vga splitter

[fearbrandon]

i currently have my 20'' imac with a secondary monitor hooked up via vga. but i also have my tv hooked up via vga also. but i unplug them to switch them and then have to detect monitors and it gets boring. im wondering if this is going to work

i want the secondary monitor and my tv to show the same thing... will a vga splitter work and how much will it impact my qualitiy..



http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3521446

 

[Makosuke]

It should work just fine, so long as both devices are capable of displaying the same resolution. If the two screens are LCD and the native resolutions aren't the same, the higher-res one will end up looking blurry. Or, in the event the monitor ONLY supports certain resolutions, you might not even be able to get both working on the same signal.

As far as quality goes, the last time I used one of those was years ago, but there was a definite impact. Powered splitters (aka "active") are somewhat better, and maybe the technology has improved, but in my experience the video ended up looking a tad fuzzy and a little bit dim relative to a single-screen connection.

If you have a local RadioShack that actually stocks that splitter you can, of course, just buy it, try it, and return it if it doesn't satisfy you. That's the one thing that keeps me buying brick-and-mortar retail occasionally.