PC to TV Screenshots
Not all PC to TV solutions are equal.
Our basic PC to TV converter is well suited to display pictures,
video files, PowerPoint presentations etc., but it is not recommended
for text based applications. Fine lines and small text will be blurred.
In order for text to be easily legible, it is recommended that you use
at least a 14 point font or higher.
One of the biggest limitations is the connection type. Composite or
S-Video just will not support a very high resolution. If you want to
use your TV for normal text based applications, like email, web
browsing, spreadsheets etc, you will need a better video connection,
like component, and probably need an HDTV. Standard TV’s will not
support much better resolution than you can get out of the basic
adapters.
An HDTV adapter will allow you to use text and pictures in much
higher detail and clarity. Text will be clear down to 10 or even 8
point font (depending on the TV) HDTVs will still probably not be as
clear as a monitor, and if you are using text, use a progressive
resolution. (Interlaced text will appear to ’shake’) For example, if
your TV supports 720p and 1080i set the resoltion close 1280 x 720
rather than the full possible resolution of 1920 x 1080.
In an effort to illustrate the differences, I used a couple of PC to
TV solutions with our HDTV. This is not going to be great… I’m using a
digital camera to take a picture of a TV. Everything will look better
when you are sitting in front of it, but it serves to show a reference.
I used our popular, inexpensive PC to TV converter, our PC to HDTV
converter, and a direct VGA connection. Straight VGA should be the
best, because it does not require any signal modification or external
conversion.
You can see from the table below (click for a hi-res image) that the
pictures are all comperable. The PC to TV is not as bright, or as crisp
as the HD and VGA solutions, but it is clear what the picture is.
The text on the other hand will show that there is a significant
improvement from the standard PC to TV, and the PC to HDTV. The high
quality adapter is legible down to 8 point font, and clear at 10. A
significant improvement. VGA is better, but only slightly.
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