how good are tv's as monitors?

unwashed potato! · 16 Nov 2007 at 23:54

thinking of selling my second monitor as i can get much more then what i paid for it and putting it towards a new tv i am planning on getting and then using the tv as a second monitor until night when i will use it as a standard tv with remote/dvd etc. only concern is that the quality that is displayed when using the tv as a monitor as i would have thought it would be worse and as it will be right next to a nice monitor it may be too obvious.

so can any one help me out with this? wil it be worse? better? noticable etc?

plus how easy is it usually to switch from using the tv as a monitor back to dvd normal tv etc? it is just like changing a channel on a tv?
thanks

robertgilbert86 · 16 Nov 2007 at 23:58

For videos/movies it'll work great. The blur and real black will actaully make low/normal quality rips look good.

But for windows, forget it.

Not sure how to change quickly. Maybe you'd need to buy a little switch box.

EDIT in light of TrUz's post:
I am thinking of a CRT TV above.

TrUz · 16 Nov 2007 at 23:59

If it is a HDTV you are getting then I don't think it will be all that bad as you will get a half decent resolution. I have not tried my TV I may give it a shot for you tomorrow if I can find my VGA lead for my Laptop.

TrUz

unwashed potato! · 17 Nov 2007 at 00:19

TrUz said:
If it is a HDTV you are getting then I don't think it will be all that bad as you will get a half decent resolution. I have not tried my TV I may give it a shot for you tomorrow if I can find my VGA lead for my Laptop.

TrUz

that will be great if possible.

the tv will be a hdtv, hoping to spend around £350 though maybe more depending on what i do on a tv that is roughly 26" to 32" in size.

TrUz · 17 Nov 2007 at 00:21

Mine is 26" with a resolution of 1360x768. Will give it a go for you and try and get some decent photos of it.

TrUz

badbob · 17 Nov 2007 at 00:22

Look for a 37" 1080p set, that'll be fine.
For a 1366x768 32" you won't have enough desktop space. Ideal for 26" resolution (pixel size) however just annoying having a couple of windows open, editting photos etc.

I have a 32" 1366x768, now 40" 1080p

JollyGreen · 17 Nov 2007 at 09:01

Bear in mind if you get a 1080p, to happily run even windows on it at native resolution you'll need a dedicated graphics card (or a specialist integrated one), and a VERY beefy setup to run games at native resolution.

3dcandy · 17 Nov 2007 at 10:24

I have a Samsung 32", native res of 1360 * 768 or summat, and a Radeon 1650SE is adequate for less demanding games. It's got a DVI and vga in, and used with VGA is fine, although you need to sit miles away!

MichaelHo · 17 Nov 2007 at 10:30

I have a 26" sony hdtv running at a native res of 1360 * 768 when I have my macbook connected to it.
It's perfectly fine as a monitor, nice and bright with good colours.

JollyGreen · 17 Nov 2007 at 10:37

Also another thing of note is that if you buy a HD TV with HDMI you can plug your computer in via HDMI if your computer has a DVI port on it's graphics card using a DVI to HDMI adaptor (prices vary widlly, so have a look around!)

Sic · 17 Nov 2007 at 11:16

badbob said:
Look for a 37" 1080p set, that'll be fine.
For a 1366x768 32" you won't have enough desktop space. Ideal for 26" resolution (pixel size) however just annoying having a couple of windows open, editting photos etc.

I have a 32" 1366x768, now 40" 1080p

listen to this man

Begbie · 17 Nov 2007 at 13:59

I use my 26" 1368*728 as my main screen got a crt monitor here as a 2nd but not plugged in atm. Looks good but wish the res was much higher. Just couldn't afford a decent monitor and got the tv free.