HDTV for Monitor

Hiya,

I have a relatively new 32" 720p HDTV. Naturally, I am already thinking upgrade (those marketing folks know us so well) and looking into 37" 1080p HDTVs. It occurs to me that if I buy another HDTV, I can use this current 32" HDTV as a computer monitor. The HDTV has a PC input port and seperate audio ports. How do HDTVs comapre to monitors in terms of clarity and such? Is the image quality on a 32" HDTV comparable to a computer monitor of the same size?

The computer involed is a relatively new Win7, Core2 quad processor HP if that matters.

Input from those who have already done this or know about is appreciated. Thanks...

You can use it as a monitor, but there are a few buts. You will probably need to turn the brightness way down. And the results won't be anything like as nice as on a proper monitor, the pixels will be physically much larger, and unless you have that TV a good distance away, you probably won't be very happy with the results.

However, if you were to hook it up as a secondary monitor, and use it for watching TV/movies in Windows Media Centre, for example, that would work very well :)

Aha....

I knew there had to be a catch. And would explain why monitors start getting more expensive than HDTV once you get to screen sizes above 24" or so. If HDTV were as good....why buy a monitor, just get another TV, would be the logic. It isn't....so we don't. :D

Bummer though....I had high hopes.....

The maximum resolution on most 32" 720p LCD HDTV's is 1366x768. (I.e., 1,366 pixels [dots of light] wide by 768 pixels high. 1,049,088 total pixels).

You can get a laptop with a 11.6" screen with the same maximum resolution of 1366x768, (1,049,088 total pixels).

In other words, on the 32" 720p LCD HDTV they are simply s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the same number of pixels to fill up the 32" screen.

Interesting...

Lets talk about this multiple....two "monitors"....what would I need? How does it work back and forth? Hardware or software switching? Never had a multiple monitor system before....don't have a clue.

Now....the computer only has the usual single on-board VGA output. No other cards, HDMI, DVI stuff (which I don't fully understand anyway.) Currently goes to the monitor that came with the computer. Now the TV (Samsung) has multiple inputs and can be seen on this page:

http://www.televisioninfo.com/conten...nnectivity.htm

Now....would I need some sort of special splitting cable to turn the computer video output (VGA) into two cables? Any special software required? Don't want to start messing with drivers or anything for what is basically just a lark of an experiment.

Onboard video....Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset

Thanks

Nope. You need a video card with two outputs.

Dual monitors -> you can have the same thing on both screens or they can be seperate. At work, I have Outlook open on the second monitor. From time to time I drag things to the second monitor as I'm working on the first.

Or if you don't want to replace your existing card, you can simply add another cheap graphics card, provided you have the available slot on the motherboard. There is no need to spend more than $40 or so.

I built a home theatre computer recently, which is hooked up to my LCD TV and my stereo system. I have a small, cheap monitor for when I want to just use it for internet radio, etc., and the TV is hooked up as an extended display, and Media Centre opens in that. The whole arrangement works brilliantly :)

Would I still need two VGA output ports if I didn't plan to use the computer monitor and HDTV as a monitor....at the same time.

Example: Essentially, I turn on the computer normally and start doing something. Then decide I would like to work on this project on the big TV screen. Can I just shift over to TV without going under the table and moving cables? I was searching for cables and saw they do sell a VGA monitor cable that splits.

You'd want to shut the pc down to avoid blowing something up.....But in theory you might be able to find a cable that would help.

Food for thought-> Hook the TV up to the pc and see (pardon the pun) if you want to move forward.

Yeah...I need to do that test, but my VGA cable is one of those real short ones, so it is a major chore to move the TV closer to the computer or vice versa. It's a spaghetti mess under there with a TV, two UPS, router, hub, modem, cable HD converter box...and three computers....LOL

Figured I would do the easy research first..... :D

Heeeee's back....

I finally got my longer VGA cable (stupid Amazon shipping) and ran my test...

I am actually somewhat surprised. No brightness and backlight issue at all. The default setting in the TV is just right...no need to tinker. On the other hand....the TV is limited by the resolution it can take. When I hooked up, the TV gave me message about resolution reccomended....and that reccomendation did not appear on the PC display list....so I picked the closest one and it looks pretty good. Text isn't perfect, but plenty good enough. Video is great.

Now the downside. There is a horizontal scroll line that floats down the screen. Not very noticable on darks, but can be seen on lighter background stuff. I tried changing screen refresh from 60hertz to a higher one....and the TV threw a hissy fit and said it can't do that. What causes the horizontal line? Is there something else I should be looking for beyond resolution and refresh rate?

To get the correct resolution, you may need to update the graphics drivers.

As to the horizontal line, I honestly don't know. You do need to be careful how you run longer VGA cables, as they can be prone to picking up interference, which is what this sounds like. Make sure it isn't running past any transformer blocks, etc.

You may be right about the cable. Being just a test, I bought the cheapest cable I could find....and it doesn't even have a manufacturer name on it. It isn't running past anything high-powered....just some other cables and wires. The lines are very faint and only two (evenly spaced) on the screen at any given time. They take about 12 seconds to go from top to bottom.

As a test, even though it is a pain, you could connect to the TV using your shorter VGA cable. If the lines do not appear, then you may have spend some additional $$ on a better VGA cable of the appropriate length.

What was the resolution setting you ended up selecting?
HDTV used as computer monitors usually only support resolutions of 1024 X 768 or lower using a VGA cable.

The TV told me I should go with 1360x768....

Since that was not available on the PC display list, I went with 1280x768. Other than those faint lines....everything looks good at that setting and circles don't turn into ovals because of stretching....least not that you would notice. Initially, the setting was 1024x768...and I got the reccomendation from the TV when I tried to change to 1600x900, which is where I am on the widescreen monitor that came with it. I figured it would choke on the 1600....but wanted to see what would happen. It was then when it made it's own reccomendation.

What graphics card are you using? I have to say that I'm surprised that any recent hardware won't allow 1360x768 as it is such a common resolution nowadays :confused:

Unfortunately....I don't have a real card....I have an integrated pretend card, though. It's Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset...

I Googled and found a few people who also ran into this. Like this guy at Intel:

http://communities.intel.com/thread/...22C07.node6COM

I should note that while I was trying all the different resolutions, the horizontal lines appeared in all of them. So whatever is causing that, res selection doesn't seem to matter.

If you have a free slot in the computer, You could always get an inexpensive graphics card that has the resolution you need. I'd try the short cable forst though to see if the lines go away.

You said initially it was 1024 by 768?
Can you select that setting again?
What is the result if you can?

FWIW ... A couple of days ago a coworker called me from home with a similar 'faint moving horizontal lines' problem on a new 23-24" LG monitor connected via VGA to an aging HP laptop. I told him to bring it in to the office and I'd take a look. Tried different resolutions, (factory default is 1920x1080), brightness, contrast, sharpness, Hz, etc., most everything in the OSD menu. Even tried a different circuit (power source), moving it further from the laptop, the other side of the laptop, powering down other close by office equipment, a clamp-on ferrite core, you name it. He was ready to give up and take it back to CompUSA when I said hang on a sec., let's try it on another computer. Connected it to an old HP desktop and Bingo, the 'faint moving horizontal lines' were gone.

IOW, the problem is NOT the new monitor, it's being broadcast through the laptop's VGA port out onto the new monitor.

It might be worth running the computer in safe mode, which will only give VGA graphics. If the lines are gone in safe mode, then it can't be the monitor.