i have (legally) downloaded some films recently and they are all dvd rips of good quality and large file size. To play them i connect my laptop to my LCD HDTV through a VGA cable which is able to produce pretty high resolution. Does anyone know some simple steps to maximise the quality of these movies played on the TV you cant change the file size so are there programs you can use that improve it?

I play them through windows media player and have ffdshow audio and video and Haali media splitter that fire up when a i play a movie which might be doing something but i havent had a play with the settings as they look beyond me.

you need a HDMI cable into your TV ..... but that is the easy bit. The difficult bit is having a HD output from your laptop.

 

I dont think VGA will cut the mustard for HD.

really? i thought VGA is more or less the equal to HDMI, it is with xbox360 and PS3.

 

Not really looking to spend alot of money to do it because the quality is good anyway i just imagined there could be a few tweeks that you could make to have a glorious picture.

The quality of the picture also is dependent on the encoder used to make the DIVX files. point your browser to http://www.doom9.org for a pretty concise site and forums on the topic.

 

One other thing, is that you may want to tweak the display settings on your laptop's VGA out. Find out what your TV is, whether its a 1080p or 720p.

 

Example:

1080p resolution is 1920×1080 60Hz

720p resolution is 1280×720

 

However, it may be better to run your output at 1080i, which is the same resolution as 720p but a higher framerate, depending on what HD content your telly can run.

 

Check your LCD's manufacturer's spec on the physical actual size of the screen to create a true pixel-pixel reproduction. Some run at 1920x1088 or 1920×1200 for instance and you may as well get the exact size of the output to stop the TV having to do compression or other things to fit the screen, which will degrade the picture quality you see.

 

I suggest you install Powerstrip http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm Its a very handy tool for tweaking the video drivers which most manufactures hide. This will also allow you to create your own resolution and timing modules so you can tune exactly your VGA output to your LCD screen.

 

To really test the quality of your system, download some HD content from the internet.

 

Here is one:

http://www.stage6.com/user/trav1085/video/1859436/Adrenaline-1080p

which you can download here:

http://video.stage6.com/1859436/.divx

 

and

http://www.stage6.com/Movie-Trailers/video/1100807/Shooter-Trailer-HD-1080P

http://video.stage6.com/1100807/.divx

 

 

and of course, a better player. Windows media player is kinda shit, though if the files you've downloaded may have DRM (digital rights management) embedded in them in which case you are stuck with the windows one.

 

This player, Video Lan Client is bloody good:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

 

you may want to install newest codec pack as they do improve with age and development:

http://www.xpcodecpack.com/

many thanks fusion wind that was exactly what i was looking for. The panel has this list for VGA resolution. Dont exactly understand what it means though???

 

Tosh 32WLT68

VGA: 640 x 480/60 Hz (VESA)

VGA: 640 x 480/75 Hz (VESA)

SVGA: 800 x 600/60 Hz (VESA)

SVGA: 800 x 600/75 Hz (VESA)

XGA: 1024 x 768/60 Hz (VESA)

XGA: 1024 x 768/70 Hz (VESA)

XGA: 1024 x 768/75 Hz (VESA)

WXGA: 1280 x 768/60 Hz (VESA)

WXGA: 1280 x 768/60 Hz (VESA) – Reduced Blanking

WXGA: 1280 x 768/75 Hz (VESA)

SXGA: 1280 x 1024/60 Hz (VESA)

SXGA: 1280 x 1024/75 Hz (VESA)

IMPORTANT NOTE: SXGA will display but it may

not be displayed correctly. If using PC HDMI to

HDMI XGA and SXGA cannot be displayed.

 

 

Does this means anything to you?

This Toshiba 32WLT68 is an LCD Television which has a display resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.

 

Thus, your best (& easiest) bet would be to set you external VGA monitor resolution on the laptop to 1280x768x75Hz. Its the closest to the actual LCD screen.

 

For the ultimate picture quality, using the powerstrip utility you should create the resolution of 1366x768, meaning the TV doesn't have to do anything to the signal to display it. I think from memory, somewhere in there it already has this setting as 1366x768 is standard LCD resolution for a 720p.

 

Alas, setting your screen resolution to 1280x768 ought to look damm fine.

thanks again fusion wind you look to have it spot on and explained in a much easier way than the techy write ups i have found on the net. I will be printing this out and have a play with the setup tonight ready to watch A Fistful of Dollars which i have just finished downloading!!

 

Do you know much on the audio side? At the moment i just plug in a lead into the headphone jack in the laptop that connect to my home cinema amp (Sony STR-DE475) via L+R RCA but it means i only have the standard 2 channel sound. Is there a way to get the dolby digital sound to the amp or some way to transmit the audio so it can be played in surround sound? there is no optical port on the laptop so i am not too hopefully but is there a way to maximise the sound quality from a laptop to amp without a digital port in the laptop.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127901

something like an external USB soundcard.

 

for instance:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sound-Blaster-Extigy-USB-Soundcard-Dolby-Digital_W0QQitemZ330202411726QQihZ014QQ

 

or this:

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=399B

 

there may be others, as you only need a usb->digital sound adaptor but dunno if anyone makes them.

thanks. I am hoping i can avoid having to buy an external soundcard and get a USB to digital converter like you say Fusion wind.

 

i found this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB-DIGITAL-SOUND-BOX-5-1-CHANNEL-STEREO-DIGITAL_W0QQitemZ120171664608QQihZ002QQcategoryZ75518QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

but not sure if that is what i need. I need something that will plug into the computer USB and then be able to transfer an optical signal to the amp to achieve surroundsound. Have i got this right? Will this ebay thing do it?

and also i will need an optical switch as i use the optical input on the amp for the xbox. will this do the job? Bit confused from the description if it is 2 going into 1 like i need or 1 signal in and 2 out.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Way-Optical-Digital-Audio-Cable-Lead-Splitter-Adapter_W0QQitemZ140196554070QQihZ004QQcategoryZ295QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

does this contridict itself?

1 input socket and 2 output sockets

 

For example a DVD player and DVD recorder can use the the same single amp input with

this device

http://www.sondigo.com/callisto

 

A USB to optical(only) soundcard.

 

exactly what you are after. about 25 pounds.

thanks for taking the time to look for that mate, it looks spot on! i cant find a uk stockist though. I will try and contact them and see if they can help me. Suprised this sort of thing it not more popular and for sale everywhere???