Can We Use a TV as a PC Monitor?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jay Chan
  • Start date Start date
J

Jay Chan

I would like to know what's the possibility of using a new TV as a PC
monitor.

My understanding is that those old TV screens cannot be used as PC
monitors because they cannot display text clearly and their resolution
is limited. I can only use my old end-of-1990's-era 25" TV screens to
watch recorded TV shows; but I cannot use it to do normal PC tasks
(such as browsing internet) -- everything is just too fuzzy -- even at
800x600 resolution.

Now we are in 2004. I assume that the state of the art of TV screen
should be much better than in 1990's. I would like to know what more I
can do with a new TV screen.

Let's say I am getting a new TV in CRT format, and let's say it is
capable to show HDTV. What is the limit that I can do with this new TV
in term of doing normal PC tasks? Do I still see fuzzy text at 800x600
resolution? How high resolution that I can set and still get good
clear text? What's the key feature in a TV screen that I should look
for in order to use it as a PC monitor?

And I would like to ask the same questions. But this time let's say I
am getting a new TV in LCD format (instead of CRT) that is capable to
show HDTV.

The normal PC tasks that I am talking about are:
- Primary: Browsing internet in resolution at least 800x600.
- Secondary: Using Words/Excel to edit documents -- nothing heavy
duty (we are talking about a home PC here). Something like 800x600 is
good enough. I don't mind scrolling around because the documents will
not be that big.
- Third: Playing games in full screen. I assume games are still
optimized for 640x480, right?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan
 
Jay said:
I would like to know what's the possibility of using a new TV as a PC
monitor.

My understanding is that those old TV screens cannot be used as PC
monitors because they cannot display text clearly and their resolution
is limited. I can only use my old end-of-1990's-era 25" TV screens to
watch recorded TV shows; but I cannot use it to do normal PC tasks
(such as browsing internet) -- everything is just too fuzzy -- even at
800x600 resolution.
Click to expand...

A standard TV, (NTSC), has only 525 lines, interlaced, and the video
bandwidth is <4Mhz. The field rate is 60CPS, giving a frame refresh
rate of 30CPS. This is much less than even 800x600 VGA resolution.
Now we are in 2004. I assume that the state of the art of TV screen
should be much better than in 1990's. I would like to know what more I
can do with a new TV screen.

Let's say I am getting a new TV in CRT format, and let's say it is
capable to show HDTV. What is the limit that I can do with this new TV
in term of doing normal PC tasks? Do I still see fuzzy text at 800x600
resolution? How high resolution that I can set and still get good
clear text? What's the key feature in a TV screen that I should look
for in order to use it as a PC monitor?
Click to expand...

Here's a place to start if you don't mind the $199 cost! :-)

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/PC-TV_GHV-1000.html

Note that there are 4 types of HDTV, and none that has a refresh rate
other than 60 CPS.

Virg Wall
 
look for a DV input (DVI) because otherwise using adapters to output a VGA
signal into a TV is a real pain.
 
Jay Chan:
I would like to know what's the possibility of using a new TV as a PC
monitor.
Click to expand...

To even consider using a television as a monitor you would need an HDTV.
Research it carefully before jumping in, post in the video card and hdtv
groups to get a variety of experiences.

I output to my HDTV using s-video and it's not bad, but not good enough to
use as a monitor. I could do better with a vga-->component converter but
I'm not willing to spend the cash. The tricky part is that you have to use
a program like Powerstrip to get the correct resolutions because there are
no video cards that have true HDTV support, yet. I have read warnings that
Powerstrip can damage your television if you don't know what you are doing
but I haven't heard of anyone actually damaging their television.
 
I would like to know what's the possibility of using a new TV as a PC
monitor.

My understanding is that those old TV screens cannot be used as PC
monitors because they cannot display text clearly and their resolution
is limited. I can only use my old end-of-1990's-era 25" TV screens to
watch recorded TV shows; but I cannot use it to do normal PC tasks
(such as browsing internet) -- everything is just too fuzzy -- even at
800x600 resolution.

Now we are in 2004. I assume that the state of the art of TV screen
should be much better than in 1990's. I would like to know what more I
can do with a new TV screen.

Let's say I am getting a new TV in CRT format, and let's say it is
capable to show HDTV. What is the limit that I can do with this new TV
in term of doing normal PC tasks? Do I still see fuzzy text at 800x600
resolution? How high resolution that I can set and still get good
clear text? What's the key feature in a TV screen that I should look
for in order to use it as a PC monitor?

And I would like to ask the same questions. But this time let's say I
am getting a new TV in LCD format (instead of CRT) that is capable to
show HDTV.

The normal PC tasks that I am talking about are:
- Primary: Browsing internet in resolution at least 800x600.
- Secondary: Using Words/Excel to edit documents -- nothing heavy
duty (we are talking about a home PC here). Something like 800x600 is
good enough. I don't mind scrolling around because the documents will
not be that big.
- Third: Playing games in full screen. I assume games are still
optimized for 640x480, right?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan
Click to expand...

The only reason to use a TV as a monitor today is for presentations. To do
that you'll need an HDTV set that has VGA or DVI inputs. Using a TV as a
normal monitor is a stupid idea. LCD monitors are cheap enough and they
are optimized for computer use. TVs are optimized for watching video. Also
HDTVs are much to big, do you really want to try an use a 50" monitor?
Even the 23" computer monitors are pushing the limits of what's
comfortable. The last time that TVs were commonly used for computer
monitors was with Apple IIs.
 
A TV, even an HDTV, is NOT designed to the same resolution specs as a
computer monitor. You would be very unhappy trying to read small text on
the screen for starters. Not recommended.
 
the damage comes into play when the refresh rate doesn't match the TV. I
think you need to set the refresh to 60 cycles per second, but don't hold me
to that number. but if a TV expects cycling at X and a video card delivers
something faster than X, then that's the theory about how damage is done.
i don't know *how* that damages anything, but that's what i read somewhere.

good advise about powerstrip, but I hope a DVI input on the TV and a DVI
digital output on the video card would alleviate the need for that.
 
AFN:
good advise about powerstrip, but I hope a DVI input on the TV and a DVI
digital output on the video card would alleviate the need for that.
Click to expand...

I have only read two reports of people having HDTVs that would accept
output from a computer DVI port. The first person had a Sony television,
the second person never replied to my response to him and I don't know
what brand his television is; however, I do know that he spent
considerable time experimenting with Powerstrip to get the resolutions
correct (based on his earlier posts). I don't know how many HDTVs accept
computer DVI but I don't imagine it is very many.
 
Thanks for everyone who has replied to my post.

Seem like using a HDTV screen as a PC monitor is not a good idea. If I
need to speed $200 to get a VGA-to-HDTV converter, I may as well get a
CRT monitor and put it next to the HDTV screen. When I need to watch
recorded TV shows, I will use the HDTV. When I need to do normal PC
tasks, I will switch to use the CRT monitor. Kind of a dual screens
configuration.

Good. This means I can stop wondering about this, and start doing
something about this.

Thanks again for the good advice.

Jay Chan
 
Last evening, I saw a salesman showing an Apple desktop (iTune to be
specific) on a $2800 HDTV flat planel. It looks really nice, and I can
see everything clearly from 12-ft away. The resolution is like 800x600
-- actually it is more like 800x480 (or something like that) because
the screen is wider than normal computer screen. In my opinion, it is
more than acceptable to be used as a PC screen. Hopefully, the price
will come down further one or two year from now. For now, it is out of
my price range.

Currently, I am still waiting for a chance to see a PC desktop showing
on a HDTV CRT screen (instead of on an expensive flat panel) to see how
good the video quality is.

Jay Chan
 
A lot more people are starting to use the 720p capable LCD TVs for
monitors. Especially since the majority of the new ones have VGA and
DVI and the price had dropped dramatically. Its common to get 1280x720
or 1280x768 from them. The 32" one I just ordered does 1366x768
through DVI or VGA.

Eric
 
Back
Top