active electronic device for RCA-VGA conversion
 
Why don't you just buy a cheap media player? You should be able to find something locally that will play almost any format for about ~R400. Take a look at the Sumvision Cyclone from Digital Planet, Takealot, Xtreamer Elvira from Scoop Distribution or order something from Dealextreme for about $30. iSonic usually has cheaper players that will only play avi files etc.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mini-1080p-full-hd-media-player-with-av-yprpb-hdmi-usb-sd-mmc-55119
http://www.kalahari.com/electronics...Multi-Media-Player-Adaptor/4585/41493790.aspx
http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/p-122976-sumvision-cyclone-micro-2.aspx
http://www.scoopdistribution.co.za/index.php?cPath=109&osCsid=aq933a4ibumkj746s1vrkaaa51
 
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@@GJC@@ said:
Also how much quality will I loose if I use a VGA to AVI converter, if any?
Click to expand...
It depends on the A-A (Analog to Analog) converter that you're using. Like the cheap Movie Show one that I'm using at the Church is terrible.
Like it adds a border, shrinks the image and changes its contrast, brightness and sharpness to some extent!
 
Yotch said:
Why don't you just buy a cheap media player? You should be able to find something locally that will play almost any format for about ~R400. Take a look at the Sumvision Cyclone from Digital Planet, Takealot, Xtreamer Elvira from Scoop Distribution or order something from Dealextreme for about $30. iSonic usually has cheaper players that will only play avi files etc.
http://dx.com/mini-1080p-full-hd-media-player-with-av-yprpb-hdmi-usb-sd-mmc-55119
http://www.kalahari.com/electronics...Multi-Media-Player-Adaptor/4585/41493790.aspx
http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/p-122976-sumvision-cyclone-micro-2.aspx


http://www.scoopdistribution.co.za/index.php?cPath=109&osCsid=aq933a4ibumkj746s1vrkaaa51
Click to expand...

That's prob your best bet
 
Used to run an HTPC onto a CRT television before the advent of cheap flat panel TV's. This worked fine from a graphics card with composite or component outputs (the latter obviously depending on the availability of a component input on the TV side). The main problem with the low resolution is the OS user interface, it becomes less usable at 640 x 480. The cheap media player is probably your best bet if it supports your video formats.
 
this might not be an option for you but the way i watch on my old crt tv is via my ps3.. If you got a ps3 it should connect to the old TV's then just download the ps3 media server onto your pc and you are sorted. just another option if the above dont work.
 
I hear what you're saying about getting a cheap media player, but since I already have this old pc lying around and I also plan to use it as a server I would prefer to just get a active adapter. I can't seem too find a price on the esquire website though, am I missing it?
 
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