connect freeview to a lcd monitor via vga

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hi i want to connect my freeview box to a comp monitor that is lcd what leads do i need and how will i do it thanks karl:cool:
 
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With difficutly is the answer, the problem is monitors are generally designed to run at 60Hz minimum non-interlaced and british TV is 50Hz interlaced. You can get converter boxes (e.g. http://www.lektropacks.co.uk/view_product_standard.php?product=84&sub1=54&show=54) but they aren't particularlly cheap (the one I linked is over £100) and the scan rate conversion may well cause unwanted motion artifacts. You can get cheaper convert boxes without scan conversion but there is no gaurantee they will work with your monitor.

If your monitor has a DVI input you may be able to connect it to an upscaling freeview box with a DVI to HDMI lead but this will only work if your monitor supports the HDTV resoloutions (if it's a 16:9 monitor it probablly will).

I've looked into connecting TV stuff to a PC monitor before and concluded it's too much of a PITA to be worth it. I tried using a HDTV as a monitor but failed to get a shapr pixel out of it. In the end I bit the bullet and bought a LG M2762D "monitor TV" which solved the problem nicely. They also do a 22 inch version M2262D with much the same specs.
 
If you expected to spend a fiver on a cable then you should prepare yourself for a disappointment :LOL: Unless your computer monitor accepts a 15kHz signal (and most don't) then a cable on its own won't work. Despite what the ads from Chinese vendors on Ebay try to tell you, a simple cable with what looks like the right ends on doesn't do the job needed - as lots of folk who have bought cheap Chinese cables from Ebay have since found out. They'll only work for certain plasma screens and LCD TVs that accept 15kHz via a VGA socket.

You need something to convert the video signal from the Freeview box into a data VGA signal that the PC will understand. That "something" is a scaler.

Here's something that will work... Keene Composite/s-video to XGA/SXGA/WXGA convertor ...and for the job it does it's pretty cheap. You'll need some cables to go with this - maybe a SCART to composite video, and a VGA cable for connecting to the monitor.

If you just want to watch TV on or near the computer then there a few alternative solutions:
USB Freeview tuner - £33
PCI card Freeview tuner - £55
..or how about a 19" TV that doubles as a PC monitor... LG 19" £140
 
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I bought a PCI card with digital only input from Aldi and although it does what it says on the box I wish after I had got one with analogue input as I now have Sky relayed through out the house but it needs an analogue receiver. No DVD, VCR, or Sky box gives a digital output on coax and although you may be able to use phono or other direct connections coax will not work and coax is the easy cheap way to transfer TV signals.

I also found the card not as good at receiving as a Freeview TV and I can't get some MUX's on PC.
 

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