RGB conversion headache

[quik]

I'm hoping someone can help me out with a problem i'm having.

I've got a 19" LCD panel which only has a DB15 (Standard RGB/VGA connector) to which I would like to connect various other video sources such as Composite, S-Video, Component etc. (What else is there?) for connecting DVD players, cameras etc. directly to the panel (IE without using a PC).

I've been goolgling and searching for a device to do this which has only lead to headaches and some serious confusion in some of the forums i've read, as most of them deal with converting only component to RGB.

I'm pretty sure it's going to require more than just some sort of cable, probably some kind of converter, although I might be wrong.

 

[nocilah]

quik, if u'r close to woodmead there is a place there called zaq's. they pretty much can do anything with wires n plugs. they might have an idea of what you need. but i am sure you get an s-video into monitor jack.

 

[quik]

Would that be possible, are the signal standards used the same?

And what if I wanted a single device capable of converting all the different connector types?

 

[arf9999]

I'm hoping someone can help me out with a problem i'm having.

I've got a 19" LCD panel which only has a DB15 (Standard RGB/VGA connector) to which I would like to connect various other video sources such as Composite, S-Video, Component etc. (What else is there?) for connecting DVD players, cameras etc. directly to the panel (IE without using a PC).

I've been goolgling and searching for a device to do this which has only lead to headaches and some serious confusion in some of the forums i've read, as most of them deal with converting only component to RGB.

I'm pretty sure it's going to require more than just some sort of cable, probably some kind of converter, although I might be wrong.

It is unlikely that you are going to get a cheap solution for this. The monitor you have is a non-interlaced RGB monitor with a limited scan rate. (I'm guessing 60Hz-90Hz). Normal video components use PAL or NTSC systems which are interlaced, and in the case of PAL - the system used in SA - have a scan rate out of your range (50Hz).

You can google for "Scan Converters", but I would suggest a TV card for your PC is pro'lly a cheaper solution. Or you can get one of these (or similar).

 

[swordfish1]

converting from s-video, composite etc to DB15 is far from easy. All other formats are some sort of composite formats, while DB15 is plain RGB, so some electronics is needed to process the signal and split it into RGB. I am sure there must be some sort of device that do that, but how easy is to find it is a whole different story, and as arf9999 suggested it will be far from cheap.

I have seen LCD displays that do have composite inputs, but they are quite rare. So I am not sure what do you need this for, but I would rather look for a different setup that doesn't require such special connections

 

[werner]

you cant do this without spending $$$$
the signals you want to put into the monitor ALL dont comply with the vga standard, so, unfortunately, electronics need to get involved.

as above, a pc with a tv card will allow you to use the tv cards svideo/composite inputs with the output form the vga card going to your lcd or get one of these
http://www.macrovideo.co.za/additional.html
the cheesbox thingy. A similar product here costs the equiv. of about R700.

 

[quik]

Thanks guys, this is pretty much what I expected after some extensive googling over the past few days...

What really peeves me is that you guys probably know more than those morons who call themselves "AV Specialists". I went to East Gate today hoping to find some sort of answer but all I ended up with was blank faced shrugs and referrals to other shops. This one idiot even tried convincing me that a standard cable would do the job, after I repeatedly told him that the video standards were not the same.

It is unlikely that you are going to get a cheap solution for this. The monitor you have is a non-interlaced RGB monitor with a limited scan rate. (I'm guessing 60Hz-90Hz). Normal video components use PAL or NTSC systems which are interlaced, and in the case of PAL - the system used in SA - have a scan rate out of your range (50Hz).

You can google for "Scan Converters", but I would suggest a TV card for your PC is pro'lly a cheaper solution. Or you can get one of these (or similar).

Thank you for the input but unfortunately for this project I have to convert those video standards to RGB.

you cant do this without spending $$$$
the signals you want to put into the monitor ALL dont comply with the vga standard, so, unfortunately, electronics need to get involved.

as above, a pc with a tv card will allow you to use the tv cards svideo/composite inputs with the output form the vga card going to your lcd or get one of these
http://www.macrovideo.co.za/additional.html
the cheesbox thingy. A similar product here costs the equiv. of about R700.

That cheesbox thingy seems like it would be perfect for what I want to do... Do you perhaps have more info on it and maybe a local importer?
I would be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks for it.

 

[quik]

ah I see it's a local company...

My mistake as I thought it was an international link

Thanks again for the info

 

[werner]

I dont knwo who brings it in, but you cant do any harm getting hold of macrovideo.co.za..they have a "contact us" button on the bottom left of their site with email+phone numbers.

 

[TivoZA]

What you are looking for is a device known as an "LCD TV Box", prices start at around $60.

I needed a PAL -> NTSC converter and ended up purchasing "Gadget 1" from ThreeDobuleYou. The converter comprised of two units, the first was a "LCD TV BOX" which took composite, s-video, VGA and RF (tuner) as input and had VGA as output. The second unit (which you are not needing) converts the VGA signal back into composite which is what performed the PAL -> NTSC conversion for me. The nice thing about these units is that most of them come with a remote and they allow you to switch between the different inputs, mine even allows picture-in-picture.

The unit I purchased (Gadget 1) cost £120 including shipping, however you do not need the VGA -> NTSC composite part so you may want to look around for just a "LVD TV BOX". Some of the options include:
http://www.techbuys.net/tv-620a.html
http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=1505

Alternatively, if you have a DSTV decoder (not the DSD990) they have Scart input and output connectors on the back. You could then run whatever device you are wanting to connect to your LCD monitor through your DSTV decoder and then using a "Scart to VGA" converter cable run that from your DSTV decoder to your LCD monitor. Note that the advanced options menu on the DSTV decoders allow you to configure your Scart input and output settings. Since this cable is pretty expensive and it would hi-jack your DSTV decoder I would recommend going the "LCD TV BOX" route.

 

[werner]

TivoZa, I cant get the page to load for the scart to vga cable, but if I think it is what i think it is then it wont work whatsoever, decoder or not.

scart is red green blue and composite sync. Vga is red green blue and horizontal sync and vertical sync. You need circuitry to get that working together......

Once you have done that, there is still the problem of the actual sync being out of frequency of your monitor...scart is around 24.9something hz, monitors only start syncing at above 30hz typical.

You *may* have some luck with an old monitor that has the 5 bnc inputs, and can sync on green...but for the tft here you cant just stick a scart cable in one end and a vga plug on the other end and say "taadaa"

 

[TivoZA]

TivoZa, I cant get the page to load for the scart to vga cable, but if I think it is what i think it is then it wont work whatsoever, decoder or not.

scart is red green blue and composite sync. Vga is red green blue and horizontal sync and vertical sync. You need circuitry to get that working together......

Once you have done that, there is still the problem of the actual sync being out of frequency of your monitor...scart is around 24.9something hz, monitors only start syncing at above 30hz typical.

You *may* have some luck with an old monitor that has the 5 bnc inputs, and can sync on green...but for the tft here you cant just stick a scart cable in one end and a vga plug on the other end and say "taadaa"

Not sure why you can't get the page to load it still works fine for me

Yeah, as I said I wouldn't necessarily recommend going the Scart to VGA cable route as I'm sure you may run into problems. The pictured cable looks like it may allow for some electronics inside the Scart side of the adapter so maybe that handles the conversion, at a price of $50 I should expect it to.

My personal preference would definitely be for the "LCD TV Box", since it doesn't put the burden on the DSTV decoder to do the work, it allows 4 inputs and is controllable via the included remote it makes for a really nice option.

 

[quik]

The "LCD TV Box" looks excellent, especially this one

I think I even found the local importer.

Thanks a bunch guys

 

[quik]

TivoZA...

Could you maybe explain to me briefly what TIVO actually is??

 

[TivoZA]

TivoZA...

Could you maybe explain to me briefly what TIVO actually is??

TiVo is the original and still the best PVR. Below is an excerpt from my site:

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A TiVo is basically a digital VCR, instead of recording to video tapes it records to an internal hard drive. Going this route has many benefits such as never needing to remember which tape you recorded last weeks show on, how far into the tape you recorded the show, etc. TiVo list all your recording on a easy to view menu with the name of the show, the details of that episode, the time and date it was on, plus a lot more.