tv out??

Hi there
My graphics card does not have a tv out but i would like to watch dvd's on my television. What are the option open to me??? i was considering buying a dvd decoder card but it just seems like way too much cash.....is there no such thing as just a tv out card for your pci slot?
thanks
alistair

1. RE: tv out??
Twinhead Apr-05-02 08:19 AM
In response to message 0

There is an alternative!
There are converters in store to do the job.
Trust has such a device.
It is a small box, with VGA input, power input, Composit video output and S-video output.
I do not know if it is daisy-chainable to a computer monitor beceause i do not know if there is an VGA out in it.
It is self-running so you do not have extra software to install.
You can connect the Composit out to a SCART bus of a regular TV set.
Be sure to set the resolution to 800*600 and the Refresh between 50 and 60 Hz BEFORE you connect the device!
Otherwise the TV will not get into sync or could be damaged.
That will do an adequate job without installing hardware and software in your PC.

2. RE: tv out??
lbyard Apr-05-02 10:59 AM
In response to message 1

Does it cost more than a new display adapter with TV out? Larry

5. RE: tv out??
Twinhead Apr-07-02 04:20 AM
In response to message 2

No larry it is cheaper!
I doe not know the price in US-Dollars, but www.trust.com will have it for you.
Victor.

3. RE: tv out??
copperpipe Apr-05-02 11:43 AM
In response to message 0

A decent video card w/ tv out would cost about $40 to $50.
I have a Diamond Viper II (bought it about a year ago for $55) which has S-video & composite video outputs as well as the VGA out. It's great for watching DVD's on TV but horrible for reading text with 640 X 480 display. But overall, a tabletop DVD player is the easiest/most convenient to use in my opinion.
I believe Newegg.com sells an ATI card with tv out for about $40.

4. RE: tv out??
lbyard Apr-05-02 12:17 PM
In response to message 3

I have been playing with TV-out off and on since 1987 (or, maybe it was earlier. I did play around with circuits to use a TV set for monitor in the 8080/6502/Z80 days when monitors cost a fortune and have a Sinclair up in the attic somewhere). Back then we used it for MS-DOS training in our classroom. The text and computer graphics have never been good and that is mostly a limitation of the average TV set's bandwidth and the US NTCS ("No Two Colors The Same") standard. PAL (European, etc. standard) is not much better. HDTV should change that, but I have not seen a computer wired to an HDTV set yet. DVD out from a computer looks real good on an NTSC TV, however, and TV-in displayed on a computer monitor looks quite good, perhaps better than a TV set because of the higher bandwidth of the average computer monitor. Some of the overhead computer projectors are very good, but most are expensive. Larry