HDMI monitor as TV

[s44]

So what happens when you hook up a digital cable box (with switchable 720/1080 output, as most seem to have) to the HDMI input of a WS LCD monitor? Will the picture be scaled? Shown 1:1 with black borders? Stretched from 16:9 to 16:10? Not work at all?

I suppose all or none of the above could happen, depending on the monitor. But has anyone actually tried it?

 

[Slammy1]

Yes, of course, lots of people use monitors connected to cable boxes by HDMI. That's why they have HDMI inputs. I also watch SD TV using an S-Video input from my VCR on my monitor. Some implementations and combos will work better than others.

 

[s44]

But what about the scaling/resolution issues?

 

[Slammy1]

Your monitor needs to support the resolution/refresh that you set your cable box to output, and a straight PC monitor will typically be an odd dimension (16x10, for example). Ask tourself why they'd put an HDMI on the monitor in the first place. There are very few HDMI video cards that I'm aware of...

 

[Geraldo8022]

Newegg lists 23 cards with HDMI. I would like to know if there is much difference between a 7600GS and a 8500GT when just HDTV is considered. I don't game at all. This card is about $85 with shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150235

 

[s44]

To answer my own question, HDMI doesn't seem to matter much -- many monitors support HDCP over DVI. But scaling is another matter: for a non-stretchy picture you need a monitor with 1:1 pixel mode and/or a "fill screen to aspect ratio" option. There are a number of 22" and 24" models that do this (Gateway, Dell, BenQ, and I believe Sceptre), but the only brand that appears to offer this across the size spectrum is HP. EDIT: Never mind, HP only scales for 4:3 and 16:10, not 16:9. Ugh.

To answer the last poster's question (though I'm sure he's figured it out), if you're not gaming you should definitely get the 8500GT for its HD decoding.