HDTV as monitor, which card?
- Thread starter toenail
- Start date
After a bit of research on those suggestions I've got a bit of sticker shock. I had no idea that cards went for that much. I somehow had $100 stuck in my head. Do I need a card of this magnitude even just for web browsing using the HDTV as a monitor, or are the suggested cards geared a bit more toward gaming and video playback? If gaming puts the cost out of reach I'll stick with one of the new HD console formats.
My understanding is that many affordable cards offer DVI output @ the above mentioned resolutions, but may lack the ability to customize to compensate for 5-10% overscan inherent in HDTV's. In other words, you hook up to the TV and can't see the title bar, menu bar or task bar, rendering the computer inoperable. If the card offers the right flexibility, you can slightly downrez the vertical and horizontal resolution to bring those items into the viewable area of screen. For example, instead of 720p you would do trial and error in the high 600p's for vertical resolution until the entire screen was filled with no overscan leaving task/title/menu fully visible, then adjust the horizontal resolution accordingly to maintain the proper 16x9 aspect ratio. Additionally, I believe most HDTV sets benefit from cards that offer adjustable refresh rates, as opposed to one or two selectable fixed rates.
If these options are not affordable I may just give up on it for now.
My understanding is that many affordable cards offer DVI output @ the above mentioned resolutions, but may lack the ability to customize to compensate for 5-10% overscan inherent in HDTV's. In other words, you hook up to the TV and can't see the title bar, menu bar or task bar, rendering the computer inoperable. If the card offers the right flexibility, you can slightly downrez the vertical and horizontal resolution to bring those items into the viewable area of screen. For example, instead of 720p you would do trial and error in the high 600p's for vertical resolution until the entire screen was filled with no overscan leaving task/title/menu fully visible, then adjust the horizontal resolution accordingly to maintain the proper 16x9 aspect ratio. Additionally, I believe most HDTV sets benefit from cards that offer adjustable refresh rates, as opposed to one or two selectable fixed rates.
If these options are not affordable I may just give up on it for now.
