# Connecting pc desktop to sony tv



## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

Hello..... i recently bought a Sony KDL-46W2000 which has a VGA input on the back of it designed for a PC input....i have a dell XPS desktop which has two DVI-I inputs (or outputs, i am not sure what the difference is) for a monitor/screen.... after phoning around i got a VGA to DVI-I cable for my monitor and i already had a VGA cable and suitable adaptor from dell to attatch to the tv.... i connected everything and restarted the computer like windows help and support says to do and the booting up screens appeared on the TV but not the monitor and then when the desktop appeared, it was on the monitor and not the TV..... This, i think, shows that it is not a hardware problem and my computer should be able to give out to outputs otherwise it should not have to outputs..... is there anybody who knows how to get both screens working


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## bama360 (Jul 30, 2008)

try right clicking on your desktop then going into the display settings. you should be able to configure from there. Depending on the size of the tv you will probably have to play around with the resolution to get the best look.Let me know if you have other issues.


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks for the advice.... it has made both of the screens connected.... is it possible to have the one on the TV mimic the one on the Computer?


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## fairnooks (Oct 1, 2007)

Yes, its called cloning and if available it will be in the display control setting somewhere. You'll have to set both screens to a resolution supported by both in order to make that work in clone mode though.


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

Does anybody know why the sony TV will only take a 1024x768 resolution.... i would ideally want the best resolution..... would we need a different cable


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

also does anybody know which sound cable i need to connect the dell and the tv


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

Some additional thoughts: 
I thinks your Sony is of the Bravia series and should have at least one (possibly two) HDMI input(s). If your laptop has DVI output(s), that is(those are) digital. By converting it to VGA you are making it analogue
and connecting it to the VGA input of the Sony (which is of course also analogue) so you get an analogue picture.
First with regard to cloning: check your laptop manual. By holding down the Fn key and pressing an F-key (it's F3 with mine, but varies with the make and could be F4, F5 or whatever) you can toggle between laptop screen and TV screen. With me, 1st press is laptop screen, 2nd press is
laptop and DVI and 3rd is TV only. Now with me the 2nd setting does not work,
I get the start menu on both and even a e.g. video player window, but the video image itself appears only on the laptop (window remains black on TV). This is due to the laptops Video output being digital if it's DVi and that signal doesn't like being split in all appliances without some amplification, which would mean getting some hardware. I use the laptop on the TV only and mostly to watch clips and Videos. If I want to go back to the laptop screen I toggle the Fn and F buttons again.
Now I'd like to suggest a better cable version:
Get a DVI to HDMI cable and an audio cable with minijack (3.5 mm, like you find on headphones) at one end and RCA jacks L/R (white or black and red). DVI goes, of course, into laptop and its HDMI plug into the Sony. HDMI (laptop)to HDMI (Sony) would support sound also but since you have DVI on laptop, that'll only support image. That's why you need the audio cable which you put as minijack into your PC's headphone output and RCA jacks into the TV's audio inputs. Make sure to connect the audio cable into that audio input of your TV that corresponds with the chosen HDMI input. That way, you'll get both sound and image on the AV setting you press (I put mine on AV4, which is both HDMI and linked audio input). It gives you a far better picture, even if the sound remains analogue (which lies in nature of the audio cable).
Turn on the TV, select the AV (externals) and then start laptop. You'll get the laptop screen showing something first, cos' the Sony needs some time to recognize the input, but then it comes on. Don't fiddle with the resolution. Sony knows what it wants and can do. Manual changes will only make things worse. On Sonys menu you can set the screen size (ther are only 2 settings, half and full).


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

Afterthought: When turning the laptop on, SONY will recognize it and siwtch to its optimum resolution on, for instance, AV4 or whatever you choose.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

Sorry, I referred to laptop all the time (that's what I use), it should work with desktop aswell, of course


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## fairnooks (Oct 1, 2007)

Right next to the VGA input there should be a little mini stereo jack so you would most likely need a line with male mini stereo plugs at both ends.

For the resolution you'll need to check the manual to see what resolutions are compatible with the TV. 1024x768 is the standard "get it working" setting but you should be able to go up to 1920x1080. There might be something you have to enable in the settings to allow that though.

Do you have a good graphics card running both screens? Its takes a pretty decent one to drive both at high resolution.


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

I think that the graphics card in the computer is very good but i don't know about the TV.... thanks for all the advice everybody... i will see whether this all works


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

There is a dvi-i socket at the back of my computer.... will a different type of DVI cable (e.g. DVI-D) go into that.... also the restart did help but it still is not a brilliant resolution..... the manual of the sony says not to use the HDMI but when i phoned them they said it would work but they were not sure what resolution... would it work with 1680x1050


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## fairnooks (Oct 1, 2007)

Not too likely 1680x1050 will work. Usually a 1360x720 or 1366x768 (exact specs depend on the monitor) will work.

I also would caution on the HDMI connection method, being sure what resolution is supported first. I get a fantastic 1920x1080 DVI to VGA picture on my 42" 1080P monitor but if I hook it up DVI to HDMI only 1024x768 is supported.

If the native resolution of your other screen is 1680x1050 it probably won't work well in clone mode. Mine is 1680x1050 on the computer monitor and I configure them independently. It takes good display management software and a good graphics card to do that. Do you have a GeForce 8600GT or better or one of the mid-range or better ATI HD cards with at least 256mb of memory? Lesser cards will work but not always with perfect results. I finally went to a 8800GT with 512mb memory and haven't had a problem since.

The only thing that matters on the TV monitor side of things is finding out which connections are compatible with what possible resolutions.


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

The graphics card that i have is also the GeForce 8800GT with 512mb memory... i also have a dvi-vga cable to my computer monitor (Dell 22") which gives me a resolution of 1680x1050. i use a dvi to vga cable for my TV as well which is only giving me 1360x768.... there is a table on the manual which seems to state that the maximum resolution for PC input on VGA is 1360x768 using VGA..... would the DVI to HDMI cable be better?


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

also will a dvi-d fit into a dvi-i socket


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## fairnooks (Oct 1, 2007)

I've read conflicting reports so I can't be of much help in this. Some have said its limited to 1366x768 while some have said they heard 1920x1080 works at least with the XBox. One of the DVI types has a wider blade pin and 4 additional pins around the blade pin and those are not compatible with the other type of socket with just the more narrow blade pin. 

Good luck, it sounds like you have everything hooked up but are just in the process of determining if the firmware will allow certain settings and on which connections they are allowed. I have two Westinghouse monitors, the 42" 1080P only allows 1024x768 DVI to HDMI while the 32" 720P allows full 1:1, 1366x768 resolution from DVI to HDMI. No reason or clue given in the manuals as to why higher resolution is not allowed for the 42".


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## hammydbest (Jul 30, 2008)

Thank you for all your help but i think i am going to just buy the sound cable and keep it like this..... it does not really matter if they are not cloned with the same resolution.... there is no point in buying more cables just to see whether i can get a little higher resolution... anyway, thanks!


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