Digital Art Zone

I have a Vizio TV that I want to use as a second monitor.  The back says it is model VA26LHDTV10T.

I got an HDMI/DVI cable and I could not get my tv to work as a monitor.  My computer only has DVI connections but the TV does not have any DVI.  It does have HDMI and VGA (I think).

I got the cable at Amazon.  I tried calling Amazon but must have gotten the wrong department or something.  All they could do is offer a replacement.  The replacement came in today.  I cannot get the tv to work as a monitor with that cable either.

I have Windows 7 on this computer.  I did get an old Dell monitor to work on this computer when I had that monitor.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong with this tv to make it not work as a monitor.

Hi Miss Bad Wolf,

I also have a Vizio TV with the same attributes (probably not same model, though) that I do use as a monitor with both this Laptop (and used for Hulu TV watching), and a PC box.

The box we set up through VGA, because that is default on the graphics card, but for the laptop I use a third option, S-Video.  The S-Video is located on the side of our Vizio TV.  It is less detail.  You feel like you are viewing through a VCR, and the operating system environment fonts are a bit hazy, but still readable.

You will most likely have to go through VGA (default on all systems), but you will need a dedicated male/female VGA cable.  Most monitors pre-DVI have the VGA cable permanently attached, but my last year Win 7 PC/Monitor has separate DVI and VGA cables that are not permanently attached (male/female).

If your PC’s card has DVI out, or HDMI out, you can use those, and will be much better quality.  You will still require a male/female cable for those as well.

Also, check your manual when you do get it all hooked up.  Our Vizio has dedicated settings to be used as a PC monitor depending on whichever cable you decide to use.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you…

My computer only has two DVI connections.  I can see if the monitor has S-Video, but my computer does not have S-video connection.  I have a converter to make VGA cable to work with the DVI, but no S-Video to DVI.

Some video cards don’t play well with some TVs.

I have a Sony 32” TV (1080P resolution) that has HDMI inputs and does work as a monitor and even as a 2nd monitor for one of my computers.  But if I have the TV connected and then replace my HP monitor with an off brand (Soyo) monitor I get either blankness or background boot image (no text or graphics) on both monitors depending on how it feels that day. 

In researching the problem I ran into all sorts of sordid details about how HDMI and DVI are only semi-compatible and there are several subtle variations of HDMI supported in various devices.

If you haven’t already tried using the Visio as your primary (and only) monitor, then try that to see if you can get it to work at all.

Then try using a good primary monitor and the Visio as a seconday monitor.  Show the Windows display dialog on the primary monitor to see if your TV is even recognized as being present.  Playing with resolution settings may be limited depending on what the TV supports. 

I’ve noticed in my various experiments that sometimes two monitors with different display sizes and dimension ratios will sometimes behave in ways you might not want.  Probably the least amount of trouble would be encountered if your computer monitor and TV had the same resolution and pixel dimensions.

Putting a big monitor on a VGA output (or even an S-Video output)  from a computer isn’t something I would call exciting even if it worked.

In the end, you might want to consider returning your cables and getting your money back unless you can get a knowlegeable local geek to help with more in-depth experiments.

I actually do have an DVI to HDMI connection that works for one of my monitor setups but I ended up with an active converter box instead of a simple passive cable solution.  I come out of my DISH DVR device with DVI connections going to the DVI/HDMI converter box and from there into an HP monitor HDMI input so that I can watch TV on my 2nd monitor while sitting at my computer desk.  I know this isn’t exactly your problem but there are so many variables that it’s hard to say exactly what will work.  Sorry! :-(

After thinking about this problem some more, I remembered that some modern TVs expect that HDMI carry certain signals relating to data communication in addition to picture information.  It may be that a simple passive cable that connects the DVI picture info to the HDMI picture pins may not be all that’s necessary for your TV to be happy.  Older HDMI devices were apparently easier to please.
 

In your case, I suspect that your passive DVI/HDMI cable would probably work OK if connected to a simple monitor with only an HDMI input connection but the TV might be trying to be smarter than a monitor and need those extra data lines.

As I’ve said for years.  “The trouble with smart machines is that you sometimes have to be smarter than they are!”

You might be able to swap put your video card fairly easily.

I tried the hdmi cable with my current monitor and that worked.  I tried only having the tv hooked up with the cable but that did not work.

Hi Miss Bad Wolf…

For that model of Vizio tv you should connect the HDMI cable to the HDMI 2 port as that is the one that is DVI compatible and then press HDMI on the remote until HDMI 2 is selected.

If you have already tried that, then the problem most likely is HDCP. The HDMI ports on that tv are HDCP enabled and are using a security protocol and if your PC’s graphic card doesn’t support HDCP then it most likely won’t work.

You mentioned that you also had a DVI/VGA adapter or cable. Vizio recommends using that to connect to a computer. After connecting, press the Input or Source button on the remote until VGA or RGB is displayed as the source.

You may also need to change your screen resolution as that model only supports up to 1366 x 768

Hope this helps…

The DVI/VGA adapter is not a cable.  It is a small thing that allows vga cables to connect to the DVI connection.  It is small enough to fit on the palm of my hand.

I will try the cable with HDMI 2.

I just got the VGA cable.  My tv is working as a monitor but the rez is at 1280 by 720 while my monitor is at 1920 by 1080.  When I try any higher rez on the tv it says not support.  The tv is called Generic Non-PnP monitor on my screen rez page of control panel.  The tv is 26 inch while the computer is 25 inch.

it’s possible that the VGA cable won’t support a higher resolution transfer.

Have you looked at Vizio on-line to see if they have a video driver download?

TimG - 17 October 2012 04:22 PM

it’s possible that the VGA cable won’t support a higher resolution transfer.

Have you looked at Vizio on-line to see if they have a video driver download?

The hdmi cable did not work, but I got the VGA cable to work.

I tried searching for the video driver when using the hdmi cable but I did not see it.

Hi…

That model of Vizio TV has a max resolution of 1366 x 768 for PC, so you can’t go any higher than that.

In the Control Panel settings on your PC do you have an option for 1366 x 768 for the second monitor?

If not, then that’s why it’s defaulting to 1280 x 720 generic, as that is a standard HD format for TV.

Hope this helps…

TimG - 17 October 2012 04:22 PM

it’s possible that the VGA cable won’t support a higher resolution transfer.

Have you looked at Vizio on-line to see if they have a video driver download?

Vizio does not have any drivers for me to download.  I tried doing a support chat but that was not helpful.

What are some free screensaver that works with two monitors?  I was using the slide show screensaver that is built in to Win seven but it does not work with two monitors.  I would like a slide show screensaver but one that is built for dual screens.  Two slide shows happening on two monitors and they both grab randomly from the same folder of pictures.  Maybe something free or open source.

Sorry you are still having issues with this, Miss Bad Wolf.

I thought you would have it all working by now with all the great help that has been offered.

O.K., I am sitting here with my manual, and my VIZIO model (well, not mine.  Family’s.  Dirt poor, and couldn’t even afford a cold) is GV52L FHDTV 10A.

For us it boiled down to getting a new graphics card, and male/male (to female-graphics card/female-TV) VGA cable for the PC box to work.  More importantly, though, was the fact we had to select a graphics card that allowed the VIZIO TV’s VGA timing to sync.

The sync timing is for the RGB PC input (VGA) needed to be set to VESA 1920X1080 at 60Hz on the TV, and the graphics card needed to have a 1920X1080 setting (60Hz) at Pixel Rate of 136.5 MHz.

This was important for the two to work together (sync).  Otherwise, I would just get the same as you, TV says “no support”.

You need updated drivers (that support) for the graphics card, not your TV.  This is the important part.  If you have a graphics card whose drivers, or on board architecture does not support the syncing that VIZIO wants, then you will probably need to purchase a new one.

We bought a dirt cheap one at baseline support over at NewEgg_com.  Getting the right one with the correct driver support will make all the difference.

If not, you’ll just have to stick with what settings the TV is allowing to be used right now (1280X720).  At least you got it working.

But,  please research exactly what is allowed before you make any unnecessary purchases.  I would hate for you to buy a new card only to find out your TV model does not even support the higher HD VESA timing syncs.

Good luck, again…

Oh, and no, sorry, I don’t know of any screen savers that can work that way.  I hope someone can come to your rescue for that one.