TV as hd computer monitor

[beanzontoast]

Thinking of hooking a base unit with a hdmi-out video card up to a bigger monitor - say 24" - and I've been pondering whether to go for using an hd ready lcd tv instead as it gives a bit more utility for not a lot more cost. Not going to be playing games on it particularly.

Anyone done this? Assuming a 5ms or better rate on the tv, is there anything else to take into consideration? Is it likely to use more power than a bespoke monitor? Do tv's offer the same range of resolutions as a monitor?

 

[ColinJ]

Thinking of hooking a base unit with a hdmi-out video card up to a bigger monitor - say 24" - and I've been pondering whether to go for using an hd ready lcd tv instead as it gives a bit more utility for not a lot more cost. Not going to be playing games on it particularly.

Anyone done this? Assuming a 5ms or better rate on the tv, is there anything else to take into consideration? Is it likely to use more power than a bespoke monitor? Do tv's offer the same range of resolutions as a monitor?

I've been thinking about it but haven't done it yet.

I'd suggest that you forget the 'range of resolutions' question - unlike CRT monitors, LCDs look pretty awful driven at anything other than their native resolution so get a 1920 x 1080 set and just operate it at that resolution.

This one looks pretty good.

 

[Panter]

Doesn't really help you but my desktop outputs directly to the 40" LCD TV through the monitor out, not HDMI.
The idea was to give a bit more versatility and save some space etc.

It works pretty well, although text can be a little fuzzy, but it does work quite well and is very handy for showing holiday photo's etc.

 

[Piemaster]

+1 on the resolution. check what the TV will support and what you will be happy with before buying. It may not support anything more than say a 17" monitor. I suppose you can sit further away though!

 

[meenaghman]

You may find Pip or pop picture in on picture useful features also..ie have the tour fed into a small section of screen in july... Doesnt seem to be as prevalent as it used to be. Check resolutions as others have said.. A wireless keyboard and trackball and a recliner will be your next purchase ;-)

 

[Ravenbait]

Got this one hooked up to a 22" LCD HD TV.

Our 32" broke last year and we needed something while that one was away being repaired. Now it's a monitor. We needed another monitor anyway and this was cheaper than an equivalent. I haven't checked power consumption, to be fair. It shuts down when unattended.

Sam

 

[beanzontoast]

Thanks all - nice to know it can be done.

Colin - thanks for the linky - and I thought 24" was on the big side!

 

[ColinJ]

Colin - thanks for the linky - and I thought 24" was on the big side!

I have a 19" monitor but it isn't full HD - it is 1440 x 900. It's a pretty clear picture but small text is rather, er, small!

I'm becoming long-sighted as I'm getting older so I'm finding small text harder to read and I'd prefer not to wear glasses for the 10 hours or so I spend in front of a monitor every day.

I'd prefer to be using a 24" monitor at my current resolution or at least 28" for full HD. I could then sit further away from the screen which would be easier on my eyes. In fact, I'd like to use a 42" TV/monitor and sit about 6 ft away!

 

[beanzontoast]

I have a 19" monitor but it isn't full HD - it is 1440 x 900. It's a pretty clear picture but small text is rather, er, small!

I'm becoming long-sighted as I'm getting older so I'm finding small text harder to read and I'd prefer not to wear glasses for the 10 hours or so I spend in front of a monitor every day.

I'd prefer to be using a 24" monitor at my current resolution or at least 28" for full HD. I could then sit further away from the screen which would be easier on my eyes. In fact, I'd like to use a 42" TV/monitor and sit about 6 ft away!

That's bigger than our tv in the lounge!

Re: text size and eyes - my current monitor's also 19". It seemed great 2 years ago; now it looks puny. I had the optician give me a spare set of glasses for computer work so that I could sit a little further back from the screen as I felt I was getting a suntan using reading glasses.

I used a Mac on a course the other day with - I think - a 26" screen and it was good, but rather than the text being bigger, the higher resolution desktop was mainly used so that more apps could have screen space at the same time. The text was still small without going to full screen.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I have only done this with larger tv sets, 2 Samsung LCD's (32" & 37") and a Panasonic 42" plasma. The plasma was sh1te, but the Samsungs were excellent although too big for text. I understand that you require a smaller tv, I have read quite a lot about this in the past and if I was getting a smaller tv to use it would more than likely be a Samsung. Probably cost you a bit more than some no-brand Aldi set, but usually with Samsung's you can turn off all the image processing sh1t that you do not want for a computer monitor for it's particular input. Apparently a lot of other tv's you cannot do this, just a thought. Also regarding Samsung's, I have always found that they offer excellent bang for the buck for a branded set. I just used to use a DVI to HDMI cable as my graphic card did not have HDMI, and the results were very very good.