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Lappies with VGA inputs

post #1 of 10
2/27/04 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
Guys..

I've been looking for a lappy with VGA INPUTS .. The reason is this..

I have an Xbox, and have a HD adapter that can use the higher resolutions of a PC monitor screen to give HDTV quality visuals.. So, I want to use the screen of my lappy, if at all possible.

So, are there any laptops with VGA inputs?? Or is there a workaround like an external video card?? All the laptops I've come across so far only had VGA ouputs.. no VGA inputs !! I would also be interested in an S-Video input.

Thanks a million in advance, for any suggestions.
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post #2 of 10
2/27/04 at 11:09pm
Thread Starter 
^bump^

Someone around here should know something..
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post #3 of 10
2/28/04 at 7:45am
Hmmm...have you tried using the HD adpater with the XBox before? Keep in mind that the XBox is not a very powerful computer, and it is designed for use with 640x480 resolution. Even at that resolution many games, such as KOTOR, have insufficient frame rate problems. Can the XBox really handle HD resolutions?
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post #4 of 10
2/28/04 at 7:50am
For a computer to have VGA inputs, it would have to be able to process that large amount of information. For that reason vitually no display adapters have VGA or DVI inputs. They do not have HD capture capability. (Most of them only have S-Video or Composite inputs). This is a very advanced capability, and the cards that are able to do this are hardware-accelarated video capture cards, the ones used for video editing. I don't think any notebooks will have this natively. Perhaps there may be Firewire solutions.
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post #5 of 10
2/28/04 at 8:34am
If you have an another PC with a capture card, or somehow with VGA in, try this place www.maxivista.com
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post #6 of 10
2/28/04 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.xboxgaming.com/index.php?...a&cid=8&aid=58
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
For a computer to have VGA inputs, it would have to be able to process that large amount of information. For that reason vitually no display adapters have VGA or DVI inputs. They do not have HD capture capability. (Most of them only have S-Video or Composite inputs). This is a very advanced capability, and the cards that are able to do this are hardware-accelarated video capture cards, the ones used for video editing. I don't think any notebooks will have this natively. Perhaps there may be Firewire solutions.

Deltawalker and XSternMinator,

Thanks for your inputs.. but, all that I was looking for is a laptop with VGA inputs that can just take the video signals from the input and just put them out on the monitor.. The PC or laptop doesn't need to process the video in any manner.. I would be just using the screen as a display device.. This is what I am doing right now..

I have my HD adapter connected to my Xbox, the adapter takes the HD signal from the Xbox, processes it, and outputs the videos to a VGA output port.. From the VGA output, I can just attach a regular Desktop monitor capable of resolutions of 1920*1080 or higher.. and I would be able to see HDTV visuals upto 1080i. Here, the desktop monitor doesn't need to be connected to the PC to operate/display as a HDTV monitor.. all the processing is taken care of by my HD adapter. I just need an external display screen capable of those resolutions. You can read about this further at

http://www.x2vga.com

http://www.xboxgaming.com/index.php?...a&cid=8&aid=58


Now all I am looking for is a laptop with a VGA input.. I am not doing any video processing on the laptop, so video capture gear is not required in this scenario.. all that is needed is some laptop that can take the VGA input, and then just spit it out onto the screen..

Though, I have a desktop monitor, having a laptop capable of VGA input would take my Xbox gaming on the road..

You know what I'm saying??
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post #7 of 10
2/28/04 at 7:06pm
Laptops does not have ports connected directly to the LCD. All visual ports pass through the laptop's internal components. The problem lies here: all laptops LCDs have only one visual interface: LVDS. LVDS is a digital visual interface used by notebook LCDs and notebook graphic cards. To make a notebook LCD be able to use VGA signals, you will need a VGA-> LVDS adapter (which costs about $500). In addition, since the LVDS interface is not meant to be changed, it is somewhere inside the laptop. You will have to open the laptop, remove the connector and then connect it to the adapter. I've never seen anyone do this. But since LVDS is a display standard, it could very possibly be done.
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post #8 of 10
2/28/04 at 7:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
Laptops does not have ports connected directly to the LCD. All visual ports pass through the laptop's internal components. The problem lies here: all laptops LCDs have only one visual interface: LVDS. LVDS is a digital visual interface used by notebook LCDs and notebook graphic cards. To make a notebook LCD be able to use VGA signals, you will need a VGA-> LVDS adapter (which costs about $500). In addition, since the LVDS interface is not meant to be changed, it is somewhere inside the laptop. You will have to open the laptop, remove the connector and then connect it to the adapter. I've never seen anyone do this. But since LVDS is a display standard, it could very possibly be done.
Thanks Delta... I appreciate your detailed insight.. Then, I don't think it is worth all that trouble..

How about using an external video card?? I think such a thing exists, right?? How does that work??

P.S: BTW, Deltawalker.. I saw your posts in the headphone thread.. did you get one yet?? Letme know..
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post #9 of 10
2/28/04 at 8:01pm
Nope..no headphones yet.

There may be external video cards in existence. But they probably won't help your situation. You need a LCD that has a VGA input. They just don't make them for notebooks. Sometime in the future, perhaps. Meanwhile you could try out some of the Sager notebooks with S-Video inputs. But I understand your whole reason to use the LCD is for HD, so S-Video is probably not for you.
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post #10 of 10
2/28/04 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
Nope..no headphones yet.

There may be external video cards in existence. But they probably won't help your situation. You need a LCD that has a VGA input. They just don't make them for notebooks. Sometime in the future, perhaps. Meanwhile you could try out some of the Sager notebooks with S-Video inputs. But I understand your whole reason to use the LCD is for HD, so S-Video is probably not for you.

Yeah, probably I could just buy one of those small LCD screens for 100 bucks or so.. If I find any solution, I would post it here.. just in case anyone else is interested..
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