VGA to HDMI TV: Putting an Old PC on a Modern Television
Quick answer / TL;DR: A VGA to HDMI TV setup puts an older PC on a modern television: a powered converter takes the analog VGA video, the television receives digital HDMI, and the picture lands at up to 1080p at 60 Hz. The television matches the mode the PC sends, overscan can crop the edges and is usually cured with a picture-size setting on the panel, the sound reaches the television speakers only if the converter has a 3.5mm input fed from the PC, and the correct HDMI input must be selected.
A VGA to HDMI TV setup is the living-room version of the conversion: an older desktop or a media PC with a 15-pin VGA output, a modern television that takes HDMI, and a powered converter between them. The computer is the source and the television is the display, and the job is half electrical, half a matter of getting the two ends to agree on a mode.
This is the living-room guide: the resolution the television and the PC settle on, the overscan and underscan that cut the edges off the screen, keeping the sound on the television speakers, and choosing the right input on the panel.
The Living-Room Chain, End to End
The chain is short and every link matters. The PC VGA port feeds the converter, a short USB lead powers the converter chip, a normal HDMI cable runs from the converter to the television, and a 3.5mm lead from the PC audio jack feeds the converter if the sound is meant to leave the panel. The television itself needs nothing but an input selected.
The four connections, in the order to make them
- The VGA plug into the PC, the source side of the conversion
- The HDMI cable from the converter to the television
- The USB power lead from the converter to a live USB port
- The 3.5mm lead from the PC audio out to the converter input
Make the connections in that order and switch on last, because the converter reads the display information as it powers up, and a television that is already awake gives it a cleaner start. If a mode looks wrong at first, changing the PC resolution with everything connected is faster than a power cycle, since the converter follows the source and the television follows the converter.
The Resolution the Two Ends Negotiate
There are three parties here, not two. The television tells the converter what it accepts over the HDMI handshake. The converter turns that into a set of modes its VGA input can sample. The PC then sends one of its own VGA modes, and the television scales whatever arrives to its panel. The working answer never changes: set the PC to 1920 by 1080 at 60 Hz and let the television do the rest.
| PC mode sent | On a 1080p television | On a 4K television |
|---|
| 1920 by 1080 at 60 Hz | Native, pixel for pixel | Scaled to the panel, still sharp |
| 1280 by 720 at 60 Hz | Scaled up, visibly softer | Scaled in two steps, soft |
| 1366 by 768 at 60 Hz | Fitted, slight blur | Scaled, mild blur |
| 1024 by 768 at 60 Hz | Bars at the sides or stretched | Scaled with bars |
| 800 by 600 at 60 Hz | Heavily scaled, poor text | Heavily scaled, poor text |
Overscan and Underscan
Televisions were built for broadcast, and for decades they cropped about five percent from every edge so that viewers never saw the blanking lines. Computer modes assume the opposite, that the picture is the frame from edge to edge. The mismatch shows as a missing taskbar or a window border cut off at the edge, and the panel is the better place to fix it.
When the television has no such setting
Look in the picture menu for a setting called screen fit, just scan, dot by dot, or 16:9 against something like full pixel, and choose the one that stops cropping. If the panel hides the option, the graphics driver is the second lever: its display control panel carries an overscan compensation slider, and a few percent brings the taskbar back inside the frame.
Keeping the Sound on the TV Speakers
VGA carries no audio, so the sound does not travel with the picture unless somebody carries it. The converter with the 3.5mm stereo input is the piece that does the carrying: a short lead from the PC audio jack into the converter, and the HDMI feed to the television then holds both picture and sound. Without that input the panel stays silent.
Where the sound goes without an input
A video-only converter leaves the audio on the PC output, so the options are speakers near the machine, a lead from the PC to the television analog input where the panel still has one, or the audio version of the converter. The last is the clean answer for a living room, because it removes a wire and leaves one cable between the PC and the television.
Choosing the Input and Finishing the Job
Modern panels have several HDMI sockets and remember the last one used. Note which socket the cable went into, then press the input button on the remote and choose that number. On the PC side, set the television as a second display and choose extend for a desktop or duplicate for a mirror, and raise the sleep timer so the panel does not blank.
Converters sold for the living room are stocked with the 3.5mm stereo input, USB-powered or fed from the VGA supply, in the dongle and the box form, all at 1080p at 60 Hz on the video side; the catalog lists the form, the power and the audio path per part number.
Real-World Applications
The spare desktop that becomes the living-room media machine, playing films and family photographs on the big panel. The older machine that holds a media library and has no HDMI socket at all. The waiting-room screen fed by a small computer. In every case the panel is modern, the source is not, and the converter is the small powered part that marries the two.
Related reading: The sound path in full, wired step by step: VGA and sound to HDMI — vga-and-sound-to-hdmi
Related reading: The powered unit for the cabinet and the wall: VGA to HDMI converter box — vga-to-hdmi-converter-box
Frequently Asked Questions
What resolution should I set for a VGA to HDMI television?
1920 by 1080 at 60 Hz. It is the ceiling of the analog VGA signal and the natural mode for a modern panel, so the television does the least scaling and text stays sharp. Lower modes look soft once the panel stretches them, so set the mode on the source and the rest of the chain follows.
The edges of my picture are cut off – what causes it?
Overscan. Televisions traditionally cropped about five percent of every edge for broadcast content, while computer modes assume the whole frame is visible, so a taskbar or window border falls outside the panel. Fix it in the picture menu with a setting named screen fit, just scan or dot by dot, or nudge the overscan slider in the graphics driver if the panel has no such option.
How do I get the sound on the television speakers?
Use a converter with the 3.5mm stereo input and run a short lead from the PC audio jack into it. The converter combines the sound with the converted video and the HDMI cable carries both, so the television plays it through the built-in speakers. A video-only converter leaves the audio on the PC, which is why the panel stays silent without that lead.
Why does the television show no signal from the converter?
Check three things in order. The power, because the converter chip needs 5V and shows nothing without it. The input, because the television must be set to the HDMI socket the cable is in. The mode, because an unusual timing such as 75 Hz can stop a television accepting the signal, and 1080p at 60 Hz cures most of those reports.
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