We just bought a new computer, and I thought I’d hook up the old one to the television as a media server. What’s the best way to make the connection? I’ve got a Panasonic plasma TV. Also, what’s the easiest way to convert my DVD movies so I can copy them to the hard drive?
Your choices for connecting the TV to a computer are limited, but certainly workable.
The type of connection you’ll use depends on what model your TV is and what inputs it has.
Realistically, you’ll either be using DVI or HDMI inputs to connect your computer. Your computer probably has a DVI port for video. If your TV has DVI inputs, you’re in luck. If not, use the TV’s HDMI port, if there’s one available.
Most new TVs have more than one HDMI input. If your TV doesn’t have an additional HDMI input, consider getting a small HDMI switch – a box that adds one or more HDMI connections to your TV.
You’ll need to buy a DVI to HDMI cable from an electronics store.
You shouldn’t have any trouble getting your video card to push the correct resolution for your TV, but you might have to tweak the resolution settings if the picture does not fill the entire screen. The adjustment is made in the monitor control panel.
You’ll also need to connect audio cables from the computer to the TV. The DVI output from your computer only passes video, not audio. I ran a cable from my computer’s headphone jack to the red and white RCA jacks on my TV. That’s available wherever you buy cables.
As for the DVD copy question, there is a free program called Handbrake, which will copy DVDs to a hard drive.
Handbrake is available for Mac or Windows PC.
Handbrake sometimes fails because of encryption from the DVD. In those instances, I’ve found that using a pair of programs for the PC – AnyDVD and CloneDVD – works well.
AnyDVD removes the encryption and CloneDVD extracts the DVD’s Video_TS folder so you can use Handbrake to encode and compress the feature.
Jim Rossman is technical manager for Macintosh support for A.H. Belo Corporation.
