Using HDTV as a Monitor

Kindanewtothis · 6 Dec 2010 at 22:22

Just wondering, being oblivious to this new technology (my most recent PC before now having been bought 9 years ago), If I link my new PC to my HDTV via the HDMI slot from my graphics card, would I be able to display the PC interace on my TV in full screen mode?? Previously when connecting with a video cable to an external TV, I found that the screen would only display maybe 1/3rd of the screen and I would have to drag it across to see the other corner.

Was this a screen resolution problem? will it still potentially do this with my new system using HDMI??

Any advice would be great.

Thank you.

smilertoo · 6 Dec 2010 at 22:39

i had no problems plugging a pc into my tv using a normal vga connector. hdmi should be even better. You dont say if its full HD or just HD ready.

rush_syndrome · 6 Dec 2010 at 22:44

Using a digital interface i.e. HDMI or DVi you should not get any problems as the scaling is pixel perfect. Most medium range TV's only do 1366x768 or similar which on a 32" screen or above will look blocky and low-fi. If your TV can output 1080P (1080x1920) then you will get a decent picture. If you are using an older plasma tv you should give the screen plenty of rest from static images, say every two hours, or you will end getting 'image retention' where the static image is burned into the display. If you're running with LCD or LED you will not have to worry about this.

If your graphics card has dual output, you will be able to either 'clone' the desktop onto the TV or stretch it from your existing monitor. If your TV is really 9 years old I would seriously look for a new one they are as cheap as chips at the moment and will get cheaper in the January sales

Kindanewtothis · 6 Dec 2010 at 23:36

I have 2 very similar 37" TV's, I believe that they are both HD Ready but cannot be 100% sure if they are Full HD or not without looking at the documentation, let's just say that the PS3 looks absolutely gorgeous when it is running through an HDMI cable. One is a Samsung (1 year old) and the other is a Sharp (5 months old) both are able to run at 1080p resolution.

To be honest, I thought the only difference between HD Ready and Full HD was that with HD Ready, you needed to have an HD Device to plug into the TV whereas with Full HD it would display anything in HD, maybe I am wrong.

If my Graphics card is an HD graphics card (Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5) does this mean that the images coming out of the PC will be an HD output??

Any advice would be great.

Thanks for your time.

benj3 · 7 Dec 2010 at 00:31

it depends on the resolution your television can output,

HD Ready is only 720p
Full HD is 1080p

You say both your monitors are 1080p so they are fully HD, to get HD input you will need HDMI to HDMI cable to test the picture, I doubt you will notice much of a difference in picture though if any, I think you will prefer going back to your monitor

you may also experience some problems with the refresh rate if the monitors are not up to par.

Kindanewtothis · 7 Dec 2010 at 00:36

The reason for wanting to do this is so that I can watch TV and play games etc... on a normal TV screen if I choose to do so, it wouldn't be for constant use, just for when the occasion called for it.

Basically, as long as the picture is viewable and free from distortion, that's all I am really worried about.