# Use computer monitor and speakers with TIVO



## jms54 (Nov 30, 2002)

I have a directtv tivo and need to save space. I want to have my LCD computer monitor double as a TV and a computer monitor. Can I easily do this. What about the sound, can I play this from the directtv tivo box without an amplifier.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Does the monitor have an S-Video or RCA jack? Because if not you're going to need something like this...

http://www.svideo.com/svid2vga2audio.html

The sound should be easily routed to a pair of *powered* PC speakers either through your PC sound card's line-in port, or directly, by using a RCA->Miniplug adapter from RadioShack.

Dan


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## bluetex (Apr 24, 2005)

jms54 said:


> I have a directtv tivo and need to save space. I want to have my LCD computer monitor double as a TV and a computer monitor. Can I easily do this. What about the sound, can I play this from the directtv tivo box without an amplifier.


My computer has its own tivo Series 2. What I have is a Video Card that has SVideo IN and use the software app for "TV"

The video card is an "upper-midrange" ATI 850XL.

It has Video IN/Out via SVideo and/or Component

so the Signal goes

Cable coax > Tivo > Svideo out/Svideo IN > ATI Card

Tivo Audio > Audio RCA out/Audio mini jack Line In > Soundblaster card

Audio out is to my audio receiver from the Sound Card (which also doubles as my computer speakers). This helps keep the Sound / Video in sync.

Jeff


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## jms54 (Nov 30, 2002)

I haven't bought the monitor yet. I will find one with an s video or composite. I think Dell 20" LCDs have this.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270883679660?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
HDMI to VGA/3 RCA Audio Video AV Cable
Can I use this cable to connect my Tivo to my computer monitor, and if so, will it give me a high definition picture?
I am not using the monitor for a computer and the monitor is a CRT with only a VGA cord connection.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

replaytv said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/270883679660?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
> HDMI to VGA/3 RCA Audio Video AV Cable
> Can I use this cable to connect my Tivo to my computer monitor, and if so, will it give me a high definition picture?
> I am not using the monitor for a computer and the monitor is a CRT with only a VGA cord connection.


You will, of course, need a TiVo with HDMI out, but since HDMI so often involves HDCP, where the two pieces of hardware on each end of the HDMI cable have to talk to each other and agree that you have legal permission to view whatever it is you're trying to watch, and since a VGA in monitor isn't going to have the circuitry to do that, who knows when or what it will or won't let you watch.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

replaytv said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/270883679660?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
> HDMI to VGA/3 RCA Audio Video AV Cable
> Can I use this cable to connect my Tivo to my computer monitor, and if so, will it give me a high definition picture?
> I am not using the monitor for a computer and the monitor is a CRT with only a VGA cord connection.


Upon further reflection, examination, etc., that cable may be intended to feed composite or VGA video into an HDMI input on a TV or monitor from a source that doesn't have an HDMI output.

Maybe you should look for something with a VGA socket on one end and the red, green, and blue coponent video plugs on the other.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

unitron said:


> Upon further reflection, examination, etc., that cable may be intended to feed composite or VGA video into an HDMI input on a TV or monitor from a source that doesn't have an HDMI output.
> 
> Maybe you should look for something with a VGA socket on one end and the red, green, and blue coponent video plugs on the other.


Will that give me a better picture than using a standard def TV that I use currently with the RCA connections on the front?

I am having trouble reading sport scores on my TV and other text. I don't have the money for new HD TVs.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

replaytv said:


> Will that give me a better picture than using a standard def TV that I use currently with the RCA connections on the front?
> 
> I am having trouble reading sport scores on my TV and other text. I don't have the money for new HD TVs.


I do not know. I haven't had the money to play with the newer stuff.

We have a nearly 10 year old 32" JVC CRT-type television, (and as far as I know it only does the same resolution as older TVs) and input 2 is component, and until I got an S3 HD I had nothing to plug into it. The HD looks about the same onscreen as the S2 DT running S-video into input 1.

Perhaps a computer monitor would let you input from a TiVo's component outs at a higher resolution than NTSC television sets, but I do not know for sure.

Do you have a computer monitor with a larger screen than your television's screen?

I suspect that with age your eyes are getting less flexible, particularly the lenses, so your range of focus is smaller.

Where the center of that range is depends on whether you are far-sighted or near-sighted or neither, but how much distance you get on both the closer and farther away sides of that center goes down with age.

My nearsightedness used to let me be able to read teeny-tiny letters and numbers on transistors and IC's and circuit boards.

I'm still near-sighted, but now I need a magnifying glass for that.

Changing screens might not be the solution. Changing glasses prescription might be.

Wlecome to bi-focals.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

unitron said:


> Do you have a computer monitor with a larger screen than your television's screen?


They are the same size.

I got a free 19" computer monitor off of craigslist this week, and was going to put it in the bedroom where I view from about a foot from the screen. (the TV is put on its' side next to my bed) The current TV in there is a 19" one. 
I have a 20" TV here in the office, and it is a fine size, but I could move the TV to be just sitting above the 21" computer connected monitor if I had 19 inch computer monitor that would connect to my Premiere. And I would get a better picture than the 20" TV.

I do have trouble with my eyes, but they are not the problem in this case.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

replaytv said:


> They are the same size.
> 
> I got a free 19" computer monitor off of craigslist this week, and was going to put it in the bedroom where I view from about a foot from the screen. (the TV is put on its' side next to my bed) The current TV in there is a 19" one.
> I have a 20" TV here in the office, and it is a fine size, but I could move the TV to be just sitting above the 21" computer connected monitor if I had 19 inch computer monitor that would connect to my Premiere. And I would get a better picture than the 20" TV.
> ...


So you want the Premiere and a computer monitor in the bedroom?

I've got one of these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ViewSonic-V...684?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cc0cd9ec

a ViewSonic VB50HRTV, for which I paid a lot less than that on Craigslist a few years ago, and I feed composite (yellow plug) video and audio into it and it feeds that to a 19" CRT Dell monitor (with great built in speakers, which is why it's trapped playing television), but it doesn't upconvert, so I run it at whatever the computer monitor equivalent of the old TV resolution is (640 x 800? 480 x 640? something like that), but it looks as good as a television.

It (the Viewsonic box) also has an S-video input, which I've played with, but didn't notice any real difference in quality.

One drawback is that the remote, seen here in a separate auction by a different seller

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIEWSONIC-R...612?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cc4300ec

in addition to being poorly laid out, uses some oddball code nobody else in the world does, so your TiVo remote won't be able to control the volume on it.

Here's another one new in box

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ViewSonic-V...744?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item256af40c28

and here's something else from them with a VGA output

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ViewSonic-N...965?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d31d2c85d

but I'm also going to mention it to the guy in the other thread with the tunerless LCD monitor he got his dad.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think if I am going to pay $75, then I would just buy a HD TV for about $100, so $25 more. I don't really have any money to be doing any of this. I was hoping to get a cord for $5 or $10 bucks that would work, and still may be able to with the ones mentioned. And who knows, if someone offers me enough for the Premiers, then I would have to let them go.



unitron said:


> So you want the Premiere and a computer monitor in the bedroom?
> 
> I've got one of these
> 
> ...


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