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Hello Jhaski!
Congratulations on the purchase of your new monitor! I love having a large secondary monitor. It's really changed the way that I work.
I've broken apart each of your questions and answered each.
1)
Is there a way that I can add a digital video port (DVI) to my laptop?
Do you have a VGA output on your laptop?
It should look something like this:
http://www.ust.hk/itsc/classroom/notebook/photo/notebook_vga_port.jpg
If so, there is an inexpensive VGA to DVI converter that you can purchase. There's a link to the converter below.
2)
How much of a difference is there between DVI and VGA
To my eye, there is hardly a difference at all. However, DVI is technically better than VGA.
DVI is completely digital; The video card sends data to the monitor. VGA sends colors to the monitor and then the monitor has to convert those colors to digitally. Since DVI has no conversion, it is crisper.
However, like I said, my eyes can't see much (if any) of a difference.
3)
What is the maximum resolution VGA can output
There is no limit to VGA.
There is a limit to what your video card can output though. 800x600 was the old standard but almost all video cards output much higher than that.
4)
Vhat is the maximum resolution that the HDTV can display?
The TV that you have purchased has a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768.
5)
Will the resolution of the HDTV be enough to function practically as a computer monitor from ~2 feet away?
Yes. I use a 46" TV as a teriary monitor about 20 feet away and it works well.
If you have trouble reading the text, just turn down the resolution in the display settings on your computer. The text will become larger.
6)
What cords will I have to buy to connect them.
You likely need this adapter:
http://images.monoprice.com/productlargeimages/23961.jpg
It is $1.68 from here:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2396&seq=1&format=1#largeimage
And you will also need a VGA cable:
http://images.monoprice.com/productlargeimages/36221.jpg
This 15ft cable costs $4.37 from here:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10201&cs_id=1020101&p_id=3622&seq=1&format=2
If you'd like a longer cable, they come in various lengths up to 100ft for $21.24.
I hope that this is what you were looking for Jhaski.
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Your tv has a VGA port on it, so you don't need to necessarily go to DVI. The only way you'd be able to get a real DVI signal out of it anyway would be to to use an external video card such as http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-DVI-External-Video-Card.asp?&&; (which is USB).
You should be able to use the HDTV as a monitor from that distance, if you have any problems with sharpness you can always increase icon/font size a few points and it should be easier to see. One thing I just noticed, you're asking all these questions, yet your tv does not appear to have a DVI input anyway, it does do HDMI (which actually is just DVI input + Sound, and you can get a DVI -> HDMI adapter). It just has component video, composite, HDMI and VGA as video inputs.
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Most users can't tell the difference between the video quality of VGA and DVI connections. The biggest practical advantage of DVI is that it eliminates the potential requirement of making manual adjustments (i.e. if the image doesn't quite fill the screen, or goes off the edge of the screen on one side, etc.).
Since your display does not have DVI input, even if your computer did have a DVI output, you would need to get a DVI to HDMI cable as that is the only digital input that your display supports. (This isn't specific to your display -- virtually all new HD sets have HDMI as the only digital input method.)
Long story short, pick up a VGA cable of the appropriate length (or, if you have an old monitor laying around with a VGA cable that can be detached, you could recycle that) and you'll be all set. If you do decide to go with a long cable (longer than 25 feet or so), make sure you buy a higher quality cable as you could get a distorted picture if you don't.
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Answered Question
M$2
March 04, 2009 08:41 AM
I bought a new monitor and I was wondering how it would look and connect to my laptop?
Specifically, I bought a Vizio 32" VW32L 720p LCD HDTV (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5623472). My laptop is a Gateway M285-e, and it does not have a DVI connection. Is there a way that I can add a digital video port (DVI) to my laptop?
How much of a difference is there between DVI and VGA on the monitor that I described above? What is the maximum resolution VGA can output, and what is the maximum resolution that the HDTV can display?
Will the resolution of the HDTV be enough to function practically as a computer monitor from ~2 feet away? What cords will I have to buy to connect them.
How much of a difference is there between DVI and VGA on the monitor that I described above? What is the maximum resolution VGA can output, and what is the maximum resolution that the HDTV can display?
Will the resolution of the HDTV be enough to function practically as a computer monitor from ~2 feet away? What cords will I have to buy to connect them.
Interesting Question?
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Best Answer Chosen by Asker
| March 04, 2009 10:53 AM |
Congratulations on the purchase of your new monitor! I love having a large secondary monitor. It's really changed the way that I work.
I've broken apart each of your questions and answered each.
1)
Is there a way that I can add a digital video port (DVI) to my laptop?
Do you have a VGA output on your laptop?
It should look something like this:
If so, there is an inexpensive VGA to DVI converter that you can purchase. There's a link to the converter below.
2)
How much of a difference is there between DVI and VGA
To my eye, there is hardly a difference at all. However, DVI is technically better than VGA.
DVI is completely digital; The video card sends data to the monitor. VGA sends colors to the monitor and then the monitor has to convert those colors to digitally. Since DVI has no conversion, it is crisper.
However, like I said, my eyes can't see much (if any) of a difference.
3)
What is the maximum resolution VGA can output
There is no limit to VGA.
There is a limit to what your video card can output though. 800x600 was the old standard but almost all video cards output much higher than that.
4)
Vhat is the maximum resolution that the HDTV can display?
The TV that you have purchased has a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768.
5)
Will the resolution of the HDTV be enough to function practically as a computer monitor from ~2 feet away?
Yes. I use a 46" TV as a teriary monitor about 20 feet away and it works well.
If you have trouble reading the text, just turn down the resolution in the display settings on your computer. The text will become larger.
6)
What cords will I have to buy to connect them.
You likely need this adapter:
It is $1.68 from here:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2396&seq=1&format=1#largeimage
And you will also need a VGA cable:
This 15ft cable costs $4.37 from here:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10201&cs_id=1020101&p_id=3622&seq=1&format=2
If you'd like a longer cable, they come in various lengths up to 100ft for $21.24.
I hope that this is what you were looking for Jhaski.
| Asker's Rating: |
• Awesome answer! really helped!
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Other Answers (2)
March 04, 2009 09:12 AM
The TV's resolution is 1366 x 768, there are VGA -> DVI adapters, they're small and cheap. The main real difference between VGA and DVI is the fact that DVI carries the signal digitally along the cable, unlike VGA which carries it as an analog signal. This really means that on a DVI signal there's less conversion going on and the image will be cleaner/sharper on a digital display. VGA Cables don't have any maximum resolution of signal on the cables themselves that you have to worry about on normal tv/monitor displays. Your tv has a VGA port on it, so you don't need to necessarily go to DVI. The only way you'd be able to get a real DVI signal out of it anyway would be to to use an external video card such as http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-DVI-External-Video-Card.asp?&&; (which is USB).
You should be able to use the HDTV as a monitor from that distance, if you have any problems with sharpness you can always increase icon/font size a few points and it should be easier to see. One thing I just noticed, you're asking all these questions, yet your tv does not appear to have a DVI input anyway, it does do HDMI (which actually is just DVI input + Sound, and you can get a DVI -> HDMI adapter). It just has component video, composite, HDMI and VGA as video inputs.
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March 04, 2009 07:04 PM
Your TV has a standard VGA (not DVI) port, so you will not get the benefit of DVI (digital transmission) by adding a DVI port to your computer. The regular VGA output of your computer should work just fine for what you are seeking to do. Make sure that you set the resolution of this external display to 1366 x 768. This is the "native" resolution of the display, so setting it to anything else will require the display to resample the image in software. This will cause poor image quality. Most users can't tell the difference between the video quality of VGA and DVI connections. The biggest practical advantage of DVI is that it eliminates the potential requirement of making manual adjustments (i.e. if the image doesn't quite fill the screen, or goes off the edge of the screen on one side, etc.).
Since your display does not have DVI input, even if your computer did have a DVI output, you would need to get a DVI to HDMI cable as that is the only digital input that your display supports. (This isn't specific to your display -- virtually all new HD sets have HDMI as the only digital input method.)
Long story short, pick up a VGA cable of the appropriate length (or, if you have an old monitor laying around with a VGA cable that can be detached, you could recycle that) and you'll be all set. If you do decide to go with a long cable (longer than 25 feet or so), make sure you buy a higher quality cable as you could get a distorted picture if you don't.
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