Is it possible to use a TV as a monitor?

J

jpmad4it

Geek Trainee
Hi guys,

I was just wondering if it is possible to buy a LCD High Definition DVI compatible TV, and use it as a PC monitor? I just thought it might be possible because of the DVI port? I want to buy a new TV and monitor so I thought I may be able to have both in one piece of hardware!!

Any help will be great :-)

Cheers,
Jp
 
yea, i have noticed that most have that resolution.

Whats your budget for the tv? are you planning on buying it offline?
 
Willz said:
yea, i have noticed that most have that resolution.

Whats your budget for the tv? are you planning on buying it offline?
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I dont really want to go above £500. I'm not looking for a huge screen either, only something like 19". I was going to buy it online but i think its important to see the TV in action to see what its like i guess.

EDIT: so for example, if the resolution is 1024x768 does that mean you cant use higher resolutions when using it as a monitor e.g. 1280x1024?
 
well, just keep it at 60hz, refresh rates are not as important as they were with crt's

1280x1024 would look wierd on that tv, as its widescreen, like my 19" widescreen monitor uses 1440 x 900 res, but at 1280 x 1024 which i previously used with my old monitor was messed up.

you will be able to have any resolution below 1366 x 768 i think, but either way, that resolution is better than 1280 x 1024.
 
Willz said:
well, just keep it at 60hz, refresh rates are not as important as they were with crt's

1280x1024 would look wierd on that tv, as its widescreen, like my 19" widescreen monitor uses 1440 x 900 res, but at 1280 x 1024 which i previously used with my old monitor was messed up.

you will be able to have any resolution below 1366 x 768 i think, but either way, that resolution is better than 1280 x 1024.
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If i keep the refresh rate at 60Hz then my frames per second during gaming will be limited to 60 if i use vertical sync........if that means anything to you :confused:

I'm just worried that i'm going to get a good TV, but a 'pants' monitor
 
why do you want V sync on to limit your fps?, i know it will limit your fps using vsync, but i see no point in using it tbh.
 
Willz said:
why do you want V sync on to limit your fps?, i know it will limit your fps using vsync, but i see no point in using it tbh.
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i get a lot of image 'tearing' on the screen if I dont use VSYNC- maybe its this monitor thats the problem. Would you personally buy a TV/monitor combo?

Wouldn't problems occur if a game uses 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolutions???
 
well, personly, i wouldent, i would buy a decent monitor and get a decent tv tuner, but that would cost alot more, HDTV Tuners are available now, and normal monitors support HD if they can do the resolutions that HD uses.
 
Willz said:
well, personly, i wouldent, i would buy a decent monitor and get a decent tv tuner, but that would cost alot more, HDTV Tuners are available now, and normal monitors support HD if they can do the resolutions that HD uses.
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cool, thanks for the advice anyway
 
jpmad4it said:
Wouldn't problems occur if a game uses 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolutions???
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Err ... I don't think games use 1280x1024. None of the games I owe do. They all have only 4:3 aspect ratio resolutions available to choose from. Like 1024x768, 800x600, 1152x864, etc. But, more to the point, even if the game does have 1280x1024, yes, it would definitely look screwed up on a 1366x768 tv either way. Neither the 4:3 nor the 5:4 standard are anywhere near whatever that ratio is...
 
i think that ratio is 16:9 or 16:10? i play half life 2.

Nearly all games support 1280 x 1024 which is a standard 4:3 resolution.

Some games odnt support widescreen, those whcih do not, its just something your going to have to live with, but in quite alot of games there are ways to suit the resolution to the monitor.
 
Hmmmmmm..........I think its going to be a case of just buying a new monitor for now and maybe buy a separate TV inthe future
 
Ok, what monitor are you thinking of buying?

My 19" Acer which is widescreen and got a resposne time of 5ms cost me £145 from argos!, good quality, only downside is, VGA, and i dont think it works with DVI-VGA Connectors, but Acer seem excellent quality, so i reccommend looking at them :)
 
Willz said:
Nearly all games support 1280 x 1024 which is a standard 4:3 resolution.
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# 1: 1280x1024 is a 5:4 aspect ratio, not 4:3. If u divide 1280/1024 u get 1.25 which corresponds to dividing 5/4.

# 2: maybe only the newest games support 1280x1024. Like I said, not a single one of the games I own support it. If all u play are the newest games then no worries, but if u play anything that came out several years ago, it won't support it. Battlefield 1942, civilization 3, command & conquer generals are some examples I play and none of them have 1280x1024 as a choice. And widescreen? Don't even mention it.
 
Widescreen is awsome when games support the res.

I own battlefield 1942 aswell, and mine does indeed support 1280x1024 res, i own about 30 games, earliest is about 4 years i think, but they all support 1280x1024, yea maybe games from like 7 years ago dont support it, but there is no reason why you should not get widescreen, well i find it better, wider field of vision, games like battlefield 2142 and guildwars are awsome with it.

Ok, jpmad4it, what games do you play?
 
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