Need help: Samsung T260HD

[Krynn72]

I got this monitor so I could use it as a computer monitor as well as a TV since its got a built in tv tuner. But I'm having problems with hooking it up. For one, Media Center doesnt recognize the tuner, which isnt surprising since the only thing going from the monitor to the pc is the dvi cable. Do I need something else to get it to work?

Also, the sound on the monitors speakers sound like ass, and I cant figure out how to hook my computer speakers up to it (without taking them from the PC). Isnt there a way to do that?

Heres the inputs from the back of the monitor:

EDIT: I need an hdmi cable dont I?

 

[VirusType2]

why do 'audio out' from the monitor? Why not just do it from the source?


I think the tuner is for TV, not internet TV. Like digital cable, or digital sat. 'Ant in'

 

[Viperidae]

Also, how did you manage to get sound from a DVI cable alone?

 

[Vegeta897]

Also, how did you manage to get sound from a DVI cable alone?

Aphex could do it.

 

[Sedako]

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to do with it. Hooking it up to your PC using a DVI cable will cause it to be treated as a normal PC monitor. Also, what model of speakers do you have, and if you have a sound card, how about that as well?

 

[Krynn72]

I think the tuner is for TV, not internet TV. Like digital cable, or digital sat. 'Ant in'

Yes, thats right. I have cable television, and I connected it from the wall outlet to the Ant In plug, and I get TV. Thats what I wanted.

Also, how did you manage to get sound from a DVI cable alone?

The monitor is basically two things in one. An HDTV, and a monitor. As a TV, it has built in speakers. They suck though, and I want to find a way to bypass them and use the speakers connected to my PC instead.

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to do with it. Hooking it up to your PC using a DVI cable will cause it to be treated as a normal PC monitor. Also, what model of speakers do you have, and if you have a sound card, how about that as well?

I have a set of Logitech Z4 speakers and I believe my soundcard is a Sound Blaster Audigy SE.

EDIT: Actually I'm using the onboard audio from my motherboard. Its just a Realtek ALC888. But I do have that creative soundcard if I need to use that instead.

 

[VirusType2]

well if you want to play TV sound through external speakers, unfortunately, you will need an amplifier or amplified speakers that have a 'digital audio in', (fiber optic cable) since the Monitor doesn't have any other audio output.

On the bright side, if you upgrade your amplifier or amplified speakers, that's the cleanest way to connect audio. Perfect sound.


You might invest $100 or more in a home theater audio/video amplifier (optionally with an FM radio tuner) that has digital audio inputs

You can go with 2 channel stereo, 2 channel with surround (not recommended), 5.1, or 7.1. depending on your preference.

 

[Krynn72]

I really dont know what most of that means. I've never dealt with an amplifier before. Cant I get some kind of switch that lets me plug my speakers into it, and then plug both the tv and computer into it?

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Scenario 1: When using your monitor with your computer, just have a DVI cable going from your PC to the monitor done. If the sound from the monitor is bad, don't give it any input connections from the PC (DVI cannot transmit sound). Simply plug your speakers into your sound card.

Scenario 2:When using the monitor as a TV, using the ant in, you are getting visuals and sound. I believe you can do a similar thing to what I did with my 360. I used it with my monitor which has no speakers, therefore needed to use my PC speakers for sound. Using the RCA audio inputs, I connected this cable which took it from RCA to a standard jack, which is what most speakers are to plug into a sound card. This routes the sound to the speakers. Works perfectly for my 360, I assume it would apply here too?

(Btw that cable came with my speakers, I didn't need to buy one, so check to see if you have one first).

 

[Krynn72]

Scenario 1: When using your monitor with your computer, just have a DVI cable going from your PC to the monitor done. If the sound from the monitor is bad, don't give it any input connections from the PC (DVI cannot transmit sound). Simply plug your speakers into your sound card.

Thats what I do, but, as you said, DVI can't transmit sound, so I must use the monitor's speaker in this scenario, because the monitor has the tv tuner built into it, so the ant in plug is actually on the monitor, rather than plugging into a card in a PCI slot.

Scenario 2:When using the monitor as a TV, using the ant in, you are getting visuals and sound. I believe you can do a similar thing to what I did with my 360. I used it with my monitor which has no speakers, therefore needed to use my PC speakers for sound. Using the RCA audio inputs, I connected this cable which took it from RCA to a standard jack, which is what most speakers are to plug into a sound card. This routes the sound to the speakers. Works perfectly for my 360, I assume it would apply here too?

(Btw that cable came with my speakers, I didn't need to buy one, so check to see if you have one first).

I dont have that cable, but i'm not sure that would work. The monitor only has that "Digital Audio Out" jack, but I dont know what to do with it. These are the only cables that came with it.

I think that audio cable is just so I could get sound my computer makes to play through the monitor's speakers, which is exactly the opposite of what I want.

Is there such a thing as an adapter that takes a digital audio cable and changes it to whatever other kind of cable I need?


EDIT: What about something like this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812191035

EDIT2: Hmm, the first customer review says he used this for the same monitor I have. He doesnt specify whether he went from the toslink cable >converter> coaxial > PC > Speakers, or if he went straight from the converter to his speakers. It should work either way right?

 

[Asus]

You can't use the TV tuner like a PC tv tuner card. It's a stand alone feature on the TV not connected to the PC. Media Center won't see it.

The audio cable's ends (that Glenn linked to) match what is needed to plug a PC speaker's stereo plug into TV's AV output. Unless you don't have any composite outputs on the TV. (in that picture the AV outputs are at the bottom right of the top left grouping. The -> is leaving the O. The outputs on my HDTV are on the side though rather than the back.)

 

[Krynn72]

Firstly, I honestly dont know anything about audio/video cables or anything about them at all, so I'm still trying to figure out what im looking for. But I'm pretty the only thing that says "out" is the Digital Audio Out. Which I guess means there aren't any composite outputs on the monitor.

 

[VirusType2]

The TV sound goes into his monitor through the ANT IN.

the only way to get TV sound anywhere but through the monitor itself is out through a fiber optic cable. Digital Audio Out.


Surely you know what a home stereo is?

You might want to go to Best Buy or Circuit City and tell them you need a home stereo amplifier with digital audio in, and if they don't know what you are referring to they really don't deserve their job, but in case they don't, tell them you need a home stereo that accepts fiber optic digital audio inputs.

Something like this one would work, it's only about $130
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/446566-REG/Teac_AG790A_AG_790A_Stereo_Receiver.html

From the brands that Circuit City/Best Buy is likely to sell, I recommend Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. for the best sound, but you do what you want. Pioneer has the most powerful FM tuners last time I checked. They can pick up stations better than otehr brands. Denon or Harmon/Kardon will have the best sound quality, but really, any amplifier over $70 is going to sound pretty good. I recommend you get something really sweet in the $180-330 range.

Using your computer speakers with this stereo isn't really recommended because they won't be able to handle the power output.

That's when you need to decide if you just want 2 speakers. Left and Rigth channel, which I would recommend if you mostly want to listen to music, but it doesn't sound like that is your purpose.

If you want that theater kind of sound for movies, games, and TV, you might think about getting a 5.1 channel surround system. This has 6 speakers. A front left and right, a rear left and right, a center channel which goes on top or under or behind the TV and a subwoofer for bass.

You can also plug your computer into this. Any home stereo has a selector switch for around 5 sources. 1 of them your computer, 1 of them your TV sound, 1 of them your DVD player, and 1 of them your console game system, and still have a couple inputs left for whatever else you might want.

You will never want to use your PC speakers again. Using a decent home stereo setup like this will sound absolutely awesome for any audio reproduction.

 

[Sedako]

If you want to save money, you can pick up some excellent Behringer MS20s for around $100. Just run a Toslink cable from the monitor to the speakers, and do the same with 3.5mm to RCA cable from the PC. Both cables can be had from monoprice for very cheap. These speakers have incredible sound quality for pretty much everything, and are much better than most PC speakers you can find (certainly at this price point). A warning though - shitty music rips will likely sound even worse than with normal PC speakers due to their accuracy, but better rips will sound incredible. They are pretty decent with bass on their own if you lack a subwoofer.

 

[Vegeta897]

Would stay away from Behringer monitors.

Monitors aren't to be used for home entertainment systems anyway.

 

[Sedako]

Would stay away from Behringer monitors.

Monitors aren't to be used for home entertainment systems anyway.

I am extremely picky about my audio quality, but with college fees I needed something relatively cheap with digital in for my PS3, so I went with these. You'd be surprised at how great the MS20's sound on pretty much any media (aside from poor music rips, as previously stated). The built-in DAC and separate digital/analog volume controls are a plus. Yes, they are near-field monitors, so if you're sitting across the room you'd be better off getting something else. I know Behringer isn't known for having the best build quality, but these honestly feel very solidly constructed.

 

[Krynn72]

I'd rather find a cheaper solution. I just bought these speakers for my pc not long ago, and if I got a whole new set, it would mean I wasted money on the ones I have now. Besides, a great sound system would be wasted on me, because I live in a apartment with four other people, so I'd need to keep the volume low.

So would that converter I posted actually work? Its like 30 bucks, so if it did work, that would be perfect.

 

[VirusType2]

read the specifications of the converter. I've never heard of a TOS switch personally.

Now that I think about it, I've got some gaming switch made by Pelican that has ANT IN/OUT and has audio in out. You can pick a used one of those up at Gamestop or your local video game store for $5-10 (used)

It was that was intended for people with a PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, not the new HD ones.

I like this picture because it shows the back. One set is for output (to speakers/tv) and the rest are sets of inputs. Kind of overkill, but you just run the cable from your wall to this thing as one of the inputs, and then use a second TV cable to your TV. Finally, use the 'audio out' RCA audio jacks to connect to your speakers.


If you just want to try you can get a similar one at wal-mart and return it when your internet ordered one arrives. You will need the correct cable that goes from RCA stereo jacks to whatever input your computer speakers use. You'll also need a second coaxial cable (a TV cable)

Making things more complicated if your speakers are already 'plugged up' by your computer, but it can be worked around. This is good reason to get a switch box like I described above TBH.

EDIT - actually this is the one I have. Notice the Coaxial (TV) in/out:

http://www.cheeptech.com/2600mods/jpegs/pelicanb.jpg

Pelican(TM) Universal System Selector

 

[swl72us]

This monitor has another audio output

There is a headphone jack behind the flap next to the HDMI 2 port. Just plug your speakers in there. I know it's not very elegant since the headphone jack is on the side, but it will work.

 

[Krynn72]

Ahh, good catch, I wouldnt have thought to look there haha. But that still doesnt let me use the speakers with my computer without having to switch the cable back and forth. I ended up just getting a real tv tuner for my pc, and its a lot better hah.