Advice: How Do I Use a TV for a Monitor?

[EyeOfThe]

I'm planning on getting a new TV and a new Computer.... so I figure if I get a sweet TV I could use it as a TV and a Monitor too, right?

So what kind of TV do I need and what kind of equipment in the computer - and will it be good?

Thanks

 

[Yossarian]

It's easy! My TI-99/4A and Commodore 64 just plugged right into my 11" tv.

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

Originally posted by: EyeOfThe
I'm planning on getting a new TV and a new Computer.... so I figure if I get a sweet TV I could use it as a TV and a Monitor too, right?

So what kind of TV do I need and what kind of equipment in the computer - and will it be good?

Thanks

Will it be good? Not really. Any text will be a bitch to read. I currently have one of my computers hooked up to my 32" Toshiba w/ 600 lines res and the text is readable, but not enjoyable that way.

Sorry, definitely dont want to bring you down, just want you to be well informed. Well, with my opinion anyway.

 

[ISAslot]

TV's are not designed to be viewed as close up as a monitor are either.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: DuffmanOhYeah

Originally posted by: EyeOfThe
I'm planning on getting a new TV and a new Computer.... so I figure if I get a sweet TV I could use it as a TV and a Monitor too, right?

So what kind of TV do I need and what kind of equipment in the computer - and will it be good?

Thanks

Will it be good? Not really. Any text will be a bitch to read. I currently have one of my computers hooked up to my 32" Toshiba w/ 600 lines res and the text is readable, but not enjoyable that way.

Sorry, definitely dont want to bring you down, just want you to be well informed. Well, with my opinion anyway.

That's right. Playing games with the signal being sent to your TV screen is one thing, while working on documents and spreadsheets that are heavily text based is another.

 

[Gosharkss]

TV?s simply do not make good computer monitors and visa versa although they are similar they are designed for completely different applications. You are better off buying a nice TV and a nice monitor.

 

[EyeOfThe]

What about those TVs that say something about also working as Monitors?

Another question: Whats the deal with HDTV? I saw the tv in the store and the picture was awesome.... lookin at a 36" Sony HDTV - but the guy says there is only like 4 channels that put out HD.

Since it would cost me like 1900 for the TV, 500 for the HD-receiver, ~50 bucks a month for HD-cable or HD-satellite - I was hoping I could save some money by using this for a computer monitor too instead of spending 600-800 on a 21"+ monitor.

 

[Gosharkss]

Standard TV is extremely low resolution compared to today?s computer monitors. In order to get a clean picture the LCD TV would need to run at TV?s native resolution. HDTV will be better at 1900 x 1024 resolution, however this is a 16:9 format and is not the optimal aspect ratio for computer work. Most computer users prefer 4:3 aspect ratio.

 

[EyeOfThe]

Are you saying the computer image would be stretched out on the TV? or would there be black space instead?

 

[Gosharkss]

For optimal performance yes, LCD?s only perform best at there native resolution. So your video card would need to output 1900 x 1024 and yes everything would be stretched out horizontally on the screen. Unfortunately this is exactly opposite of what most computer users want. Web pages, documents etc are taller than they are wide this is why, with the exception of some applications like CAD/CAM most computer users prefer a standard 4:3 aspect ratio monitor.

 

[Ilmater]

Take a look at this DLP TV from Mitsubishi. DLP is a technology meant to make the use of a TV as a computer monitor easy. If you're considering this at all, look here first.

 

[EyeOfThe]

That Mitsubishi is nice but it costs like $8000+.
I was hoping to pay 2K at the most.... I like the Sony 36" HDTV

 

[Boobers]

I have an RCA 36" HDTV (MM36110) that has a regular 15-pin SVGA computer monitor input. Text looks good, but the max resolution is 800x600@60Hz. It's great for web surfing from the couch. Most games though are better at higher resolutions. This set was ~$1200 on sale. YMMV...