cable connection for pc to plasma

[deckster]

Basically no. The two technologies are fundamentally incompatible - as you say you would need a box of tricks in the middle to do some signal conversion, add sync lines etc. etc. Many PCs (particularly laptops) do however have S-Video outputs so that might be an option - although the quality will not be anything like as good as proper VGA. One other bizarre thing that I still don't understand is that I've tried to watch DVDs through a laptop plugged into a TV and have been presented with an error saying that - for copyright protection reasons - it can't play whilst there's an active S-video connection. Riiiight...

Personally I don't recall ever seeing a plasma without VGA input although admittedly when I was looking I wanted a plasma monitor without a tuner box. If you plan on using it with a PC then I'd just add it to the list of requirements for your plasma.

[kneedowndeano]

i was gunning for the new Pioneer 436fde, but it doesn't have the pc input. but i've managed to find a box that will take the PC output and then convert it to a s/video, from there i will buy a s/video connection to Scart and (fingers crossed) this should work, what do you think

www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=113&products_id=1014

[mikef]

The 436xde should have video input on the front panel

The problem with S-video is that it's only going to be 720x480 (for NTSC, or a few more pixels for PAL) which doesn't give you much detail on your 43" screen - just very big letters

>> Edited by mikef on Tuesday 1st November 22:13

[deckster]

I'm seriously not a fan of convertor boxes; in my experience they degrade the signal massively. What do you want to connect up the computer for - if it's just DVDs then fair enough (although a DVD player is easier & cheaper!) but if it's for games then don't forget that plasma - even HD - resolution is well underneath what you'd expect from even a crappy monitor, and a big screen makes this really obvious.

According to the Pioneer website that screen has 'S-Video in (Front AV)', whatever that means, so you probably wouldn't need an S-Video->SCART converter anyway. This is a Good Thing as it really is a terrible thing to do to a signal.

My advice? I'm very very far from being an expert, but personally I would

a) consider if I really want to connect my PC up to a plasma, as the results generally aren't that great
b) think about a different screen, ie one which accepts RGB natively
c) buy a new graphics card which outputs S-Video or component YPbPr

[rex]

I have the Pioneer 435xde which has a standard pc moniter input. Image from the computer is excellent and is worth spending the extra over the fde. Great for gaming

[kneedowndeano]

rex, my budget doesn't allow me to stretch to the extra £500 for the XDE, unless i can convince the other half that it's life threating that we need to spend the extra. It would be nice to have the all singing and dancing xde as this has what i need.
What i would like to do is put a small PC in a rack so that i have a PC with a media version of XP so it will work with the new Xbox360 (when i get that)

i suppose i could get a PC with a video card with a s/video output.
With only one component connection on the plasma i will be using this for the DVD player. so the component video card option is out i think.