LCD TV as monitor?

[SpeedyDevil]

Can a lcd tv double up as a monitor? Any disadvantages for using a tv as a monitor? Is the quality as good as it it on a monitor?

 

[Midcow2]

Needs VGA connections

Can a lcd tv double up as a monitor? Any disadvantages for using a tv as a monitor? Is the quality as good as it it on a monitor?

If it has VGA connections, which a lot of LCD TVs do then it will work fine.

Not disadvantages, except if you are using only for a monitor you have paid a lot extra for the TV tuner and analog and HDMI inputs. Also remember the life of the LCD bulb is typically somewhere between 18-24 months and it is expensive to replace; if you use use the LCD frequently as a PC monitor you shorten the its life.

But it sure makes a nice PC monitor

There is also another very similar thread on this you might want to look at : http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45707

 

[Adam]

SpeedyDevil, you certainly can. I have a brother who's been doing just that for over two years, and I plan on doing it when I get a new TV. You'll want to make sure that the TV has the resolution and connections that you desire. A digital connection is best (DVI or HDMI), VGA is next best, and anything else is worse in terms of the resolutions and quality of the image. You'll also want to check if the TV does any overscanning on the input that you want to use (overscanning is where the TV will cut off the top few and bottom few pixels) - this shouldn't be an issue for DVI, HDMI, or VGA inputs - and some TVs let you turn off overscanning.

Something to consider is the size of the pixels from your viewing area. My brother has a 37" 1080P widescreen LCD TV, and reading text from 10 feet away can be a little difficult. Luckily, his Mac can zoom in pretty easily.

Midcow2, I think that you might be thinking about an LCD projection TV - LCD backlighting lasts a while.

 

[Midcow2]

thanks for input

SpeedyDevil, you certainly can. I have a brother who's been doing just that for over two years, and I plan on doing it when I get a new TV. You'll want to make sure that the TV has the resolution and connections that you desire. A digital connection is best (DVI or HDMI), VGA is next best, and anything else is worse in terms of the resolutions and quality of the image. You'll also want to check if the TV does any overscanning on the input that you want to use (overscanning is where the TV will cut off the top few and bottom few pixels) - this shouldn't be an issue for DVI, HDMI, or VGA inputs - and some TVs let you turn off overscanning.

Something to consider is the size of the pixels from your viewing area. My brother has a 37" 1080P widescreen LCD TV, and reading text from 10 feet away can be a little difficult. Luckily, his Mac can zoom in pretty easily.

Midcow2, I think that you might be thinking about an LCD projection TV - LCD backlighting lasts a while.

Adam, I hope you are right about LCD backlighting. Maybe the repairman who fix my Mitsubiushi TV was just trying to scare me.

Question: I agree that DVI or HDI is the best input, resolution wise, but I have not seen very many PCs that provide that output. Is there some kind of video conversion card needed?

Again , Adam , thanks for you informative post

 

[bandphan]

Question: I agree that DVI or HDI is the best input, resolution wise, but I have not seen very many PCs that provide that output. Is there some kind of video conversion card needed?

most of the mid to high level graphics cards have dvi and or hdmi output.

 

[gus6464]

Most video cards in the $170 range nowadays come with HDMI. The new Radeon 4850 can even do MPCM through the HDMI.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I used a 37'' LCD for a couple of months and it worked great, it was just too big.