Using a TV as a monitor

[Chazumi]

I tried this with an old school HDTV (when they first came out, big boxy tv), and the picture was kind of squished.

I recently acquired a 37" flatscreen, much newer TV, question is should the picture on it look like a giant computer monitor?? Or is there something I have to do (maybe a special cable or something) that will improve the picture if I use a TV as a monitor?

 

[Cutlass]

I have my flat screen TV hooked to the PC so that I can use it as a TV or a second monitor. Seems to work fine. All you really need is a cable that is compatible with both devices. You may need to fiddle with the setup on the TV and the settings of the PC for a while before you get the picture you want. I found the hardest part was getting the TV and monitor to display more or less the same. I also had found that my older CRT HDTV made a poor monitor. The refresh was too low. And it was hard to adjust the aspect ratio.

 

[croxis]

Most newer higher end video hards have hdmi video out. Many more cardsw ill have s video support.

The problem you will run into is pixel shape. The pixels on a computer monitor are square shaped while TVs, at least the old standard ones, use ovle pixels. This will result in a more blurry image on the TV. I do not know what shape of pixels are used for HDTVs, so your mileage may vary.

 

[illram]

If it's a newer HDTV it should look great. Some TVs are finnicky regarding which input they prefer for a PC signal. Some have a VGA input, but most these days are going with more HDMI and component inputs. You will need to run either one of those three inputs as S-video will not look good enough, in my opinion. If your video card has DVI or VGA only and you need it to go to HDMI, there are converters available for cheap on newegg. (No new TVs use DVI anymore). I use a DVI to HDMI (old 7600GT video card) hooked up to my HDTV and it looks fantastic at 1980x1020.

Once they're hooked in via the right input it's just a matter of setting your screen settings to look good. I've done this on two different large plasmas for about 6 years now and have been loving it.

 

[Furiey]

I use mine via HDMI no problem. Computer detected settings automatically.

 

[Maniacal]

Just make sure your computer can run things well at that res/size. I didn't have the guts to try Crysis on my roommate's 52" HDTV.