Okay heres the scoop. My PC is located in my bedroom and is connected to a 26" LCD via the VGA connection. I am running a 256mb video card with S-video, VGA and DVI outputs. What I would like to do is ALSO connect my 52" HDTV LCD in my living room to my PC so that I can stream video (most specifically from Netflix video on demand) to the living rom. The question is what is the best way to do this? Can I connect the livingroom TV via the DVI output (using a DVI to HDMI adapter) and switch between the two? Should I just find some kind of splitter and split the VGA signal between the two (the TV in the lingroom has a standard VGA PC input) or should I just say piss on it all and get a Roku player from Amazon and use it? Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly welcomed. Also what (in everyones opinion) is the best media (specifically video) player software to use to watch video on my PC (currently I use VLC and PowerDVD)?
Get a DVI to HDMI adapter. You can then setup dual screens (either clone or extended desktop. This is how I have mine setup at home. If you dont like the setup after trying it out for a whilst, get yourself a Roku player. VLC is my one and only media player, it just rocks!
So how do you set up a dual monitor using the DVI output and VGA outputs (just consider me a REAL NOOB when it comes to this stuff) and which is better the extended or clone?)
Pretty sure he meant to just do like you mentioned originally and use a DVI to HDMI converter to go from your video card to your TV. Or, if you have a DVI input on the TV, just use that. Then you just have to set up your driver software or Windows to display the same image to both screens, which is pretty easy to do. Your biggest obstacle isn't going to be video, though. It's going to be sound. How are you planning on getting sound from your PC to your living room?
I actually have a way of doing that. I have a 30' 3.5mm to 3.5mm speaker cable that will connect from my PC output to an input to the TV which supposedly works in conjunction with the PC input spot (which on the TV can be either VGA or HDMI). I will just run it with the HDMI cable. I will give it a go and if I don't like it I will just figure something else out.