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Allin4greeN

Last reply Dec 18, 2007 · posted in Computers and Gadgets

VGA vs. DVI out to HDTV?

I've been surfing the information wave in various forums and in preparation of hooking up my new notebook (on Dec. 25) to an HDTV for some BD/HD DVD goodness. In the process of researching potential issues, I've come across quite a few posts/people who believe VGA is an inferior connection option... one poster went to the extent of saying (direct quote), "...it will look absolutely horrible on your TV...even if your watching blu-ray movies..."

What say you folks?

My notebook spec's:

Dell Inspiron 1720
Intel C2D T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
3Gb SDRAM (DDR2 at 667MHz/Asymmetric Dual Channel)
nVidia GeForce 8600M GT (256Mb)
Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Audio (Express Card)
250Gb HDD (5400 RPM)
2x Blu-Ray Disc Drive
Windows Vista Ultimate (x32)
VGA or S-Video (7-Pin version capable of YPrPb/HD with RCA/RGB style adapter dongle), no DVI/HDMI output port

There are some compromises that I made with this configuration, based on price. As many of you know, I was also considering a MacBook Pro but, I just couldn't justify the costs of getting BD up and running with an Apple...

Anyway, I think this rig should be sufficient for smooth playback of HD titles over VGA/1366x768@60Hz, with 1:1 pixel mapping on my 50" PDP.

My Vizio P50 auto-syncs and supports 1:1 over VGA. What's more, I currently have my XB360 connected via VGA at 1360x768@60Hz and PQ is excellent.

So what's the deal here? Why would there be a problem with VGA? Is EDID info that useful or necessary?

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diogen

Dec 18, 2007

Allin4greeN said:
In the process of researching potential issues, I've come across quite a few posts/people who believe VGA is an inferior connection option... one poster went to the extent of saying (direct quote), "...it will look absolutely horrible on your TV...even if your watching blu-ray movies..."

VGA is component with different color space.
Don't believe anybody who says it can't look as good as DVI/HDMI when watching movies.
But don't do S-Video, 480i is the best it is capable of.

Allin4greeN said:
Anyway, I think this rig should be sufficient for smooth playback of HD titles over VGA/1366x768@60Hz, with 1:1 pixel mapping on my 50" PDP.

You are right, it is. Or better - it should be.
Does your laptop have a Blu-ray drive? Do you plan to use the Xbox add-on? Have you ripped the movies to hard drive? What player are you using?

Allin4greeN said:
Is EDID info that useful or necessary?

EDID can be very useful.
Sometimes the PC video driver won't accept resolutions outside the standard 720p and/or 1080p. EDID can be helpful in telling the PC what it can do.
But there is also PowerStrip to remedy most of the resolution problems.

Diogen.

johnmac59

Dec 18, 2007

I am not an expert on the DVI/VGA thing, but I worked with a guy who was responsible for specs and testing engineering workstations and he always swore that when adjusted correctly, you could not tell the difference between DVI/VGA.

Allin4greeN

Dec 18, 2007

Many thanks for the responses!

diogen said:
VGA is component with different color space.
Don't believe anybody who says it can't look as good as DVI/HDMI when watching movies...

That was my gut feeling and it's good to have confirmation. I have some concerns about the color space issue with regard to calibrating the input properly. I used DVE HD with the XB360 add-on and got things dialed in but, I'm not sure (until I get to play with the new machine, after x-mas) how DVE will interact with the differing PC color space (0-255 vs. 16-235)?

diogen said:
...Does your laptop have a Blu-ray drive? Do you plan to use the Xbox add-on? Have you ripped the movies to hard drive? What player are you using?..

Got a BDD on board and I plan on using the XB360 add-on for HD DVD playback but, I'll probably have to upgrade to PowerDVD Ultra to get both working. I think the Dell comes with an OEM version of PowerDVD and I'm not expecting the capability to play both formats out of the gate. PowerDVD appears to be the *best* player at the moment, even though I've seen plenty of posts from people pulling their hair out over it. I may wait until Arcsoft gets their player to market and give that a shot.

I'm planning on adding an external 750Gb HDD for ripping my DVD's, BD's, and HD DVD's, as this seems to be the most effective way of playing HD media on a PC but, I have to admit to feeling a little intimated about getting it working... From what I can tell, I'll need to use 3 different freeware apps to get it running (don't have the names handy, they're bookmarked on my other PC at the moment). I'd appreciate any suggestions on archiving solutions.

diogen said:
...EDID can be very useful.
Sometimes the PC video driver won't accept resolutions outside the standard 720p and/or 1080p. EDID can be helpful in telling the PC what it can do.
But there is also PowerStrip to remedy most of the resolution problems.

Diogen.

This is another concern that I have. From what I can tell, nVidia has not released support for Powerstrip on their 8xxx series cards. So, if I can't get the resolution set out of the box... my plans for native res and 1:1 pixel mapping are going to be problematic.

I'm also trying to track down a SW solution for decoding Dolby TruHD and DTS HD MA without downsampling. So far, I haven't had any luck... my sound card has a 7.1 analog out dongle and is capable of playback at 24-bit/96kHz. I'll be using the multichannel analog inputs on my A/V receiver.

diogen

Dec 18, 2007

Allin4greeN said:
I used DVE HD with the XB360 add-on and got things dialed in...

That should be good enough. IIRC, Xbox outputs RGB, just like your VGA port will (i.e. 0-255)...

Allin4greeN said:
I may wait until Arcsoft gets their player to market and give that a shot.

There is a trial version floating around. It doesn't downsample audio, as PowerDVD does. Recommended.

Allin4greeN said:
I'm planning on adding an external 750Gb HDD for ripping my DVD's, BD's, and HD DVD's, as this seems to be the most effective way of playing HD media on a PC...

I believe in this. But keep in mind that PowerDVD version after 3319a won't play BD from hard drive.
Wait until BD+ is hacked and any player can be used to play it (just like HD is today).

Allin4greeN said:
From what I can tell, I'll need to use 3 different freeware apps to get it running...

Just AnyDVD will do...

Allin4greeN said:
From what I can tell, nVidia has not released support for Powerstrip on their 8xxx series cards. So, if I can't get the resolution set out of the box... my plans for native res and 1:1 pixel mapping are going to be problematic.

The 8th series NVidia can do quite a bit by itself.
Have no practical experience with this series, though...

Allin4greeN said:
I'm also trying to track down a SW solution for decoding Dolby TruHD and DTS HD MA without downsampling. So far, I haven't had any luck...

Not sure about analog, but I heard Arcsoft solves the downsampling issue...

Diogen.

Allin4greeN

Dec 18, 2007

Diogen,

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your expertise. I've been wanting to add an HTPC to my humble HT for a couple of years now, and am anxious to start playing with it.

AnyDVD is definitely one of the apps I was looking at, just couldn't remember the name. I think ImageBurn and DaemonTools were the other two? It's good news to hear that AnyDVD can be used as a single solution.

I think I had read that Arcsoft's player will be able to read both formats from the HDD, at least in its current Beta version. I hope that this capability stays intact after it gets released into the wild.

I'll probably be back in a week or two with some more questions. I hope that you'll be around to provide additional feedback. It's great to have a place to go where noobs can receive experienced advice.

Thanks again!

Allin4greeN

diogen

Dec 18, 2007

Here is more about my latest HTPC activities...
http://www.satelliteguys.us/1157678-post8.html

Diogen.

Therm

Last reply 1 minute ago · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Am I the only one that hates what Dish did to their mobile app?

I thought I would come here and find lots of complaints about the update to the dish anywhere mobile app, but am not seeing any. It used to look just like the desktop webpage. Now you can no longer filter by sports channels or movie channels. Plus that they made it look like a big button telephone and you see fewer channels in the screen which requires more scrolling. Yes I realize you can look at sports then select which sport you want to look at, I just liked being able to see all sporting events in the guide with all other channels being filtered out. Am I alone in the wilderness on this?

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Foxbat

Today at 12:12 PM

I'm not a big fan of the new layout, especially on my Apple TV. It used to look like the old Guide layout on the Hopper 3, but they changed parts of that, too.

Reactions: Therm and charlesrshell

dishstaller

Today at 12:56 PM

I really dislike change for the sake of change

Reactions: Therm, AZ. and charlesrshell

dishdude

Today at 2:51 PM

I like the new look, it's a lot cleaner. I'm using it on one of those Onn streaming devices when I travel.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Therm

15 minutes ago

dishdude said:
I like the new look, it's a lot cleaner. I'm using it on one of those Onn streaming devices when I travel.

Yes a lot cleaner, glossier, and less functional. Someone trying to justify why they are making a big salary. "See look shiny"

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navychop

1 minute ago

"Big salary." Charlie. "?Big?"

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Foxbat

Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply 6 minutes ago · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum

New Apple TV 4K released, plus other Apple Home devices.

Apple has finally released their Apple TV 4K with built-in Siri and a microphone so it can respond to your queries even if you don't have the remote. It also increases in price, to $299. I had been planning on updating my current Apple TV 4K streamers, but that's $600 for the two of them, and that's a pass at this point.

At $299, it had better come with 256 GB of Storage, Gigabit (or better) Ethernet, the latest HDMI tech and standards, and one year of free Apple One. But it probably won't…

Apple TV 4K

Apple TV 4K. New Siri AI and hands-free control. Stunning picture and immersive HomePod surround sound. Works with your Apple and smart home devices.

www.apple.com

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Ronnie-

Tuesday at 9:19 PM

Meh. The 4Ks I have will do everything that these do that I need them to do.

Which that's most tech these days for anything released the last four to five years.

It's honestly a testament to how good the previous gen Apple TVs were and are.

Reactions: meStevo, comfortably_numb, b4pjoe and 1 other person

navychop

Tuesday at 9:31 PM

Ronnie- said:
It's honestly a testament to how good the previous gen Apple TVs were and are.

Don't tell them that. They'll adopt planned obsolescence.

navychop

Yesterday at 12:55 PM

Outside of gaming, would Joe Sixpack notice any difference?

KAB

Yesterday at 7:46 PM

navychop said:
Outside of gaming, would Joe Sixpack notice any difference?

Not a bit. IMO, Apple's are slow to boot up. Time is about the same with 1st gen and 3rd. Roku runs rings around them in that department. I only reason I stuck, is the Apple infrastructure, which has it's definite advantages. But $300 is a deal breaker. Later, Apple!

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slow_poke_pete

Today at 12:08 AM

navychop said:
Don't tell them that. They'll adopt planned obsolescence.

they all do that anyways.. ever notice your cell phone slows down when you come up for an upgrade.. :what

. apple's been making money off of software and not hardware for a while

ncted

Today at 9:00 AM

KAB said:
Not a bit. IMO, Apple's are slow to boot up. Time is about the same with 1st gen and 3rd. Roku runs rings around them in that department. I only reason I stuck, is the Apple infrastructure, which has it's definite advantages. But $300 is a deal breaker. Later, Apple!

Yeah, they boot up a bit slower than Roku, but the OS does a lot more, so it makes sense. How often are you booting them up that is a differentiator? Aside from OS updates, mine are on all the time. I will say the ATV4K is generally quicker than the Roku Ultras I have, when it comes to launching apps and responsiveness, not that the Roku is sluggish.

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navychop

Today at 2:31 PM

slow_poke_pete said:
apple's been making money off of software and not hardware for a while

What software? For iPhones? I tried to buy some image s/w IN THE APPLE STORE! They had none, and could not offer ANY s/w for iPhones

ncted

9 minutes ago

slow_poke_pete said:
apple's been making money off of software and not hardware for a while

I assume you mean services, like iCloud and Apple Music, and not actual software sales. Services have been growing quickly for Apple, but hardware still brings home the bacon. As for where Apple's revenue comes from, the iPhone is still king with 49.58% of revenue as of June 2026. Services comes in second with 28%. iPad, Mac, and Wearables/Home makes up the rest. So, that is 72% coming from hardware. Their profit margin is around 25%, FWIW.

I am skeptical the AppleTV 4k makes them much money on the hardware though, which I suspect is what you were getting at.

ncted

8 minutes ago

navychop said:
What software? For iPhones? I tried to buy some image s/w IN THE APPLE STORE! They had none, and could not offer ANY s/w for iPhones

You should have looked in the APP STORE instead.

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navychop

6 minutes ago

Will do!

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cpdretired

Supporting Founder

Last reply 25 minutes ago · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Dish Offers

Several Dish offers showed up today in my account. Once you choose one the rest are removed. Offers were Showtime, Starz, AMC and others.

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bnewt

Sep 23, 2026

Just checked my account and it shows mgm+ at 8.00 per month, but that has red line drawn thru it and shows 0.00 per month. But it doesn't say how long this lasts,...... 1 month, 3 months, forever. I called customer service to get an answer, and they said nothing like that exists. Should I add the offer or not? Already paying them too much, but want to take advantage of something free.

Reactions: dennispap and charlesrshell

slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 11:45 PM

bnewt said:
Just checked my account and it shows mgm+ at 8.00 per month, but that has red line drawn thru it and shows 0.00 per month. But it doesn't say how long this lasts,...... 1 month, 3 months, forever. I called customer service to get an answer, and they said nothing like that exists. Should I add the offer or not? Already paying them too much, but want to take advantage of something free.

look again mine says free for 1 month

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Almighty1

Today at 2:13 AM

slow_poke_pete said:
look again mine says free for 1 month

Not for me, mines has no mention of how long aka the offer period and the Terms and conditions the $0.00 is good for. All I see is one can lose $5.00 if you decide to remove it before day 31 after you add it to the account.

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slow_poke_pete

Today at 6:02 AM

Almighty1 said:
Not for me, mines has no mention of how long aka the offer period and the Terms and conditions the $0.00 is good for. All I see is one can lose $5.00 if you decide to remove it before day 31 after you add it to the account.

View attachment 194817

wonder why it says that

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Almighty1

47 minutes ago

slow_poke_pete said:
look again mine says free for 1 month

You have a different offer that is free for a shorter timeframe which is different than the one that I and bnewt saw without defining the promotion period as I sent the question to DISH Care via Facebook Messenger and this is the response I got back 20 minutes ago.

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Almighty1

25 minutes ago

slow_poke_pete said:
wonder why it says that

Answer 2 minutes ago from DISH Care via Facebook Messenger:

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 2:23 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

This Week in Space 232

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Edq2eavsQ

Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Space 232
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 1:52 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Tim Cook, Elton John & King Charles: A Royal Tech Event

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oRVxjGm0qtE

Direct YouTube Link - Tim Cook, Elton John & King Charles: A Royal Tech Event
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

0 Replies · 5 views

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TFLEV

Today at 1:22 PM · posted in TFLEV

Watch the New Tesla Roadster Jump, Fly and Barrel-Roll in Mid-Air!

Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyF_RH1m0mc

Direct YouTube Link - Watch the New Tesla Roadster Jump, Fly and Barrel-Roll in Mid-Air!

0 Replies · 13 views

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 1:22 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

The Apple HomeView

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0k5iT-OlpdE

Direct YouTube Link - The Apple HomeView
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

0 Replies · 7 views

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 12:59 PM · posted in TV Shows

Frisco King - Paramount Plus

View: https://youtu.be/RHYQYYm5jLM?is=cwxm9t1efsWNl6yy

December 18, 2026 Paramount plus

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Howard Simmons

Today at 11:36 AM

osu1991 said:
View: https://youtu.be/RHYQYYm5jLM?is=cwxm9t1efsWNl6yy

December 18, 2026 Paramount plus

Another Tulsa King spin off.

dishstaller

Today at 12:59 PM

Howard Simmons said:
Another Tulsa King spin off.

But.....if you like Tulsa King....looks like you would probably like this as well. I don't mind spin-offs as long as they don't involve a sassy niece who moves from the big city

TheRatPatrol

Last reply Today at 12:50 PM · posted in TV Shows

NCIS

Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?

2132 Replies · 214694 views

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Jimbo

Monday at 11:41 PM

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BIdMzUBHvjw?feature=share

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Jimbo

Tuesday at 6:25 PM

Jimbo said:
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BIdMzUBHvjw?feature=share

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?

Reactions: Howard Simmons

Howard Simmons

Yesterday at 1:19 PM

Jimbo said:
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?

Tony as the director.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 2:13 PM

Howard Simmons said:
Tony as the director.

Would you rather have LaRoche ???

Reactions: Howard Simmons

dfergie

Yesterday at 4:37 PM

I liked this episode and a toned down Tony...

Reactions: Jimbo

Howard Simmons

Today at 11:30 AM

Jimbo said:
Would you rather have LaRoche ???

No. Bring in someone new.

Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.

Jimbo

Today at 12:50 PM

Howard Simmons said:
No. Bring in someone new. Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.

I don't think Tim and Tony are that far apart in Age ...

Remember what Tony said to Tim when they first got back together ...
Tony said: I am the New Tony, Tim .... (something to that effect)

Tony has changed, he's been running his Security Business ... I'm sure he has grown up.

Give it time ... your judging the New Tony from the old Tony.

It sounds like Tim won't be around the Team much longer either.

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dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 12:43 PM · posted in Movie Talk

Trailer for new Jim Caviezel movie Ghost Soldier

Might be worth a watch when it comes out. Looks like typical big corp against the little guy movie BUT....there is a reason this plot type is so oft repeated, it draws audiences.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-f9OGsKHd4

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dishstaller

Today at 12:43 PM

BTW, I noticed right after I posted this that someone else had already mentioned it....sorry for the duplicate thread. Still looking forward to seeing the movie.

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VGA vs. DVI out to HDTV?

Am I the only one that hates what Dish did to their mobile app?

New Apple TV 4K released, plus other Apple Home devices.

Apple TV 4K

Dish Offers

This Week in Space 232

Tim Cook, Elton John & King Charles: A Royal Tech Event

Watch the New Tesla Roadster Jump, Fly and Barrel-Roll in Mid-Air!

The Apple HomeView

Frisco King - Paramount Plus

NCIS

Trailer for new Jim Caviezel movie Ghost Soldier