Having trouble hooking up my laptop to my tv.

ImpossibleDuck

Hey, as the title suggests I'm trying to display my desktop screen on my tv. I was given a VGA to HDMI cable by a friend and assumed (given that this type of cable exists) that this possible, if not pretty simple.

And, if in naïvety, I have have wrongly assumed that a VGA to HDMI cable works, then just say so.

Otherwise, I'd like a little help in troubleshooting.

Not sure what's exactly relevant here but I'll say what I assume will be:
Laptop w/Windows 7 64-bit.
LG 40-odd inch HD tv.
VGA to HDMI cable.

I've hooked it up and I'm getting no response from the TV. I've tried using the tv as a projector and external display (possibly the same thing, I'm not sure :P) to no avail. I assume, when connected, the laptop should show up in some form under one of the input channels on the tv (presumably under HDMI1 which is the port it's connected to), but I'm getting no response.

The only relevant advice I've found is to turn both off, connect them, turn on tv then laptop. But that didn't work.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Socialist_Pig

check and see if the pc shows up on one of the hdmi channels.

also you might have to set the laptop up so that it uses an external monitor .

on my desktop.just right click on a blank part of your screen and select screen resolution and you will see a small box for display...my monitor and my tv shows up in it.Only thing different i have is that I have 2 outputs on my pc,one vga going to the monitor and a hdmi going to the tv.

I select tv and it shows up on my tv.You might have to change resolution for the tv to make it readable

ImpossibleDuck

Socialist_Pig wrote: »

check and see if the pc shows up on one of the hdmi channels.

also you might have to set the laptop up so that it uses an external monitor .

on my desktop.just right click on a blank part of your screen and select screen resolution and you will see a small box for display...my monitor and my tv shows up in it.Only thing different i have is that I have 2 outputs on my pc,one vga going to the monitor and a hdmi going to the tv.

I select tv and it shows up on my tv.You might have to change resolution for the tv to make it readable

It doesn't.

Yeah I've been in that box, and I've messed about with different outputs and resolutions but nothing has worked so far. That box is the only place where I see a hint of recognition that the two things are even connected! I can set it so that the desktop will duplicate, extend or just appear on the tv. None of these settings seems to have any effect however, except for the latter making my pc screen black, which is to be expected.

The PC seems to recognise the TV but not vice-versa.

ImpossibleDuck

Here's my box for an external monitor:

Socialist_Pig

yeah that screen shot is pretty much the same as mine.I just select the tv and a count appears on the tv to accept the resolution etc.

not sure where its going wrong for you,sorry

Generally, a VGA to HDMI cable won't work unless there's an ADC (analogue-digital converter) somewhere in the circuit.

coylemj

Karsini wrote: »

Generally, a VGA to HDMI cable won't work unless there's an ADC (analogue-digital converter) somewhere in the circuit.

+1 The VGA signal is analog, HDMI is digital so a simple cable will not do the conversion, you need a converter which will involve a box of some sorts, probably with a DC power adapter.

People are selling VGA to HDMI cables on eBay, they are complete junk

ImpossibleDuck wrote: »

And, if in naïvety, I have have wrongly assumed that a VGA to HDMI cable works, then just say so.

That was a wrong assumption.

riclad

i bought a vga to hdmi,in radionics shop in dublin,it works fine,IT cost 14euro in 2009.Can you not use vga to vga input.
try 1024x768 resolution ,or 720 resolution.
most tvs have maybe 3 or 4 accceptable resolutions for pc input,my tv only accepts input from pc at 60mhz or 50mhz .
CHANGE the refresh rate to 50 or 60 mhz ,,tvs are not designed for 75mhz input.
http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/c/?sra=oss&searchTerm=hdmi&x=31&y=13
I would not trust a cable bought on ebay for 4 euro.i think i got a hdmi one end vga female other end cable,which goes to a vga cable
plugged into the pc , my hdtv did not have vga input .

Even using hdmi,set pc refresh rate to 60mhz max ,my manual says 75mhz from pc can damage the tv tube,will not display ,samsung 32 hdtv.


NOTE to moderator can we have a sticky on page 1 forum,
how to connect a pc to a hdtv.
this question comes up every 3 weeks.
Maplins is probably cheapest shop to buy reliable high quality vga to
hdmi cables in, i havent checked the price recently though.
JUST about every hdtv now has vga in, try using hdmi 1 or vga input.

ImpossibleDuck

Karsini wrote: »

Generally, a VGA to HDMI cable won't work unless there's an ADC (analogue-digital converter) somewhere in the circuit.

coylemj wrote: »

+1 The VGA signal is analog, HDMI is digital so a simple cable will not do the conversion, you need a converter which will involve a box of some sorts, probably with a DC power adapter.

People are selling VGA to HDMI cables on eBay, they are complete junk



That was a wrong assumption.

Yeah, thought so.

Thanks guys!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained eh?

Would I be safe to assume a VGA to VGA cable would work? I would then need something for the audio though, correct?

coylemj

ImpossibleDuck wrote: »

Would I be safe to assume a VGA to VGA cable would work? I would then need something for the audio though, correct?

Yes, VGA to VGA cables have been around for years, both ends will be male and you will need a separate cable for audio, just make sure you don't buy a VGA extender which would be male at one end and female at the other, you need male at both ends.

For PC audio to a TV you would normally use a cable with a 3.5mm jack plug at each end but it all depends on what the connector you have at the TV end for 'audio in'. Typically on modern TVs with a VGA socket there is a 3.5mm audio socket beside it similar to the headphone socket on the laptop, that will take the audio.

Munster Magic

coylemj wrote: »

Yes, VGA to VGA cables have been around for years, both ends will be male and you will need a separate cable for audio, just make sure you don't buy a VGA extender which would be male at one end and female at the other, you need male at both ends.

For PC audio to a TV you would normally use a cable with a 3.5mm jack plug at each end but it all depends on what the connector you have at the TV end for 'audio in'. Typically on modern TVs with a VGA socket there is a 3.5mm audio socket beside it similar to the headphone socket on the laptop, that will take the audio.

I have ordered a VGA to VGA cable to do this and I was wondering would it be possible to just use the audio from the laptop or do I have to buy the cable you mention above to transfer it to the tv?

Is this the right cable?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00077DC3S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3AGE3ZJYRAB2V

Thanks

Munster Magic

Munster Magic wrote: »

I have ordered a VGA to VGA cable to do this and I was wondering would it be possible to just use the audio from the laptop or do I have to buy the cable you mention above to transfer it to the tv?

Is this the right cable?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00077DC3S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3AGE3ZJYRAB2V

Thanks

That should be the right one, depends on whether your TV takes a 3.5mm headphone connection or the red/white phono connections. Most newer ones take the 3.5mm plug.

VGA is a purely a video connector so you will need a separate audio cable.

coylemj

Karsini wrote: »

That should be the right one, depends on whether your TV takes a 3.5mm headphone connection or the red/white phono connections. Most newer ones take the 3.5mm plug.

VGA is a purely a video connector so you will need a separate audio cable.

+1 the laptop will definitely have a 3.5mm socket for a headphone plug so at least one end of that cable is correct, you need to look at the TV to see if the other end (also 3.5mm) is appropriate, don't be asking us! See if there's a single audio socket very close to the VGA socket.

To answer your other question, you don't absolutely have to feed the audio to the TV but the sound quality will be much better if you do as the speakers in a laptop are tiny so usually not great in terms of audio quality.

ImpossibleDuck

coylemj wrote: »

+1 the laptop will definitely have a 3.5mm socket for a headphone plug so at least one end of that cable is correct, you need to look at the TV to see if the other end (also 3.5mm) is appropriate, don't be asking us! See if there's a single audio socket very close to the VGA socket.

To answer your other question, you don't absolutely have to feed the audio to the TV but the sound quality will be much better if you do as the speakers in a laptop are tiny so usually not great in terms of audio quality.

Yeah, I'll get one of those then so.

Thanks a million guys

ImpossibleDuck

Ahem...

...anyone wanna buy a VGA to HDMI cable? :pac: