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I have a Sony KDL 32V5500 LCD television with HDMI, Component, USB and Scart (RGB) inputs (it's 1080p). I want to use this either as a monitor, or a TV showing internet TV (BBC iPlayer etc), driven from a PC with USB, DVI and HDMI outputs.

What ports and cables should I use to get the best picture quality?

Thanks.

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    No need for a downvote surely
    – MalcomTucker
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 21:30
  • the question is on topic as it is related to a display device interfacing with a computer. I'm not sure why it was downvoted.
    – bwDraco
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 22:29

1 Answer 1

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HDMI

DVI (usually) carries the same signal as HDMI just without sound and using a different plug. So you should get sound from your computer through you TV using HDMI. I would also suggest buying an HDMI cable online because in-stores are outrageously expensive. Also don't waste extra money on the fancy marked up 'gold plated' cables and what-not, generic works just fine. A cable cannot bear the HDMI logo without first passing a standards test, so all of the fancy cables are more or less overkill.

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    so it shouldn't matter whether i use HDMi or DVI?
    – MalcomTucker
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 21:30
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    Only really matters if you want to carry sound on the same cable.
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 23:13
  • Note: to carry sound over HDMI your graphics card must support doing that. You can check the specs for your graphics card or look for additional Sound controllers in device manager. Make sure you have the latest drivers also. (My AMD Radeon 5850 card installed "AMD High Definition Audio Device" in Device Manager)
    – Spectre
    Commented May 24, 2011 at 7:35
  • yes, @Spectre is right, your graphics card must support it, also if you built the computer usually the graphics card comes with a connector that plugs into an audio header on your motherboard. These often get overlooked because they are so small.
    – CenterOrbit
    Commented May 24, 2011 at 19:45
  • Also, yes it shouldn't matter. But I have looked into this a bit in the past and from what i have gathered DVI can be full digital (HDMI) or analog (VGA) as for backwards compatibility and you will see DVI->VGA adapter will use analog signal, DVI->HDMI adapter will use digital signal.
    – CenterOrbit
    Commented May 24, 2011 at 19:47

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