alexiscartwheel: (Default)
Princess Sparklefists ([personal profile] alexiscartwheel) wrote2011-10-02 02:40 pm

Tech Headaches

Blargh technology! I consider myself reasonably technologically proficient, but as it turns out I just do not get audio/video stuff. Mainly, why can't they just pick a standard and stick to it?

What I'd like to do: hook my four year old laptop* up to my schmancy TV, the back of which is covered in various audio/video inputs. I went digging through my box full of cables and dug out what I've identified, with the help of the internet as mini-DVI to DVI, mini-DVI to s-video, s-video to composite, and DVI to VGA apapters. (Just for fun, the mini-DVI to DVI and DVI to VGA adapters won't work together, though they should.) One of these actual helps me connect the video (no audio!) to the TV. Oy.

Can't there just be one easy, magical cable that just works, so I don't have to dig through a pile of old crap that doesn't even work with anything anymore? Also, wouldn't it be nice if the adapters were actually labeled so I could tell what they are and how to use them without Wikipedia?


*My laptop is showing it's age. I recently replaced both RAM cards, and now I've maxed out my hard disk space... again. I found out the other day that the soon to be retired iPod "classic" has the same amount of storage as my poor laptop. I guess now I take on replacing that too? At least it's less expensive than buying a new computer.

[identity profile] carrotgirl.livejournal.com 2011-10-03 02:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah I have problems with this too. I had to go out and buy a new cable to connect my TV to my DVD player and it took forever for me to get the sound to work. I had to use the internet too.

My problem is trying to figure out how to get my iPod to play on my stereo. I have yet to find a cable that will accomplish this.

[identity profile] alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com 2011-10-04 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
One of my friends has a cable that I think has a headphone connector on one side and stereo ones on the other side... I guess it just depends on what kind of jacks you have on the stereo, which always seems to be the tricky part to figure out.