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playing streamed video of sports on my laptop

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playing streamed video of sports on my laptop

Postby Barb O » Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:35 pm

Is it possible to add hdmi out capability to an existing laptop ?
What we want to do is play espn3.com and cbssports.com broadcasts on our new HD TV via an HDMI connection instead of just on a computer monitor screen.

My laptop is a 2 year old Toshiba Satellite A305-S6872 with Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 and Intel integrated graphics 4500MHD. It only came with a VGA connection for an external monitor : unfortunately no HDMI.

-- I looked for Express Card additions with HDMI but did not find any - do they exist ?
-- I have a Toshiba Docking station which can connect to that laptop and includes a video card capability for DVI (but no HDMI). I can find DVI-HDMI converters (like Monster brand or some less expensive brand) but we wonder what the impact will be to quality by going to the docking station DVI and then thru the converter to HDMI ?

Thanks for any suggestions that you can offer.
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Re: possible to add hdmi out to laptop

Postby Chuck Engels » Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:00 pm

Hi Barb,
Use the docking station and get a DVI to HDMI adpater, should only be about $12 and you can get them at Walmart.
No loss in quality and simple to hook up. That's what I use between my BluRay player and my projector, works great :)
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Re: possible to add hdmi out to laptop

Postby Bobby » Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:36 am

I agree. As far as I know, the DVI-HDMI converter is passive - i.e. just a bunch of wires with no circuitry. So there will be no loss of signal. The main issue is that DVI does not have sound, and thus neither will your converted HDMI signal. You would have to run separate sound lines to your TV, etc.
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Re: possible to add hdmi out to laptop

Postby Chuck Engels » Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:45 am

Bobby wrote:You would have to run separate sound lines to your TV, etc.


As I do with my BluRay player, I run a Coaxial Audio cable to the sound system but could also use RCA connectors.
Good point Bobby.
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Re: playing streamed video of sports on my laptop

Postby Barb O » Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:35 am

thanks Chuck and Bobby

Got a DVI to HDMI converter, connected it and it worked. We saw the video on the monitor -- but quality of playback is a problem. The motion is not smooth.

Our objective is to play internet broadcasts of some college basketball games: some are SD and some are HD. Of course quality of the source itself can vary -- but what I have seen of broadcasts from espn3.com, the quality of the source is good.

I now suspect that my laptop is the bottleneck --(Core 2 Duo 2.0 Intel integrated video 4500MHD, 3GB, Vista Home Premium). So my questions today have a different emphasis.

---What type of configuration of laptop do I need to smoothly play streamed HD video of a basketball game ?
Specifically for playback, is the video card or the processor more important ?


-- This streaming video seems to be in Flash format. At the time that video is playing, how do I determine what its resolution actually is?
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Re: playing streamed video of sports on my laptop

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Thu Jan 13, 2011 3:15 am

My first thoughts:-

What else is running on the laptop when you wish to use it in this way?
How many of any other running processes be safely turned off/stopped?
Does turning them off/stopping them make any difference?
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Re: playing streamed video of sports on my laptop

Postby Chuck Engels » Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:47 am

Also, what type of internet connection and speeds do you have there Barb?
And what is the highest resolution your laptop can handle?
Just because it has DVI out on the docking station doesn't mean your laptop can put out 1920 x 1080 video quality.
Could be you are stuck with not so good of a graphics adapter.
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Re: playing streamed video of sports on my laptop

Postby Bobby » Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:16 pm

Chuck Engels wrote:...Could be you are stuck with not so good of a graphics adapter...


Yes, ask your TV what resolution of signal it is receiving. I don't know how to do it on your particular PC, but my TV has a Display button that puts this status on the screen.
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