There are lots of converters and adaptors available that can take a video signal from your computer and display it on your TV or projector, but there aren’t many that work the other way around. That is, to take a signal from an external device such as a DVD player or cable box and convert it to display on a conventional computer monitor.
For many people who don’t want to use a TV, just a external input device, this could be quite useful, as computer monitors tend to be less expensive than their aerial packing counterparts.
If you want to buy a computer monitor instead of a TV, or you’re just re-purposing an old monitor that you no longer use, then you’ll want to take a look at one of TruLink’s many adaptors. We’ve taken a look at quite a few TruLink products in the past, including a VGA to HDMI converter. This one will do the opposite: take a signal from various sources and output it over VGA.
The unit itself is surprisingly minimalist, and aside from the various connections used for inputting and outputting signals, there isn’t much of note. Around the back of the box you will find a VGA out port, which you will use to send the signal out to a monitor, and three inputs for audio and video (composite) connections. The power connector is also around the back.
If you can’t use those connection as an input, you can also choose to use the S-Video port which is on the side of the unit next to the VGA in port. If you didn’t use the ports around the back of the casing to input the audio connection, then you can use the 3.5mm audio input jack at the front instead. There is also a 3.5mm audio output jack if you want to output audio to conventional speakers or your built in monitor speakers.
In practice, the unit is really simple to hook up and use effectively. Whenever you need to use it, just press the power button which is on the top of the casing, and the signal will start to be pushed to your output device. From the box, you can also control the volume and switch inputs between PC and Video mode.
A lot of the cables that you’ll need are supplied in the box. You will find a 3.5mm audio cable, VGA cable and the power pack all bundled in. Using the TV to PC converter, you will be able to output pictures up to SVGA (1280 x 1024) and W1440P (1440 x 960) resolution, depending on whether your monitor will support it.
Once you have everything set up, using the converter could not be easier, and it has to be said that TruLink has made a great job of this product. It’s small, and can discretely fit next to any monitor or on a media unit next to a DVD player, and does everything that it says on the tin. It would be nice to have a future version supporting DVI output so that even higher resolutions can be obtained with high definition inputs, but for standard definition input and output, this little device certainly does the trick.
If you want to get TruLink’s TV to PC converter, you can buy it for yourself from around £35.
Hoping to study Computer Science at University in the near future, you’ll seldom see John without a computer in touching distance! His interests include building computers, reading all sorts of literature and of course writing for Zath to keep you updated on all the latest in the world of tech!
