turn my tv into a basic pc?

cojomo2

Hi,

At the mo, I only have a netbook.

I also have a 42 inch tv, and what I'm looking to to is to find out the cheapest possible way to be able to browse the internet on my tv, as well as play movies/music.

I know lidl/aldi sold a net top box there a while back, is the the best way to go?

If I have a spare old netbook, can I hook this up to the tv ?If so, what cable do I need?Or is the net top box the way to go?

Thanks.

wolfric

depends on the tv. Mine just so happens to have a vga connection on the back with a normal audio jack for pc. Most probably wont though

Don't think of it like turning your tv into a pc. Think of it like a monitor. You might need cable to link up the wiring but it's just a monitor. The computer part doesn't change whether you're looking at it on a 17" or a tv that's the whole size of the wall.

cojomo2

wolfric wrote: »

depends on the tv. Mine just so happens to have a vga connection on the back with a normal audio jack for pc. Most probably wont though

Don't think of it like turning your tv into a pc. Think of it like a monitor. You might need cable to link up the wiring but it's just a monitor. The computer part doesn't change whether you're looking at it on a 17" or a tv that's the whole size of the wall.

Yep I get ya, I just want to be able to browse the web etc on a big screen.

My tv is not HD, does not have a vga connection, but does have a DVI connevtion, so what are my options?

Thanks

wolfric

get a computer with dvi output. Get a tv with vga input.

cojomo2

wolfric wrote: »

get a computer with dvi output. Get a tv with vga input.

so am I correct in saying if I get this:
http://www.targa.co.uk/index.jsp?SID=0&NAV=236&DOC=&PAGE=&PCAT=2&PROD=477&PTUBE=10&PARAMS=&PARAMS2=&SPCAREA=

I can connect that to my tv, and surf web, watch videos etc in full 42'' with full sound etc?

Thanks again

thenightrider

does your laptop have s video or any other output you can get s video to scart lead etc thats what i used to do back in the day for watching moves on my tv

cojomo2

thenightrider wrote: »

does your laptop have s video or any other output you can get s video to scart lead etc thats what i used to do back in the day for watching moves on my tv

my current netbook only has vga output..and my tv doesnt have vga input, so I think I'm screwed

Tv only has scart and DVI inputs

thenightrider

if your tv has dvi you are fine just get one of these http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Adapter_DVI_to_VGA.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adapter_DVI_to_VGA.jpg&usg=__fVX5lX0XSnz7FIPS0BgEzEISNYo=&h=914&w=1600&sz=205&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=yIY3A5CT5jiILM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddvi%2Bto%2Bvga%2Badapter%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3D4xG%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 sorry about the long link and a vga lead

cojomo2

thenightrider wrote: »

if your tv has dvi you are fine just get one of these http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Adapter_DVI_to_VGA.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adapter_DVI_to_VGA.jpg&usg=__fVX5lX0XSnz7FIPS0BgEzEISNYo=&h=914&w=1600&sz=205&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=yIY3A5CT5jiILM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddvi%2Bto%2Bvga%2Badapter%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3D4xG%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 sorry about the long link and a vga lead

Ah cheers man, great help....
so all I need to do is get that, plus a vga male to male cable..will sound work also?

Thanks again.

thenightrider

No sound go's trough vga is there a sound input on your tv ?

samhail

i was considering one of those targa type systems. lidl or aldi had a cheap enough one a week or two ago.
Looks very interesting.

but probably easier to output your existing PC to the tv.

cojomo2

thenightrider wrote: »

No sound go's trough vga is there a sound input on your tv ?

hmm not sure, Ill have a look when I get home from work...As far as I can remember, the only slots are dvi, scart, and also at the side there is there red,white and yellow holes...so thats probably not much good eh?

Thanks for taking the time to help.:)

samhail

the sound would go into either the red/white/yellow composite connections or the skart.
you can get a 3.5mm and plug it into your sound card (audio out) and use something like this
http://www.amazon.com/S-Video-3-5mm-Audio-Composite-Cable/dp/B0018CQRLK

If you had an s-video output on your graphics card it would make it alot easer, but i think you would need a special card

cojomo2

samhail wrote: »

the sound would go into either the red/white/yellow composite connections or the skart.
you can get a 3.5mm and plug it into your sound card (audio out) and use something like this
http://www.amazon.com/S-Video-3-5mm-Audio-Composite-Cable/dp/B0018CQRLK

If you had an s-video output on your graphics card it would make it alot easer, but i think you would need a special card

the only connection I have on my netbook is vga,ethernet, usb and mic/speakers, thats it!

cojomo2

samhail wrote: »

the sound would go into either the red/white/yellow composite connections or the skart.
you can get a 3.5mm and plug it into your sound card (audio out) and use something like this
http://www.amazon.com/S-Video-3-5mm-Audio-Composite-Cable/dp/B0018CQRLK

If you had an s-video output on your graphics card it would make it alot easer, but i think you would need a special card

sorry Im not great with this stuff, so if I get that cable, hook up the yellow/red.white(which ever is audio)to the tv, and then connect the 3.5mm to the headphones jack on the netbook?
Thanks

samhail

for the sound yes.
If you go into maplins, and you can get the cable with the 3.5mm connector on one end and just the red and white for sound on the other.
Thats all you need since you will be plugging it into the headphones jack.

follow instructions above for video aswell

cojomo2

Ok,
I have settled on this net top box:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167153

If you /anyone could answer the following before I buy I would be grateful:)

-Can this be easily hooked up to a 42' plasma tv,(with appropriate extra cables) and will it utilise the full screen?

-Good value?

Thanks

cojomo2

anyone?

Alanstrainor

cojomo2 wrote: »

Ok,
I have settled on this net top box:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167153

If you /anyone could answer the following before I buy I would be grateful:)

-Can this be easily hooked up to a 42' plasma tv,(with appropriate extra cables) and will it utilise the full screen?

-Good value?

Thanks

Yeah it's a good deal alright, it has a HDMI output and can handle 1080p video, so it should be fine for your tv. It'll handle web browsing and all the basics without any problems. It doesn't have a dvd/cd drive though.

cojomo2

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Yeah it's a good deal alright, it has a HDMI output and can handle 1080p video, so it should be fine for your tv. It'll handle web browsing and all the basics without any problems. It doesn't have a dvd/cd drive though.

Thanks for the reply.

As I'm not very tech savy, If you know your stuff and it's not much bother, could you let me know what cable I need to order with this in order to hook it up to my tv?

I'm thinking is a cable with a hdmi male connection(to plug into the pc) at one end, and a dvi male connection(to plug into tv) at the other end? I'm guessing that cable only covers video, and not audio yeah?

http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j00DvMTQnOslgqJM/HDMI-TO-DVI-Cable-for-PS3-045-Video-Game-Accessories-.jpg

If so, for audio, this http://http://www.amazon.com/S-Video-3-5mm-Audio-Composite-Cable/dp/B0018CQRLK (as the previous poster suggested)

Alanstrainor

The HDMI to DVI cable should be fine to handle the video, the other connection won't be of any use with that particular pc, does your TV have a 3.5 mm line-in? If it does, then then something like This, would be fine for connecting the audio.

cojomo2

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The HDMI to DVI cable should be fine to handle the video, the other connection won't be of any use with that particular pc, does your TV have a 3.5 mm line-in? If it does, then then something like This, would be fine for connecting the audio.

well, beside the DVI connection on the tv, there is a small 3.5mm conection that is marked 'Audio'...if headphones are plugged in here, nothing happens, so is it safe to assume that this is a 3.5mm line in?

There is also another 3.5mm jack on the side of the tc, with a pic of headphones beside it, when headphones are plugged in here, sound can be heard through both the headphones and the tv, but if the tv is muted, sound still come through the headphones.

Thanks

Alanstrainor

cojomo2 wrote: »

well, beside the DVI connection on the tv, there is a small 3.5mm conection that is marked 'Audio'...if headphones are plugged in here, nothing happens, so is it safe to assume that this is a 3.5mm line in?

There is also another 3.5mm jack on the side of the tc, with a pic of headphones beside it, when headphones are plugged in here, sound can be heard through both the headphones and the tv, but if the tv is muted, sound still come through the headphones.

Thanks

I would say the "Audio" jack is the line-in, if no audio comes out of it, and it's positioned at the back the tv, then everything seems to point to it being a line-in. A quick look at the manual for the tv would confirm this.

cojomo2

Cheers Alan, thanks for the help;)

cojomo2

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I would say the "Audio" jack is the line-in, if no audio comes out of it, and it's positioned at the back the tv, then everything seems to point to it being a line-in. A quick look at the manual for the tv would confirm this.

hey, I have no manual, but i tried to test it by connecting my iphone to the audio jack with 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack..i went to the ipod function on the iphone and played some music but nothing came out of the tv speakers ,I tried it on channel 0, ext 1, ext 2 etc...

however, the audio jack is right next to the DVI jack, and both are surrounded buy a little rectangular printed box...

Is it possible/likely that this audio jack will fail to work unless there is also something hooked up to the DVI jack, i.e they are designed to work together only?

Thanks again.

Snowbat

It's possible but seems unlikely. Did you turn up the volume on the iphone? Headphone outputs need to be near maximum volume to give sufficient drive to a line-in, in my experience.

What's the model number of the tv? There might be a manual online somewhere.

cojomo2

Snowbat wrote: »

It's possible but seems unlikely. Did you turn up the volume on the iphone? Headphone outputs need to be near maximum volume to give sufficient drive to a line-in, in my experience.

What's the model number of the tv? There might be a manual online somewhere.

Just tried it again on full volume-nothing.. Once the iPhone ( with iPod playing) is connected to the tv, what channel do I go to in order to hear the music? I tried ext 1, ext 2 and AV..nothing ..

Its a philips 42 inch plasma, 3 yrs old.. Can't see a model no on the front and as it's mounted on the wall can really check the back...

Any help appreciated, cheers.

gamer

I DONT like netbooks ,for 250 on adverts ie you,d get a laptop 2.oghz 2gig ram intel dual core cpu with dvi or vga out, and a dvdrw drive.SEE HERE
http://images.google.ie/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=philips+plasma+tv+uk+43+inch&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&a IF you can see your tv go to philips europe website support plasma tvs download the manual,or google uk philips model xx manual when you have the model no.Most tvs sold here are also sold in the uk.
RE sound a simple 3.5mm to rca red white cable is all you need ,get in maplins or peats 4euro approx,or in atlantic hardware shop.
OF course a 1ghz netbook maybe alot more reliable than a dual core laptop.
And much quieter too.The netbooks i,ve used have been totally silent,no loud fans needed.

Alanstrainor

gamer wrote: »

I DONT like netbooks ,for 250 on adverts ie you,d get a laptop 2.oghz 2gig ram intel dual core cpu with dvi or vga out, and a dvdrw drive.SEE HERE
http://images.google.ie/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=philips+plasma+tv+uk+43+inch&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&a IF you can see your tv go to philips europe website support plasma tvs download the manual,or google uk philips model xx manual when you have the model no.Most tvs sold here are also sold in the uk.
RE sound a simple 3.5mm to rca red white cable is all you need ,get in maplins or peats 4euro approx,or in atlantic hardware shop.
OF course a 1ghz netbook maybe alot more reliable than a dual core laptop.
And much quieter too.The netbooks i,ve used have been totally silent,no loud fans needed.

Even laptops with Dual core processors and 2Gb of RAM etc will struggle to play high resolution content, they need graphics acceleration to do this effectively. The nettop linked above has the nvidia ION graphics which is specifically designed to play HD content. I'd go with the nettop tbh.

Snowbat

cojomo2 wrote: »

Just tried it again on full volume-nothing.. Once the iPhone ( with iPod playing) is connected to the tv, what channel do I go to in order to hear the music? I tried ext 1, ext 2 and AV..nothing ..

Its a philips 42 inch plasma, 3 yrs old.. Can't see a model no on the front and as it's mounted on the wall can really check the back...

The 42PF5520D from 2005 has DVI in with adjacent 3.5mm DVI in audio socket, probably similar to yours if not the right model:


The manual (9.31 MB PDF) says

Choosing PC mode
1 Press the AV key on the remote control to display the Source List.
2 Use the up/down keys to select PC and then press the cursor right key to switch the TV to PC mode (DVI In).
To return to TV mode, press the AV key, select TV and validate with the cursor right key.

So the DVI input is called "PC" on this model's menu. You wouldn't have heard audio from your iphone unless you selected the "PC" input on the Source List.

The manual also mentions you can hook up VGA to the DVI input using a VGA-DVI adaptor.

cojomo2

thanks so much for everyones help..

I have made a slight bit of progress...at the bottom of the remote there is a button with a square on it, when I press this it brings up a menu 'Input', and then lists some options such as tv, ext1,ext2,pc,hd etc..

So I pick 'pc' and the screen goes black and 'pc' is shown in the top left corner.. I then try to connect my iphone with ipod paying..I do this using the 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack connecting the iphone to the 3.5mm 'Audio' jack that is right next to the dvi socket. However nothing happens and the screen displays 'no input'..

I don't have a dvi cable at the mo so cant test this..I'm sure it works fine but before I buy the net top box I want to be sure I will be able to receive audio when hooking the netbox to the tv..

So I'm guessing the problem has to be 1 of the following:

1: My 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable is broken(very unlikely)

2. The 3.5mm 'audio' jack beside the dvi socket is not actually a line in(unlikely)

3.The audio jack and the dvi socket are designed to work in conjunction with each other, so untill a pc is connected via the dvi socket, the audio jack will remain on standby? I'm guessing this is most likely?

4. The audio jack is broken, unlikely.

Anyone else agree?