HDTV as a monitor?

[JHNguyen]

I've been looking for a nice 24" monitor for my macbook pro as well as my xbox. But I recently found deals on 30-45 inch HDTV's..

So if they're connected via DVI, or S Video, will I be getting decent quality like computer monitors, or will a computer screen look blurry on HDTV's?


I won't be sitting on a couch or anything. The TV will be right in front of me. I'll only be sitting back to watch TV or play XBOX.

What do you guys think? Is their something specific I should be looking for in HDTVs if I wanted to use it as a computer monitor as well?

John

 

[RHD]

I'm interested in people's take on this too because I was wondering the same thing. I figured that the resolution on the TV's wouldn't be good enough but I'm not sure. Could you use a HI Def TV as a monitor?

 

[Enygma24]

It certainly works ...

I have been able to connect my PC via DVI to my Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD TV. The TV is specs-wise a monitor because it neither has an antenna input or a built-in HD tuner. I run my PC at a resolution of 1980x1080 and it is truly beautiful. Everything is crystalclear. I definitely recommend hooking up your notebook to the HDTV, if available.

 

[azngamer808]

yay...i'm finally answering a question instead of asking one!

you definately want to get a tv with 1080p. although it's not all that important from the standpoint of image quality, it's important if you don't want part of your picture cut off (when connecting your laptop). that's not to say that you won't be happy with the picture cus i hooked my powerbook up to a 720p sony xbr tv and it looks FANTASTIC. Just parts of the top and bottom are missing =(, but i got used to it. Now i have a 1080p panasonic plasma and everything fits nicely

you'll also want to make sure you use dvi or a dvi-hdmi cord cus some tvs won't register the 1080 resolution coming from a vga cord (using a dvi-vga adapter).

 

[danny_w]

I am also interested in this, but I am looking at something in the 24"-30" range. I currently use a Dell 2005wfp monitor; I love it but need something just a little bigger. I did some calculations and 720p would be perfect at about a 28" size. I have looked at the 24" computer displays in the $400-$650 range and most all of them only have dvi/hdmi and possibly vga inputs, but I have been spoiled by the multitude of inputs on my Dell monitor so I want something with at least S-video so that I can connect a game console; component would be OK if you can get universal component cables for PS2 and GC. Does anybody have any recommendations that won't break the bank?

 

[dalvin200]

I'm looking at a 26" for my bedroom and hooking the blackbook up to it to watch movies etc..

Already have a 40" that I do this with in the lounge, and its pretty neat.

Oh, and if you do, then go DVI -> HDMI (Digital) and not s-video etc..

 

[anotherarunan]

dont use s-video...quality is awful!

 

[Tom McMahon]

My wifes Mini is attached to a 46" sony 1080i. Resolution is set to 1280x720. At 1920x1080 text is unreadable from 8' away (lounging on the couch surfing the web...FTW!). Even at 1280x720 (720p) the image is pretty awesome.

 

[ntrigue]

My personal experience is that a 42" 1080P looks good with a minimum distance of 4 feet. Ideally, your keyboard and mouse would be about 7 feet away and things will look very crisp. I use a MX Air Logitech to achieve this. The only time I can be critical of the resolution is Myspace photos and the Desktop Background (photos just don't look good that large). You can find a DVI to HDMI cable for $6 on Amazon.

That being said 37" Sharp Aquos 1080p works awesome in my room!

 

[gothamm]

I'd be stoked if somebody can post some pics of their hdtv setup. hopefully a high rez image to we could somewhat see the quality of the computer image on a tv.

 

[Nipz]

im using my 37 inch LG LCD 1080p as a second screen for my BMB... truly amazing!

For the price of the convertor (£15) and some cables that i got for free its so worth it! Means i dont need an apple TV as i just watch it off my laptop

 

[SVT Amateur]

My wifes Mini is attached to a 46" sony 1080i. Resolution is set to 1280x720. At 1920x1080 text is unreadable from 8' away (lounging on the couch surfing the web...FTW!). Even at 1280x720 (720p) the image is pretty awesome.

Nice, I had thought about doing that myself but my wife bought my HDTV as a surprise present and got one without a VGA/DVI input. Glad to hear that it works though.

 

[danny_w]

I'm looking at a 26" for my bedroom and hooking the blackbook up to it to watch movies etc..

Already have a 40" that I do this with in the lounge, and its pretty neat.

Oh, and if you do, then go DVI -> HDMI (Digital) and not s-video etc..

dont use s-video...quality is awful!

I was referring to S-video for my games consoles that currently use that attachment. The MB would of course be DVI. The TV (24"-30") would be on my desk about 1.5-2' away and set to 720p.

 

[mosx]

I use my HDTV as a monitor for my HP PC. My HP has an HDMI output. I just plug the HDMI cable in to the receiver and another running from the receiver to the TV. If I use it for movies, the DD and DTS signals get passed to the receiver. I use it for gaming too.

I haven't hooked my MacBook up yet because I don't feel like buying 3 adapters (mini DVI to DVI, DVI to HDMI, mini-TOSLink to TOSlink) to hook it up to the TV when the HP does it with one cable.