How to you a tv instead of a monitor

[snorkyller]

Is it possible to connect a pc to a lcd tv so you can use it instead of the monitor? If yes, how?

Would the image quality be as good as with the monitor?

Thanks!

 

[diduknowthat]

Yes it's very simple. Most TV's have VGA or DVI in, in which case you just simply connect it to your TV. You can also use HDMI cable if your video card has output for it.

The quality is very nice. I mean, a TV would naturally have pixels more spread out than a smaller monitor, but from a normal viewing distance it looks great.

 

[Fatback]

Yes any new LCD or plasma TV from like the past couple of years should already have the hookups you need. My 40" and 50" TV both have DVI,VGA, and HDMI that I can use for my computer. The quality of a TV is not as good as a monitor would be but it is still great. I use a 40" TV for my gaming rig and it looks great. I am also building an HTPC that well be used with my 50" TV and I'm sure it will look just as good.

You should be able to pull your TV's manual up online and see if it has DVI or VGA. I suggest you just look on the back though, assuming you know what a DVI and VGA input look like.

 

[snorkyller]

Great! And what kind of output should the video card has? Is a yellow rca output ok?

I'm planing to buy a used computer (~3 years old) and I'll have to watch the outputs to see if the computer can be connected to a tv...

Thanks for your answer!

 

[diduknowthat]

Great! And what kind of output should the video card has? Is a yellow rca output ok?

I'm planing to buy a used computer (~3 years old) and I'll have to watch the outputs to see if the computer can be connected to a tv...

Thanks for your answer!

No don't use RCA output, that doesn't do HD. Use either DVI or VGA (your computer will definitely have VGA, and might have DVI output)

 

[snorkyller]

I'm also going to buy a tv. Do I have to wonder about the tv resolution? Is 720p enough to navigate on the web, or should it be 1080p?

Thanks!

 

[diduknowthat]

I'm also going to buy a tv. Do I have to wonder about the tv resolution? Is 720p enough to navigate on the web, or should it be 1080p?

Thanks!

Get 1080p, it's full HD. 720p wouldn't look as good as you will be blowing something that's native to 12"-15" monitors to well over 30".

 

[gamerman4]

You want to avoid using the VGA (blue port) on your TV, it is best to convert the DVI from your graphics card to HDMI, this allows for best quality and maximum res because most TVs with VGA don't allow full native res when using the VGA plug. Also, it is just easier to use a digital signal because you don't have to worry about issues with blurred lines. If you are using a large TV then your text will be a bit pixelated looking because the pixels on a TV are so large that the sub-pixel antialiasing that Windows uses to smooth out text gets a bit overwhelmed.

One thing to note, make 100% sure that your TV is running at "Native" scaling if it has the feature. This might be in other settings as "overscan" or something, basically you want your TV to display the full boundaries of your PC image. TVs tend to do what is called "overscan" in order to get rid of black borders in a TV signal but your PC signal won't have black borders at all so the overscan is trying to fix what isn't even there and degrading your image quality in the process.

 

[ETSA]

ATI cards support HDMI and have a DVI to HDMI converter that comes with. They also come with a connector that is located between the 2 DVI outputs which people consufed for S-Video out, it is actually HD component out, I connect to my PC this way and get 1080i out (supports up to full 1080P and custom resolutions and freqs), great quality and easy set up. I cannot talk for Nvidia, although I would assume there is something similar.

 

[snorkyller]

But, with a 720p tv, how much would the display be worse than a with 1080p? Would it be a disaster or would it be just not perfect?

NOTE: It'll be a 26'' or 32''.


I'm hesitating 'cause 1080p tvs are a little costly for me.

 

[Sean89]

But, with a 720p tv, how much would the display be worse than a with 1080p? Would it be a disaster or would it be just not perfect?

NOTE: It'll be a 26'' or 32''.


I'm hesitating 'cause 1080p tvs are a little costly for me.

from personal experience ive only noticed the bigger the tv the easier it is to tell the difference between 1080 and 720

 

[gamerman4]

But, with a 720p tv, how much would the display be worse than a with 1080p? Would it be a disaster or would it be just not perfect?

NOTE: It'll be a 26'' or 32''.


I'm hesitating 'cause 1080p tvs are a little costly for me.

As a TV the difference between 1080p and 720p is only noticeable at higher sizes but when in use as a monitor, the difference is immediately and extremely obvious. You're talking about a difference between 1920x1080 vs 1280x720 (or around 1366x768 because many TVs don't exactly conform to the 720p standard as much) as your resolution. With videos, you would have to look at sharp edges to notice the differences, but as a monitor, pretty much everything on the screen (text, windows, etc...) has sharp edges.

 

[Bob The Builder]

I am using an in Insignia 22" from B.B. and it is a 720p lcd tv, and it is fine. I am using it as a monitor less than 2 feet away and it is crystal clear! Since it is a tv (and not just a monitor) it has the speakers built right in and I just have to connect vga and spdf cable and it is great for youtube and the like. Text is also perfect. Resolution is set at 1024x768 and fills the entire screen. When you need an extra tv, just put it in another room, connect cable box or dvd player or video game system and visitors or their children have something to do! When we go camping, we take it for the kids to use in their room in the fifth wheel! Great for rainy days!

 

[narrowchi]

so, I guess you should buy a used 1080 TV since it is affordable.

 

[kdfresh09]

using a tv at 720p is fine. the higher the resolution you go the smaller the text becomes, because you are fitting more on your screen. i currently have 2 32in tv. one with vga input, the other with hdmi. one tv im using 1360 x 768, the other 1280 x 720, and both are looking great. the text is clear and big enough to read from5-10 ft away, assuming you have good eyes. using native resolution is best, but using any widescreen resolution below the native would be fine as well. my opinion would be to use which ever resolution that is easiest to read and looks the clearest. and remember, when you hook a tv up to your pc you might get some of the screen going past the boarders of your tv, cutting off some of the task bar and some of your desktop. this is common, and easy to fix. just go into your video cards control panel and look for the scaling option to adjust it.