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TV as A pc monitor

  • 12-01-2006 8:14pm
    #1
    HashSlinging
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,413 ✭✭✭


    Is it possible to use a normal TV as a PC monitor. im talking about your bog standard 28 inch sony or whatever.


Comments

  • #2
    duridian
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,541 ✭✭✭duridian


    If you mean a regular CRT tv then... sort of. I'll elaborate a bit.
    If your pc's video card has a tv-out connector (usually S-video or Composite type) then you can use your tv as a monitor to some degree. The tv would be unsuitable for anything that required you to read a lot of text, such as web surfing or word processing for example. The image on the tv would be too 'fuzzy' (for lack of a better technical term) for reading text and you'd probably just wind up with a headache from eyestrain as a result. On the other hand if you want to watch movies, then I find that a tv works quite well as a bigger 'monitor' for video. You'd have to do a small bit of twiddling with the settings of your graphics card in windows to enable the tv output. These settings will depend on the make of your card. Most Nvidia and ATI cards nowadays seem to be pretty straightforward as regards getting the tv output working. One thing I notice myself is that while my monitor desktop normally runs at 1280x1024 pixels, I have to lower the resolution to 1024x768 or the tv only displays about 2/3s of the picture, so I guess that is the max res my telly can handle. I find it great for divx movies and the like.
    I've noticed recently that a lot of mid-high end video cards nows come with a hi-definition video output adapter as well as the older S-video or Composite connection. I've also noticed that some LCD/Plasma tv's have corresponding inputs for these, and some even have DVI (digital visual interface) connectors, like the wider white monitor output connector on many video cards. I would imagine that, due to the improved interfaces, these newer tvs may even be good enough as monitors for reading text/web surfing type of activity, but as I personally haven't had a trial of this I can't say for sure, maybe others will confirm.


  • #3
    Ideo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,618 ✭✭✭Ideo


    yeah i suppose you can, well i mean you can hook a laptop upto a tv once it has a tv out connection so surely u can once u have a tv out connection/card?


  • #4
    **Timbuk2**
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 7,396 Mod ✭✭✭✭**Timbuk2**


    It is indeed, but it depends on whether your video card supports it. You must have a TV-out port, most new computers, espcially ones that come with XP Media centre, will have these. Then your TV also needs to have a video-in, this can either be the yellow port of the yellow, red and white ones, a scart port or a S-Video (found on newer TV's, usually beside the yellow, red and white ports, it is black!)

    Then you must have a cable that will support both the connections on your computer and one of those mentioned on the TV

    NOTE: You need to connect the audio as well (this is if you are interested on hearing the sound on the TV, or you could just use the speakers on the computer).

    For more look here http://www.packardbell.co.uk/specialevents/infocenter/01/Howto/hard/01hwht01/01hwht01.htm

    Hope this helps you!! ;)


  • #5
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,558 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    HashSlinging wrote:
    Is it possible to use a normal TV as a PC monitor. im talking about your bog standard 28 inch sony or whatever.
    In a word NO.

    You can get devices to export to TV but there are a few technical problems.

    First of all is the hard limit of 576 lines, interlaced so it's only displaying 1/2 that number, every second frame. And you need fancy HW if your video card can't do 50Hz interfaced ( Very old video modes at 60Hz date back to when you could put in a composite card in an 8086 to watch on a TV monitor in the states. )

    Next the bandwidth is low so 720 horizxontal pixels is maximum. And that's for brightness level, for colour changes maybe half that.

    So using it as a mono screen you would have a display that would be fuzzy at 720x576. 640x480 might be usable

    http://www.mtxindia.com/An1.htm


    Long term many LCD / Plasma TV's have VGA connections, and 1080 pixels will be a future HDTV standard (you can buy them but not much to watch above 720 at present)

    If you have an old home computer or playstation then look at the menus on it to see the sort of thing that is possible. Don't look at moving pictures or games, when making Jurassic Park one of the hardest things to do was blur moving dinosaurs to make them more life like..


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