Connecting my PC to an HDTV...VGA or HDMI?

[Nobull]

Hi there, this is a question for prospective uses. Come september the place I'm moving into has a HDTV with both VGA and HDMI interfaces. I was thinking I'd be able to watch the vast movie collection on my pc on the TV for more comfortable viewing. I have a HD4870 which has component for TV out, a DVI to HDMI adaptor AND I have a DVI to VGA adaptor.

The TV has space for component, VGA and HDMI connections...I was just wondering if anyone knows if it makes a difference which way I hook it up? I'm guessing DVI to HDMI adaptor will give the best quality at native resolution for the TV as opposed to VGA or component but I could be wrong. Any1 tried comparing?!

Regards

[MrChimpy]

Hi there, this is a question for prospective uses. Come september the place I'm moving into has a HDTV with both VGA and HDMI interfaces. I was thinking I'd be able to watch the vast movie collection on my pc on the TV for more comfortable viewing. I have a HD4870 which has component for TV out, a DVI to HDMI adaptor AND I have a DVI to VGA adaptor.

The TV has space for component, VGA and HDMI connections...I was just wondering if anyone knows if it makes a difference which way I hook it up? I'm guessing DVI to HDMI adaptor will give the best quality at native resolution for the TV as opposed to VGA or component but I could be wrong. Any1 tried comparing?!

Regards

HDMI will be best - digital. It'll also support HDCP so stuff like blu-ray will work at full resolution (assuming your TV supports it)

[Agent]

Not all cards will output HDCP over DVI, so check this before hand.
As above though - always use digital unless you have a good reason not to do so

[smargh]

Apparently VGA and HDMI are mostly equivalent for short cable runs.

My mother has a 32" Samsung TV which just doesn't support the native 1360x768 resolution when a PC is connnected via HDMI - I just couldn't get it going no matter what I tried - including multiple video cards. VGA worked immediately and they were still in awe at the superb quality, so try it if you want - as long as the cable is short, I reckon you'll still love the quality.

[Agent]

For non standard "HD" resolutions, you'll need to add them in through Rivatuner or similar

[TooNice]

My mother has a 32" Samsung TV which just doesn't support the native 1360x768 resolution when a PC is connnected via HDMI - I just couldn't get it going no matter what I tried - including multiple video cards. VGA worked immediately and they were still in awe at the superb quality, so try it if you want - as long as the cable is short, I reckon you'll still love the quality.

Maybe with a good VGA cable. I picked up a second one cheaply from a forum member, and while it is functional, the colour doesn't look right when connecting my laptop to my projector (1080p).

[Nobull]

Not all cards will output HDCP over DVI, so check this before hand.
As above though - always use digital unless you have a good reason not to do so

ANy idea how to check? My card says it supports HDCP but doesn't say whether that is over DVI or not...It did come bundled with a DVI to HDMI adapter so it does seem like they're encouraging you to hook it up 2 a HDTV via HDMI doesn't it?!

Thanks for the input guys

[s_kinton]

My HTPC board has HDMI HDCP and VGA integrated, but I still just use VGA. I find its less hassle and as my native resolution is 1360x768 it makes more sense that forcing 1280x720 over HDMI.

No issues with VGA colours at all when I compared to HDMI.

[atmadden]

ANy idea how to check? My card says it supports HDCP but doesn't say whether that is over DVI or not...It did come bundled with a DVI to HDMI adapter so it does seem like they're encouraging you to hook it up 2 a HDTV via HDMI doesn't it?!

Thanks for the input guys

Your good to go mate ATI cards are good for this I have a HD 3450 running at 1080P through a DVI to HDMI cable through my samsung TV and it works great you will get sound through grpahics card as well if you haven't separate speakers

[ipcam]

If your TV support up to 1080P than HDMI, for any lower resolution (720p, 1360x768, etc) VGA is more straight forward, cheaper and output quality is fine. Also most PC, laptop, HTPC will use dedicated audio output instead of via HDMI.
HDMI is meant for blueray dvdplayer, HDtv box than do both Audio and video on the same connection/cable.

[Agent]

Your good to go mate ATI cards are good for this I have a HD 3450 running at 1080P through a DVI to HDMI cable through my samsung TV and it works great you will get sound through grpahics card as well if you haven't separate speakers

DVi to HDMI is nothing special though - ATI cards are no better than this than any other card with a DVI port. DVI and HDMI are signal compatible, so any converter will work regardless of brand.

It also has no relation on if HDCP can be passed through the DVI port - The only way to really check this is to try it, or check with the manufacture.

[nvening]

You might as well do it though HDMI but i have my sammy 32" connected with a high quality 10m VGA and it looks perfect - compare that to the short run of cheaper vga from my dell monitor that im using temp which looks fuzzy and off.

Also ive used a cheap 5m vga cable for the tv and that was completely awful.

[peterb]

You might as well do it though HDMI but i have my sammy 32" connected with a high quality 10m VGA and it looks perfect - compare that to the short run of cheaper vga from my dell monitor that im using temp which looks fuzzy and off.

Also ive used a cheap 5m vga cable for the tv and that was completely awful.

Yes, cable quality is often overlooked, but on a long run makes a big difference to an analogue signal - effectively reduces the bandwidth as the higher frequencies are attenuated.

[zephod]

In my testing there isn't any difference in picture quality when both work well, but this is TV specific. I have a couple of screens that just wont size 720p stuff correctly at all through the VGA however much I fiddle with the resolution. However, all the screens have nailed the resolution spot on with HDMI and DVI. The wonders of the digital age...

As for HMDI vs DVI, obv in most cases you need a dongle, but there's also sound to consider. Some cards will support HDCP passthru but not all.

Basically, I'd take HDMI anyday - just as it has never caused me any fiddling whatsoever. One particularly frustrating issue I have come across is that media files can be quite quiet and the natural interference over analogue inputs can make that a massive issue.