I admit it - I can’t keep up with all the different video mediums and cables available for all these frikkin’ computers and game consoles. Whatever happened to the days when you stripped two bare wires from your rooftop TV antenna and wound them around a couple of screws on the back of the set before tightening them down?
And what about them high-tech RCA cables, huh?
Anyway, I am hoping someone will feel sorry for me and advise me as how to hook up a system I will be getting so I can make it all work.
I currently have my PC hooked up to a Samsung 24" LCD that is capable of a nice 1920x1080 HD picture. It isn’t the newest model, so it has no HDMI connector on it, so I have been using the DVI-D for my computer video.
I am getting a PlayStation3, which has several different output modes, but the most commonly used one for HD is HDMI. It also has RGB output, but I would like to have something better than that.
I have read confusing information about using a cable to hook up the HDMI on the PS3 to the DVI-D port on my LCD, and getting a true HD picture. I would like this very much, but if I got something a little less than perfect HD, I wouldn’t be too upset as long as it was a decent resolution and picture.
So, a cable can allow this, however, since I also run my computer into the LCD, how do I connect both the PC and PS3 to the same DVI-D port without having to plug and unplug all the time? Are there switchable cables?
Any advise or enlightenment on my situation, as always, would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, DVI and HDMI use basically the same signal for video. There are cables that just route the wires from one plug to another, I’m typing this on a monitor that uses such a cable. (similar, random example at Amazon).
There are also DVI switchboxes out there, if you need one. Just google it.
Does your monitor have DVI and VGA inputs? If so, maybe you could connect your computer using VGA and your PS3 using DVI, and use the monitor’s buttons to switch between them. No need for a separate switch!
What about the audio? Haven’t used a PS3 in a long time, can you specify another audio out while using HDMI?
(Quoting from memory : )
Yes, there’s a connector for good old NTSC video and analog audio. It’s a rectangular port on the back of the PS3, you connect a splitter cable (normally included with the PS3) to get the familiar yellow+red+white RCA plugs.
Once you have your hi-definition video through the HDMI connector you can use the system settings menu to specify that the audio should go to the analog output.
I use the DVI-D input on the monitor because that is what comes out of the video card I am using.
Looks like the way to go is to use a HDMI to DVI-D cable, take the existing DVI-D cable from my computer, then run them into a switch that allows (2) DVI-D inputs and has a single DVI-D output. I can just switch over to use either the PC or PS3 on my main screen.
Since I have a second LCD monitor (my old reliable Dell), set up off a separate connector on the video card, I can still run my computer on the smaller screen while using the PS3 on the bigger screen.
Oooo, I can’t wait to get this all going together and not have to wait for my buddy to want to play on his PS3 to play a game or play a BluRay disc.
Thanks for the information!
This probably doesn’t help you, but it sounds like what you’re building towards is a standard home theater setup with an HTPC (home theater PC).
What I have is what you could call “basic” and consists of an HTPC, receiver, HDTV and PC monitor. The HTPC has 3 Hi-def outputs, but 2 is standard on virtually all video cards now. One HDMI output from the HTPC goes into the receiver which has 4 HDMI inputs. The HDMI out goes to the HDTV.
The other HDMI out from the PC goes to the PC monitor. I have Windows set up to span the desktop across both monitors (PC and HDTV).
If I want to switch to another HDMI input for the HDTV, I use the receiver’s remote. That kills my expanded desktop and anything that was on the HDTV now appears on the PC monitor.
The receiver also has other types of inputs including composite, component, coax, etc. so it lets me select other signal sources as well - such as a Blu-ray player, DVR, game console, etc.