Video Out

Re: legit downloads

Used to use the video out of my pc to play dvd's on my TV. Didn't have a DVD player at the time.

But the best solution if you want to play various formats DVD/SVCD/VCD/DIVX/XVID/MP3 and just about any format you can think of is to get a XBOX and have it chipped and use one of the freely available media players.

You can either play the files from CDR/DVDR, or connect the XBOX to the PC using its built in ethernet port and copy the files to the harddisk of the XBOX or even stream them from your pc.

Re: legit downloads

yeah I prefer my PC - I've got really nice 18'' TFT monitor - just rotate it and watch from my bed if necessary.

Edit:

> A USB to scart would be ideal.

and you plan to copy DivX file into USB port using your mad linux skills? :lol

Re: legit downloads

> I would use it to watch downloaded movies. Legit ones obviously.

I'm not aware of any legit movie downloads. There are plenty of ways to get hookey movies though.

I think AtX just watches stuff on his PC but I prefer to use a TV. I'm using a mini-itx box now - I used to cut svcd's but direct play from PC througfh TV out gives better quality.

Firewire is good for DVIN as you don't need any extra hardware.

re

I would use it to watch downloaded movies. Legit ones obviously. I'm currently looking at using JMF (Java Media Framework) to broadcast stuff as well. I am looking at the best way to stream video and audio in and out of a PC without using static files. The best I can see is firewire in and TVOut via a graphics card.

Re: re

PS2 is effectively a DVD player - optical digital sound and rgb out - ie the best quality for both. In the world of the PC those usually equate to higher cost.

There may be usb devices around - I'd guess at the need for USB2 for decent quality video - Hauppage do usb tv devices but I doubt that the video quality is up to much.

What do you want to watch on the tv? - if you are thinking of using it as a monitor forget it - the resolutiuon is dire

re

ok cheers. i can just use the pc speakers for sound if necessary. ideally i would want the sort of thing that a PS2 has. A USB to scart would be ideal. (I hear AtW in the background - "look on Google").

Most TV's can take composite video.
Many can take s-video (sometimes called s-vhs).
Many can do RGB too (this is best quality - dvd players and digital set-top boxes usually support it but I think it's unusual for PC's to do it - I may be wrong on that though and no doubt some graphics cards will do it)
These can all go in through dedicated input sockets or scart (provided TV supports them obviously).
I've never heard of a TV that has firewire, USB, or ethernet ports. There may be stand-alone devices around to do conversions.

Most modern laptops and many desktop graphics cards have some sort of TV out but not all - you have to check the specs.

You also need to consider audio.
Most TV's can take analogue stereo (phono and/or scart i/p)
Some can take digital audio (spdif) - either optical or coax.

Most laptops/desktops can o/p analogue audio
Some can do spdif - usually on coax rather than optical.
If you want proper 5.1 surround you need spdif - you can get dolby surround from analogue stereo.

So...
You need to know what your TV can take
If it will do digital audio you need to decide if it is important enough to you to insist on that from the PC

Do new PCs come with "Video Out" (phono) as standard? I have a laptop that has a phono port that can plug straight into the TV but I am buying a new PC. Can you pump video through USB/Firewire to the TV instead?