# CAble connecting computer to TV



## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Hi, Does anyone know where i can find this kind of cord for cheap?

Im also looking to get another gig or so of memory and a tetrabite hd, does anyone know a place that has these for a good price?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

What kind do you need? RCA, S-Video, VGA, or DVI? Those are order from worst to best image quality.

You need to see what the TV and the laptop support. You can buy the cables cheap off the internet or local stores, just avoid the big box stores which tend to over price cables.

You won't find a single desktop drive that big - not yet anyway.

RAM you can buy off the internet, I suggest looking at www.crucial.com


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

> What kind do you need? RCA, S-Video, VGA, or DVI? Those are order from worst to best image quality.


What are the prices of each of those?



> You need to see what the TV and the laptop support. You can buy the cables cheap off the internet or local stores, just avoid the big box stores which tend to over price cables.


How do I find that out.



> You won't find a terabyte drive for a laptop, or even a single desktop that big - not yet anyway.


What do you mean by this., maybe i ment a tetrabyte? i dont know the terminology.



> RAM you can buy off the internet, I suggest looking at www.crucial.com


My model is pcv-rs420, they only have 410, is this ok?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

You have to look at the TV and laptop to see what connections they have in common or look in the manuals.

Do you want an internal hard drive, to replace the current drive or as a second drive, or an external drive.

If Crucial doesn't list your model then try another retailer: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&c...l&hs=XZC&q=pcv-rs420+memory&btnG=Search&meta=


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I have a westinghouse 32' lcd tv, it looks like it has a hook up where the moniter plug would go.

And an external hd

http://www.edgetechcorp.com/store/productdetails.aspx?product_id=5976

http://www.datamem.com/parts_that_fit_list.asp_Q_M_E_VAIO+PCV-RS420_A_MF_E_Sony_A_C_E_

Man I gotta find a better price then that somewhere..

See what im planning to do is basically make my computer my dvd player, and any music videos or whatever i dload ill just play from there instead of burning it on a dvd.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

You can get PC2700 or PC3200 Memory at other locations such as: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...CodeValue=524:7860&PropertyCodeValue=524:7862
They just won't guarantee that will work properly with your system, it most likely will.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Here's an external 1TB drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136061

And many others: http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=414&name=External-Hard-Drives

Or you could go internal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Subcategory=14&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=
750Gb is the biggest.

Or you could take an internal drive and put it into an external box: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Subcategory=92&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

And a male to male VGA cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812105805


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Triple6 said:


> Here's an external 1TB drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136061
> 
> And many others: http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=414&name=External-Hard-Drives
> 
> ...


First off, thanks for all your help man.

2nd, Which out of all those options do u recommend.



> And a male to male VGA cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812105805


That looks great, I think im gonna go with the 25 ft one though, I dont think 10 will be long enough


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Well the WD 1TB drive is fully assembled, ready to use, and gives you the 1TB you were looking for.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Triple6 said:


> You can get PC2700 or PC3200 Memory at other locations such as: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...CodeValue=524:7860&PropertyCodeValue=524:7862
> They just won't guarantee that will work properly with your system, it most likely will.


What are the odds this would work on my system>


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

There's always a chance it may not work, thats why sometimes paying extra from a retailer that tests the memory is a better choice.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

So if the memory is faulty I cant return it?


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...or+Cable&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

Would one of those cords been better quality wise?>


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

If its faulty you can return it, if its incompatible you can return it too - but you may have to pay shipping and restocking fees.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

DVI would provide better quality but you would need the TV and the laptop to have DVI(or HDMI and use a DVI to HDMI convertor).


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Well Can I put the dvi from the computer to a vga hook up?>


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

No, its a different connector and even with a converter the image quality will be what VGA(DB-15) can deliver. DVI is digital and thats why its better, VGA/DB-15 is analog.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...in+Male+TO+HD15+VGA+Female+Connector+-+Retail

wouldnt that allow me to connect the dvi cable from the comp to the tv?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Yes, but you won't improve the picture quality by using a converter.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Why does that screw up the picture quality?


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## kenleekenlee (Jan 2, 2007)

It won't screw it up, it just won't look any better. There are plenty of threads and websites that describe multiple ways to hook up not only the video, which has been discussed here, but also the audio (you _do_ want audio, right?). A quick search of the forums "computer television" gives a few good threads to browse. As Triple6 said earlier, the easiest way to find out _exactly_ what cables you need is to

a) look at the back of your computer and see if there are any ports that look like these: http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2002q4/radeon-9500pro/r9500-ports.jpg

and

b) look at the back of your television to see if there are any matching ports.

The audio will be a bit different, and a bit more standard. You'll need a minijack to RCA adapter like: http://www.radioshack.com/sm-8-ft-m...rca-audio-interconnect-cable--pi-2110460.html

Small end goes to the headphone/speaker port on your computer, and the other two go to the TV inputs.

Good Luck.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

> a) look at the back of your computer and see if there are any ports that look like these: http://www.techreport.com/reviews/20...9500-ports.jpg


I have one of those. on my comp, but only a vga on the tv

As for the dvi cord and the vga, is there really a noticable dip in quality between these 2 types of cords?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

So the laptop has the white DVI connector but the TV only has the blue DB-15 connector?

Whats the exact model of the TV?

DVI usually produces crisper images, especially as the screen size of the TV/monitor increases.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I dont have a laptop I have a desktop

tv model is http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=52


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

According to those specs the TV has HDMI, so you can go digital with one of these cables or converters: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...escription=dvi+to+hdmi&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

and that wont ruin the quality?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

No, because HDMI and DVI, unlike the VGA/DB-15 connection, are both digital. HDMI is an improved version of digital connections like DVI.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Ill have to refuse my order then, i ordered the vga one.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Do I still need the audio cable if i have a hdmi?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Yes, because the DVI connection on the computer doesn't output audio.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

would this cable be fine?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812105826


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Should be very good, gold plated and all. However Newegg has DVI to HDMI cables for less then 1/2 that price that'll probably work just as well.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

which one?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9&Subcategory=1&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812337022 ?

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812337020 ?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Well they're better price so yes its likely a better buy.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

We have a problem, the memory worked fine, the cable worked fine, but when i go to play a video, the reason i got the cord in the first place, the frame of windows media player comes up, but no picture.


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## RootbeaR (Dec 9, 2006)

The Good Guy said:


> We have a problem, the memory worked fine, the cable worked fine, but when i go to play a video, the reason i got the cord in the first place, the frame of windows media player comes up, but no picture.


Do you have a DVD player on your computer?


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

What do you mean? I got windows media player, vlc, rp, and neros player.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Does it show the video on the computer's monitor?


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Yes it does.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

How do you have the TV output setup? Is it clone of the desktop or is the desktop extended?

Are you using the latest drivers for the video card?


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I dont know what u mean by clone or extended, i just hooked the cable up the the respective parts and switched my tv to hdmi, as far as I know im updated.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Ok, I got it to work by fiddling with the ati options, i dont know how, i just did, also, i cant get the sound to work now lol/


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

got the audio to work


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

The ATI Catalyst Control Panel has many options for setting up the display modes, you can set it up to show the exact same thing on both screens or have on desktop stretched across both screens. It also have several settings for image quality that apply to gaming and video playback. Latest version is Catalyst 7.1.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I got 6.10, i checked windows update and they didnt have anything.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Avoid getting drivers from Windows Update unless you have no other choice.

The best place to get drivers is from the manufacturer's website, in this case that'd be ATI. ATI releases a driver each month with fixes and improvements.

http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/radeonx-xp.html


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I ment to ask you, can a 720p moniter handle 1080p?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

No, the signal would be scaled down to whatever the TV can handle. There's very few 1080p sets out, most are 720p or 1080i, and that matches most of the current HDTV signals.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Hey, everything is working fine, but every now and then the movie rolls up, is there a way to stop this? Like a ripple and then it goes away.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Not sure about that. Could be a refresh rate setting in the driver.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Hey, how many gigs is a hd movie? just the movie, and how many is the whole dvd


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

HD-DVD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD
Blue-Ray DVD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc

The size of the movie will depend on the length of the movie.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Triple6 said:


> Not sure about that. Could be a refresh rate setting in the driver.


Did you ever figure this out? I upped the refresh rate to the highest and it still does it.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Have you updated to the latest driver?

It could be a number of things, it could even be the TV.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

i updated the driver.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

I don't know what it could be, you could try calling/contacting the TV manufacturer to see if they have any suggestions for setting changes while its connected to a computer.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Does this happen to you, or do u not hook ur tv up 2 ur comp?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

I do occasionally connect it to my TV, using a DVI to HDMI cable and I also have an ATI Radeon video card, but I've never had that happen.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Could it be the cable?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

There's a chance, but generally they work or they don't.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

then u think its the graphics card?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

It could be, but I'd lean toward the TV actually. 

But it could be the video card, the driver, or even a glitch in the video player. What video player are you using, or does this also happen when you're doing other things as well? ATI releases a driver each month, Catalyst 7.3 should be out anything now - each driver release generally has at least one TV output fix.

Oh, and whats the resolution and refresh you have it set at now?


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Im using vlc media player.

resolution: 1920x1080

refresh: 30hz


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Try a different player, like WMP 11.

Does 1920 x 1080 @ 60hz work on your TV?

As always Cat 7.2, February's driver, does address some HDTV issues but not yours specifically, but it may help: https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/Catalyst_72_release_notes.html


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

That link doesnt work.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Try this one: http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I DLOADED both of the drivers available for the 9600 series, i installed 1 of them and my desktop became invisible,. i had to reboot in safe mode and uninstall all of the ati software


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Man my desktop is all screwed up now, i need hellp


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Now whenver i view a vid file vlc goes to full screen and i cant access anything, cant minimize cant do anythinh.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Sounds like the drivers still didn't install correctly.

Go to Add/Remove Programs and uninstall all the ATI software, only reboot once they are all uninstalled.

Then use DriverCleaner to remove any and all ATI drivers and files: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/Driver-Cleaner-Professional.shtml

Then reboot and reinstall the drivers.

And there's also System Restore if that doesn't work.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I ficed the problem, i reverted back to a time when my comp was functioning ok.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Im also still having that problem with the rolling picture.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Sorry, I don't know what else you can try.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

DO you have any idea why whenever i view a folder containing episodes of tv shows that windows has an error and has to close?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

A Codec issue I would think. But you do realize we do not assist with material we deem possibly illegal.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

WHats illegal with ripping tv shows from vhs tapes and viewing them on your computer?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Many people download episodes from the internet and thats illegal. I don't even really know what is and isn't illegal lately, it use to be fine to tape stuff, now its very unclear but for now I believe its still legal as long as you don't share or sell it. 

This is where splitting up files into various folders is handy, it can show you if its with specific files, in which case it might be with the CODEC used. Codec packs are bad for causing issues like this, so if you have any installed remove them.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Why do they cause problems?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Because they install way too many CODECS, some are old, some conflict with each other, and many are never need. And the way they distrubute the CODECS are not always legal. In the end they cause more problems then anything.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

i GUESS i dont have any codecs installed, I have in the past.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Note that ATI has released new drivers: http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/radeonx-xp.html


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

last time i dloaded an update my system go completely screwed uo,


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Well that shouldn't happen, if its does its usually a sign that there's something wrong with the system/Windows.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Ok, i just updated to vista, does that change what i need to dload, cuz it says ati has compatibility issues.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

There are compatibility issues with a lot of drivers and hardware.

You should install the Catalyst 7.3 software as it fixes many of them and adds the Catalyst Control Center.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I have noticed quite a bit of quality loss recently. Ill put a dvd into my computers drive and play it from there, the quality is considerably worse. Is this a setting problem or is it my graphics card?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

There are some settings for video playback when you open up the ATI Catalyst Control Center, near the bottom I believe.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

I am playing a blu ray back up from my computer to my lcd tv and the quality is considerably better on my small monitor, why is this? Why cant I get the quality to be the same? I should be able to correcty?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Whats the resolution the TV output is set too? It might be lower then that of the monitor, plus being smaller the image will look better on a smaller monitor then on a big screen.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Triple6 said:


> Whats the resolution the TV output is set too? It might be lower then that of the monitor, plus being smaller the image will look better on a smaller monitor then on a big screen.


Ok, I have a new problem. I just got a new comp, w a ati radeon xpress 1250 graphics card. On the back of the comp it doesnt have a slot for the dvi end of the cord I used for my other comp; however, the monitor does. The graphics card doesnt recognize my hd tv like my other comp did, what do I do?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

It sounds like it has integrated graphics and only a few systems include DVI in such cases. If you want DVI you'll need to purchase a separate PCI-Express video card with one or two DVI connections on it.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

My computer has a hdmi port in the back, would that work?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Yup, you'd just need the correct HDMI cable to connect to the TV's digital input.


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## The Good Guy (Jul 19, 2005)

Triple6 said:


> Yup, you'd just need the correct HDMI cable to connect to the TV's digital input.


Can u link me to a cheap one?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=HDMI Cable&bop=And&Order=PRICE

They have HDMI to HDMI cables and HDMI to DVI cables, whichever you need.


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