Using a 19" TV as a computer monitor

[smithdj]

Do you guys think it would be possible to just hook the S-video out on the video card to the S-video in on a 19" tv and not buy a monitor?

 

[Cheesetogo]

Certainly possible, but you might not get as good of performance from a tv as you would a monitor.

 

[ohnnyj]

Originally posted by: Cheesetogo
Certainly possible, but you might not get as good of performance from a tv as you would a monitor.

It is not a might not, it is a definite downgrade in picture quality, especially if you get up close to the thing. LCDs might do better than CRTs but I think that both were made for their respective target consumers, LCD for TV strictly designed for TV use, and LCD for computer designed for optimal computer output quality.

 

[I Saw OJ]

Thats a big negative on that one, I wouldnt even bother. A high quality 19 inch tv cant even come close to the resolution you would want and need that a cheapo crt monitor could make. You would have to run the resolution for the tv at like 600x480 or something crappy like that. trust me, I have tried it.

seth

 

[Kalisperas]

I tried this once to see what would happen, and let me echo the opinions of the others here. The resolution was so bas that I couldn't read text, and everything looked grainy and poor. Even a cheap monitor will give you DRASTICALLY better performance than an expensive TV. I've heard that expensive plasma or LCD HDTV's look better than a CRT TV, but I think they still use low TV resolutions, and if you can afford one, then you can afford a monitor!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Kalisperas
I tried this once to see what would happen, and let me echo the opinions of the others here. The resolution was so bas that I couldn't read text, and everything looked grainy and poor. Even a cheap monitor will give you DRASTICALLY better performance than an expensive TV. I've heard that expensive plasma or LCD HDTV's look better than a CRT TV, but I think they still use low TV resolutions, and if you can afford one, then you can afford a monitor!

Important point bolded.

Though, I'm using a 20" NEC CRT right now to type this, running off of my R9200's composite tv-out port at 1024x768, although I had to carefully tweak both the TV and the card's settings to get it so that text using default font sizes at 1024x768 is remotely readable. But it's still quite a bit of a strain to read, and the 60Hz refresh and interlacing just makes it worse. This is probably nearly the best-case scenario. In 99% of the cases, your quality will be much, much worse, and will have to stick to lower resolutions and up the font sizes just to be readable. When I go back to my CRT, it's like night and day. Televisions were not meant as primary display devices for computers. In general, they are only useful for secondary media-display purposes, of which they serve quite well. (DVD movie watching, game console emulators, etc.) The only reason that I'm on the TV right now is the CRT is hooked up to my other rig-in-progress for testing, because my 15" secondary CRT died on me a while back.

 

[cbehnken]

Your eyes will rot out of your head if you try to read text on a TV..

I've tried....

 

[ribbon13]

The only good choice for hooking a pc up to a TV is a TV that supports 720p. And those are not cheap.

 

[Cheesetogo]

buy one of those dell monitors with tv tuners. the are meant to watch tv and computer. Or, get a 19" montor and then buy a tv tuner.

 

[Tiamat]

Not worth losing your eyesight dude. 19" TV on svideo looks like shiat. Text always is extremely fuzzy and you are restricted to low res. Even a cheap 17" crt would be many times better for you.