Archive for the ‘Help’ Category

Which Cables are needed for an in-the-wall TV installation?

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Wall Mount Cables Needed for TV Installation? You have thought long and hard about getting your new LCD or Plasma TV. You know it comes with a stand. It will be really easy to setup this way, but you will need a stand of some sort, perhaps wood or glass or…

No. You know you want to hang it on the wall! It is a flatscreen TV afterall. What other point is there to having a great new flatscreen TV, if it isn’t hanging on the wall, for all to see in it’s glory.

Now comes the dilema… do you hang it on the wall and have the cables hanging down? Or do you do the job properly and have the cables hidden, plastered in or hidden behind some crafty MDF and a slinky plinth?

Which ever way you decide, getting the right cables now, could make all the difference (and frustration if you forget one!) in setting up your audio video equipment, players, recorders, games consoles, SKY box and the list goes on… here is our top tips on what you may need!

Why not print this guide off and tick the boxes [ ] for the cables you will need?

1 – A Basic Flatscreen Installation

2 – A Standard Flatscreen Installation

3 – A High Definition Flatscreen Installation

a – [    ] – Power Cable – Perhaps you need a C13 to C14 Power extension (check your TV 1st)
b – [    ] – Aerial Cable from TV Aerial
c – [    ] – Aerial Cable from Satellite, Digital TV Box or Video Recorder
d – [    ] – SCART Cable or Cables from DVD Player or Digital TV Box
e – [    ] – Composite Audio Video Cable (3 RCA Phono) for Camcorder, Games Console
f - [    ] – S-Video Cable (if any of your AV equipement uses 4 pin S-Video?)
g – [    ] – Audio Component Cable to Hifi, Speakers or Home Cinema Receiver?
h – [    ] – HDMI Cable or Cables depending on how many HDMI sockets your TV has. (HDMI Carries Audio + Video)
i - [    ] – Optical Audio Cable to your home cinema receiver for the best in digital audio.

4 – A 3D High Definition Flatscreen Installation

a – [    ] – Power Cable – Perhaps you need a C13 to C14 Power extension (check your TV 1st)
b – [    ] – Aerial Cable from TV Aerial
c – [    ] – Aerial Cable from Satellite, Digital TV Box or Video Recorder
d – [    ] – SCART Cable or Cables from DVD Player or Digital TV Box
e – [    ] – Composite Audio Video Cable (3 RCA Phono) for Camcorder, Games Console
f - [    ] – S-Video Cable (if any of your AV equipement uses 4 pin S-Video?)
g – [    ] – Audio Component Cable to Hifi, Speakers or Home Cinema Receiver?
h – [    ] – HDMI Cable v1.4 Compliant Cable (or Cables) depending on how many HDMI sockets your TV has. (HDMI Carries Audio + Video)
i - [    ] – Optical Audio Cable to your home cinema receiver for the best in digital audio.
g – [    ] – Ethernet Network Cable Cat 5 or Cat 6 (Cat 6 is more suited to streaming HD video signals). Should your TV support it.

5 – A 3D / Internet Ready High Definition Flatscreen Installation

a – [    ] – Power Cable – Perhaps you need a C13 to C14 Power extension (check your TV 1st)
b – [    ] – Aerial Cable from TV Aerial
c – [    ] – Aerial Cable from Satellite, Digital TV Box or Video Recorder
d – [    ] – SCART Cable or Cables from DVD Player or Digital TV Box
e – [    ] – Composite Audio Video Cable (3 RCA Phono) for Camcorder, Games Console
f - [    ] – S-Video Cable (if any of your AV equipement uses 4 pin S-Video?)
g – [    ] – Audio Component Cable to Hifi, Speakers or Home Cinema Receiver?
h – [    ] – HDMI Cable v1.4 Compliant Cable (or Cables) depending on how many HDMI sockets your TV has. (HDMI Carries Audio + Video)
i - [    ] – Optical Audio Cable to your home cinema receiver for the best in digital audio.
g – [    ] – Ethernet Network Cable Cat 5 or Cat 6 (Cat 6 is more suited to streaming HD video signals). Should your TV support it.

6 – A Media Centre (PC / Laptop) Ready High Definition Flatscreen Installation

a – [    ] – Power Cable – Perhaps you need a C13 to C14 Power extension (check your TV 1st)
b – [    ] – Aerial Cable from TV Aerial
c – [    ] – Aerial Cable from Satellite, Digital TV Box or Video Recorder
d – [    ] – SCART Cable or Cables from DVD Player or Digital TV Box
e – [    ] – Composite Audio Video Cable (3 RCA Phono) for Camcorder, Games Console
f - [    ] – S-Video Cable (if any of your AV equipement uses 4 pin S-Video?)
g – [    ] – Audio Component Cable to Hifi, Speakers or Home Cinema Receiver?
h – [    ] – HDMI Cable v1.4 Compliant Cable (or Cables) depending on how many HDMI sockets your TV has. (HDMI Carries Audio + Video)
i - [    ] – Optical Audio Cable to your home cinema receiver for the best in digital audio.
g – [    ] – Ethernet Network Cable Cat 5 or Cat 6 (Cat 6 is more suited to streaming HD video signals). Should your TV support it.

Depending on what your laptop, computer or media centre PC has. you will need the following:

a – [    ] – VGA Cable – Quality 15 pin Analogue Video. Or VGA to DVI cable perhaps?
b – [    ] – DVI Cable – Quality Digital Video. Or DVI to HDMI cable?
c – [    ] – HDMI Cable – High Quality Audio and Video
d – [    ] – 3.5mm to 2 RCA Audio Cable. Provides an audio connection from your computers sound card to the audio inputs on your TV. If your TV supports a single 3.5mm audio input, then don’t panic as a simple 3.5mm to 2 RCA adapter will help keep your audio connected.

Other Cables to consider depending on your equipment…

a – [    ] – Component RGB Video Cable (Red, Green, Blue). Provides an excellent analogue video connection between devices that support RGB component video.
b – [    ] – DisplayPort cable. Not so popular, but if your TV or computer supports it, then don’t forget it!
c – [    ] – Specific Games Console Cables. Perhaps your Wii or Playsation uses the games console to Component or Composite cables? Pop them in the wall now before it’s too late.
d – [    ] – Have 5.1 or 7.1 Home Cinema System? Don’t forget to install the centre speaker cable for under the TV or front left and right cables.

Want a Professional finish?

If you want a better finish for your HD ready, HDMI cables, we have just taken oboard a range of HDMI Wall Plates, Single and Double Wall plates available in silver or white finish too. They have female sockets on the rear so installations should be a breeze too. A very posh finish…

Final Thoughts

When Drilling your speaker brackets into position, especially the front centre speaker on a surround sound system, don’t forget where your in-the-wall audio and video cables are. This one can really catch you out, just when you think you have nearly finished your AV install! The same goes for your actual LCD or Plasma TV bracket too. It’s all too easy to get excited over your install, pop the drill in the wall and slam it through your nice and neatly fitted AV cables. Ouch.

Then just sit back and enjoy your Flatscreen TV where is should be. On the wall (with cables hidden of course!).

Posted in 'How to' Guides, Cable Guy Clive, Help | No Comments »

Windows Settings for a 2nd Display on your Computer or Laptop

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

With various ways of connecting a 2nd, 3rd or more screens to your computer or laptop. Or perhaps you want to connect a TV to your laptop for bigger screen entertainment. Here is our quick help guide on what to do and how to go about it!

Once you have got the right cables and connected your computers 2nd display or TV, you need to let your Windows operating system know what you have done. If you haven’t got the cables yet and need help, either get in touch or view our Computer to TV cable help guide now.

So here we go:

For Windows XP Users
1 – Right click your Windows Desktop anywhere but on an icon and select ‘Properties’.
2 – Then the Properties box should appear, then select tab ‘Settings’
(If you have connected a 2nd or more displays you should see a window 1 and window 2.)
3 – Select the display from the dropdown or the number for your 2nd display or TV.
(If you are unsure which is which, select the tab that says ‘Identify’, this should help!)
4 – Now enable and select the box ‘Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.’
5 – Make sure you set the screen resolution to a setting that your 2nd display can handle. If unsure check the manual that came with your monitor or TV for help.
6 – You should now select ‘Apply’ and now be able to drag and drop a Windows program or ‘Window’ on and off 1 display and onto another!
7 – That’s it! You have now setup your 2nd display or TV for multi-screen viewing.

For Windows Vista Users
1 – Right click your Windows Desktop anywhere but on an icon and select ‘Personalize’.
2 -In the next window, towards the bottom, then select the text ‘Display Settings’
(If you have connected a 2nd or more displays you should see a window 1 and window 2.)
3 – Select the display from the dropdown or the number for your 2nd display or TV.
(If you are unsure which is which, select the tab that says ‘Identify’, this should help!)
4 – Now enable and select the box ‘Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.’
5 – Make sure you set the screen resolution to a setting that your 2nd display can handle. If unsure check the manual that came with your monitor or TV for help.
6 – You should now select ‘Apply’ and now be able to drag and drop a Windows program or ‘Window’ on and off 1 display and onto another!
7 – That’s it! You have now setup your 2nd display or TV for multi-screen viewing.

Multi Display Error Messages and Problems to be aware of!

If you are faced with a blank screen or the ‘Out of Range’ error on your 2nd display or TV, please check the following:

1 – Are you sure you have set a resolution in the instructions above that your 2nd display or TV can handle? On some screens or TV sets you may also need to set a matching ‘Frequency’ too. To make this change, while in the Display settings window mentioned above, select the tab ‘Advanced’… then the tab ‘Monitor’.
2 – You should now see a Monitor Settings dropdown selection. Ensure you change your frequency to that, that is recommended by your monitors guide or TV instructions. Some TV sets require the frequency to be as low as 60Hz, but do check 1st.
3 – Ensure the correct display cables are connected. See our Computer to TV cable help guide now if you are unsure or need to double check your cable connections!

If you are still stuck, then feel free to add your comments below or contact us for further help!

We offer a full range of converters and cables for all computers, monitors and TV’s old and new. So feel free to get in touch or view our guide above for further details.

Tags: bbc iplayer, computer to tv, connect laptop to tv, Help, out of range, windows settings
Posted in 'How to' Guides, Frequently Asked Questions, Help | 1 Comment »

How to Connect your SKY HD Box

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Cables & Leads

Although at first sight connecting your SKY HD box to your TV may seem like a easy task. Get a SKY HD cable plug one end into your TV set and the other in to the SKY HD box turn them both on then hey presto job done.

Unfortunately with the rate at which technology has moved it is not that simple, there are now quite a few ways to connect modern home entertainment equipment together. Due to the need to move more data and to move it faster than it did before.

The first step to connecting your sky HD box is getting a sky HD cable, but you will need to check the back of your TV and the back of your Sky HD box. You need to do this to see what connections are available. As standard the SKY HD Box comes with a HDMI Cable.

At first sight the back of the box can seem a bit daunting there are so many connections on there. Here we offer a breakdown of what they are, of course this will depend on the make of Sky HD box you have:

HDMI: Digital output and the best way to view HDTV complete with digital sound output.

Component: Offers HDTV playback but without audio capabilities.

SCART: No HD playback

RCA/ Audio Out: Audio playback

RF: no HD playback and low quality signal.

Optical Audio: 5.1 audio play-back via an Optical Cable

USB: Used the same way that a computer USB slot can be used for.

Ethernet: For computer network connections.

SATA: Again to transfer data to or from a computer.

Sky HD Box

As you can see there are a number of ways to connect your Sky HD box to your TV set. Unfortunately there are only two which will allow high definition output to be viewed. They are the HDMI port and the Component port. If you want to listen to the audio then you will either need to use the digital audio out unless you are using the HDMI connection. Similarly if you choose a component SKY HD cable then you will also need RCA leads but these will normally be supplied with your component cable.

If you do not yet have a HD ready TV set or don’t mind not viewing in HD then any of the other connectors will be more than capable of connecting your SKY HD box to your TV.

No need to worry if your TV doesn’t have a suitable input at first site as there are many adapters and cable converters available to help you connect them together. Of course if you are unsure then any good cable & lead supplier will be able to advise you on what exactly you need to get the right SKY HD cable to suit your equipment.

Click here to view All Sky HD Cables

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What is VGA?

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Many people have heard of VGA in one form or another has it has been the standard when talking about graphics displays on digital devices for years. VGA stands for Video Graphics Array and was developed by IBM for its early displays. This array contains the information about the colours to display and in what part of the screen to show it.

While this was fine when it was developed it soon became apparent as computer user’s needs grew that it wouldn’t hold enough data to allow the viewing of high quality images. This has lead over the years to the original standard being developed into a number of different styles that allow different amounts of information to be displayed on the users display.

The amount of information that can be carried in the array allows the display of more pixels the more pixels you can display the more clearer and crisper the image will look. As technology has progressed people want more and more from there displays with better looking games and movies at higher resolutions.

Some of the display standards that have evolved over the years are:

XGA: This was the next step and is still used today for displaying images on many digital cameras and other small devices that need crisp and clear images at small resolutions. Things such as mobile phones and hand held gaming devices for example make use of a XGA displays. Allowing the use of more colours than was previously used, and using more pixels, but still nothing like modern computers use nowadays. It allows 800×600 displays at 16bit colour or 1024×768 display with 256 colours.

SVGA: Developed as an extension or update of the original VGA display to allow the use of far better display equipment on their PC’s. Originally to allow the use of true colour 32 bit displays but now the SVGA standard is continually being improved to allow for the fast advancements in display technology.

There are other acronyms used to talk about different displays especially with laptops and other portable devices. But the main ones are the ones that are talked about above.

Other terms used to describe VGA are:

Resolution: used to describe the size of displays in pixels for example a 800×600 display is 800 pixels wide and 600 pixels in height.

Pixel: a small dot on the screen the size of these dots is related to how clear the image appears. It can be any combination of colours.

Colour depth is measured using a number of terms these are normally mentioned as “bits” and describe the amount of colours that a pixel can contain. 16 and 32 bit are common place wit. 16 bit can contain up to 65,536 colours with a true 32 bit display capable of displaying 4.2 billion. Although true 32 bit systems are available they are very rare. Most displays that say 32 bit are actually 24 bit with a couple of extra features. 24 bit displays are capable of showing 16,777,216 and are probably the most common at this time and with over 16million colour combinations are more than enough for the human eye.

Tags: video graphics array, What is VGA, what does vga mean, what does vga stand for
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