Connecting laptop to PC... what screen resolution?

Fistycuffs

I want to connect my laptop to my new TV via VGA . A new one for me!

In the TV manual it says you need to change the laptop screen resolution to do this. I'm not sure which resolution I am aiming for though as there is a long list

I think it may be one of the first two but my laptop does not seem to display any option to use these resolutions.
What should I do ?

My TV is a HD ready Samsung and my laptop is a Dell Vostro using XP.

Any help would be much appreciated

This is the list of screen resolutions :

ricman

Set 720x576 ie dvd movie,res,or 1024x768,resolution
ie whatever you find nice to look at ,set pc refresh rate to 60mhz.YOU can set icons to large,set a large font size for webbrowsing,use vesa dmt modes.is that list from the tv manual,my samsung tv,has only 3 vga modes ,resolution s in the manual for vga in to tv.

Capt'n Midnight

the manual says optimal resolution 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz
so try that if your laptop will allow it will be the most crisp one

usually the laptop will detect the screen's recommended settings, when you press the keys to allow external display

Fistycuffs

Ah ok that's good. I thought that I might damage the tv if I set wrong settings considering these were the recommended ones. That was the main worry.Thanks to you both.
If anyone else has anything to add too let me know:)

ricman

I use 720x576 for dvds, 1024x768 for games on my samsung hdtv .Otherwise the text is too small for me to read for menus etc, make sure pc/Laptop refresh rate is 60mhx max, otherwise you could damage the tv tube.UNLESS you are watching blueray or hd movie,i see no point in using a higher resolution.

Voodu Child

You ideally want to use the native res of the panel.

Any more and the TV will have to downscale the image, potentially introducing artifacts. Also, if you have your laptop on 1080p whereas the TV is only 720p native, then you are needlessly putting your graphics card under a higher load.

However you havent given any information regarding your TVs native res. The fact that you say 'HD ready' suggests it is lower than 1920x1080, but then again you may be using the term incorrectly.

Capt'n Midnight

The list is from the TV

Fistycuffs

Thanks for the answers everyone. I probably am not using the term HD correctly... I'm only going by what it says on the box as regards that. On pixmania it gives the resolution as 1366 x 768

I will have a cable that works tomorrow and I'm looking forward to giving it a try now I know I wont do damage. Will report back.
Thanks again everyone.

ricman

FOR pc to hdtv use its best to set pc refresh rate to 60mhz,thats important to avoid damaging the tv.

Capt'n Midnight

60 Hz - after Heinrich Hertz
ie. the refresh rate is 60 frames a second


60 mHz means one screen refresh every 4 hours 37 minutes

computer monitors have been multisynch and have had input filters for a long time, on modern monitors you usually just see an "out of range" message on the screen if the device can't handle it. The days when Bulgarian virus writers or overdriving video cards could make your monitor go 'pop!' are long gone.

Bruthal

Fistycuffs wrote: »

I want to connect my laptop to my new TV via VGA . A new one for me!

In the TV manual it says you need to change the laptop screen resolution to do this. I'm not sure which resolution I am aiming for though as there is a long list

I think it may be one of the first two but my laptop does not seem to display any option to use these resolutions.
What should I do ?

My TV is a HD ready Samsung and my laptop is a Dell Vostro using XP.

Any help would be much appreciated

This is the list of screen resolutions :

I have wired in 2 cat 5 cables between 2 vga sockets, one cat 5 is for audio, the other for picture, to have pc to tv. I set the pc output to 1280 x 720 for a perfect picture. Refresh rate 60hz. The tv is 1280 x 720 resolution but your one should work at any settings from 1920 x 1080 down. The higher your pc will go the better.

ricman

My hdtv manual says for pc input DO NOT use refresh rate over 60, 60mhz max for pc use.I know many pc monitors have 60/75 hertz refresh rates printed label on the case.
MY opinion is 1024x768 is ok for most pc tv use, unless you are going to be watching hdfilms or blue ray dvds.

Bruthal

ricman wrote: »

My hdtv manual says for pc input DO NOT use refresh rate over 60, 60mhz max for pc use.I know many pc monitors have 60/75 hertz refresh rates printed label on the case.
MY opinion is 1024x768 is ok for most pc tv use, unless you are going to be watching hdfilms or blue ray dvds.

Actually yes 1024 x 768 is what i use it at, with 60hz. The tv is 1280 x 720. Perfect sharp picture for pc use, and films

ricman

my hdtv has only 4 recommended resolutions for pc inputs for vga pc use ,by the way 720x576 is the standard dvd movie resolution .i use that for pc film s on the tv.

Bruthal

ricman wrote: »

my hdtv has only 4 recommended resolutions for pc inputs for vga pc use ,by the way 720x576 is the standard dvd movie resolution .i use that for pc film s on the tv.

Well i just use vlc media player and leave the pc resolution at the 1024 x 768. The VLC player plays it perfectly full screen. Its best media player i have used anyway.

Fistycuffs

Just to say thank you to everyone who replied. I tried it out today and it was fantastic... no more encoding and burning to discs!
I found 1024x768 was fine for watching an avi and for watching streaming content. All the help was much appreciated .:)