We are morons who cannot do this without some degree of adult assistance. How can we use the TV as a monitor and what sort of connection cord do we need? The TV is a new Panasonic Viera ST60. The computer is an old DELL running a Windows XP system. We know the TV is capable of doing a wifi connection with a PC having a newer version of Windows, but we don't know how to do that. We were hoping to set the computer near the television and join the tv up as a monitor so we could see RAW photos running off of the Photoshop Lightroom 3 software on the PC. We're not sure about which cord to use. Do we just a USB connection on the computer or the monitor connection? Do we join the USB connection on the TV or the HDMI connection? Please advise and don't hesitate to talk to us as though we are in Kindergarden. We are done. The end.
All you need is a HDMI cable. Plug one end into the HDMI socket on your laptop, the other end into a HDMI socket on your TV. Set your TV's input to one of the HDMI channels (it could be any of them) and it should mirror whatever is shown on your laptop's screen.
It might not display automatically, though - you may have to set your laptop to output to the TV. I don't know exactly how to do it as I don't use Windows XP, but it should be as easy as right-clicking anywhere on your desktop wallpaper and clicking 'properties', then selecting which display to use.
an old DELL running a Windows XP system
Unlikely that the old Dell would have a HDMI out port on it.
It will, however, have the old D-Sub VGA out port.
The Panasonic Viera ST60, however, does not appear to have a VGA input port. So if you really want to display the PC screen to the Panasonic, you will need a VGA to HDMI converter cable.
That should fix you up. Don't forget to select the Source for the Panasonic via the remote control...it will be one of the HDMI port (the one you plugged the cable into)
Note: if you go via the VGA route, the sound will come out of your PC and NOT the TV. Even if you use the VGA to HDMI cable, the sound will still come out of the PC as VGA does not carry audio signals.
Good luck!
if you go via the VGA route, the sound will come out of your PC and NOT the TV.
To get sound out of the TV, get a 3.5mm stereo jack to 2x phono converter, connect the 3.5mm to the headphone socket of your PC, and the phono connectors to the L & R audio inputs at the back of your TV
alternatively if it is a PC you might be able to get a HDMI video card and then just use a straight HDMI cable.
We have a 9yr old Dell PC given to us, was a dual core so that's fancy in its days :) We just got a LCD TV. Yes - the modern LCDs don't have VGA. They only tend to have HDMI or AV or Component.
Either get a converter but you mind as well get a $30US maybe cheaper on eBay in the bigger countries .. get a video card that does HDMI and of course you need to buy a HDMI cable too if you don't already have one. Just note that if you have a slim Dell box you might need a half height video card and check what cards you have. Maybe it is PCI Express or maybe older ones .... On 2nd thought, could be AGP... or even PCI.
If you are not confident doing that maybe a cable converter would do...
You might also want to double check the resolution as well the computer can do. That is if you use a cable what resolution does it do now. If you get a newer video card that should be fine as it is more modern. Because with our old Dell it does not do 1080 resolution so the image isn't that sharp and a bit distorted. Our Dell does do I guess maybe more computer era 1920x1200 resolution though. I have a 1200 screen that I use for photography.
I think if you go the VGA way you need a audio cable yeah. But if you go the video card way even thou it is HDMI you may still need a audio cable from the motherboard to the video card so it redirects the audio. That cable should be included I think. Or just use a audio cable from the back of the computer to the TV...
PS. If your's isn't 1200 computer screen, and it doesn't do 1080 it might drop down to something like 1280x768.
Edited by: Rayonline
Edited by: Rayonline
Thx all. We'll try to make it so that we can view our travel photos. Some of those shots date from decades ago and may form the bulk of our long-planned, travel memoirs. We'll likely self-publish that, POD-style, (*see I do knows some tech talk). I appreciate your help. Cheers. I am done. The end.
*"Hello, this the Technology Hall of Fame calling. We'd like to speak with a Mr. Zebec, with regards to his recent nomination..."
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