Turning my TV into a computer monitor?

Question

If I have a s-video connection on my computer and I purchase the video converter will that make a good solution for turning my TV into a monitor? Will the entire TV screen be utilized?

I should add that I have a 27 inch TV- no bells or whistles (no s-video connection) which is why I bought a video converter. I will only be using it for video games and internet.

Answer 1

Keep quality in mind if that is an issue for you. Your TV’s usual video signal is called NTSC (PAL if you live in Europe). This signal is different than the one generated by your computer. Computers use signals measured by pixels: 320x200, 320x240, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. Most TV’s can only get about 500 lines of resolution, in computers this is like 500 vertical pixels. The video amplifiers in televisions cannot handle higher resolutions either. So when you factor these things together you are left with a maximum resolution of 640x480. This is not the worst thing in the world because you can play games and watch video in lower resolutions no problem. It’s just that you will never get close to the resolution your computer monitor will give you.

Answer 2

The problem that you'll run into is that the resolution on a television is not nearly as good as that on a computer monitor. You'll get a maximum of a few hundred lines vertical resolution and a few hundred pixels of horizontal resolution. You won't be able to vary the scan rate either.

The main difference between television sets and computer monitors is that a television signal is analog, not digital. It was never intended to produce the resolution that a modern computer requires. Televisions used to be used for computer monitors, but that was in the day of the early Apple, Commodore and Atari systems. At best, a television, (no matter how large the screen), could handle maybe 40 characters of text across, by something like 20 or 30 vertical. When you try to cram more than that on a screen, the resolution was just so poor that you couldn't see the characters. Even though you have a 27 inch TV, the resolution is no better than a smaller one.

Larger monitors, if the resolution is the same as a small one, run into the same problem. Most really large monitors have greater resolution, making them able to display much more information. This requires, also, a video card that is capable of managing that great resolution. It takes a faster video processor and more video RAM to be able to do it.

In the end, the 27 inch TV is ok as a TV, but would be completely worthless as a monitor. Some new flat screen TV's come with a computer input, and they would work much better. You can use them for both TV and monitor.

Answer 3

You Can't Turn A TV Into A Computer Monitor Look There Are Two Different Types Of Monitors One Is The One For TV Which Is Called A TV And The Second Is Called A Computer Monitor The One Where You Use For Computers So If You Want To Buy A Good Monitor Go To Best Buy And Tell Them What You Are Looking For. ( which is the computer monitor )

Answer 4

It will work, though TV sets don't provide as clear a picture as a computer monitor (Atleast the old CRT TV, LCDs are better). For gaming it will be great, just don't be surprised if your in a multiplayer game and you can't read the text. I've tried this in the past with an old CRT TV that my fiance had. I was able to go thorugh S-video into my pc and it worked great! Downside though was I couldn't read anything without stressing my eyes too much. I later hooked it up ot a LCD TV and found it much better, not as fuzzy and clear (that could be due to the fact I was using DVI connections on the LCD). Try it out but know you may hurt your eyes later. If you get headachs while playing/surffing take a break.

As for you worryting abotu the whole monitor being used, just adjust the video settings. Righrt click anywhere on your desktop and go to properties. Click on the settings tab. Try changing the resolution to something that works for the shape of your TV (you can hit apply then change it back if you want, it will prompt you and give you 15 seconds to say yes or no). I can use my system on a 15 inch LCD or a 50 inch widescreen LCD TV. All I do is adjust the settings.

You'll have fun. Just remember to rest your eyes from time to time if you feel a headach coming on or your eyes getting tired.

Good luck!

Answer 5

This depends on your graphics card and some other factors.
I think that microsoft's media center comes with a feature that will test if you are getting a full screen image by asking you if you can see letters and stuff in the corners of the screen. The display properties will have setting and different resolution setting which may help. I had a similar problem when my TV didn't have an s-video connection. I bought a DVD player which had s-video input which was cheaper the the video converter...
The destop fitted fine on the TV display but when I ran videos i have to resized then to squeese them into the screen.
Best of luck!

Answer 6

A TV is designed to show analog images of a resolution of 720 x 525 or 720 x 625 pixels.
On the other hand a monitor screen has almost twice as many pixels on a small area showing fine detail, enough to display text and fine lines accurately.
All TVs have the same resolution ( except new HDTV ) so the bigger the TV the fuzzier the picture seen as the same number of pixels is spread out across a wider area.
Monitors however, have a fixed pixel size so a 15" monitor gives 1024x768, 17 inch gives 1280x1024, 21" gives 1600x1200 and so on the bigger it gets, the more pixels u get.

If you connect the TV to your computer, you will no doubt be able to enjoy watching DVDs and videos on your TV and they look great too, because videos are similar to what the TV is meant to display, but for normal desktop use its is useless, you wont even be able to read a 8 point font on the tv screen.
I have a laptop which is possible to connect to my sony TV and its good only for watching movies.
Im giving you first hand information...

Hope that helps
Vivek

Answer 7

Since your computer has TV-out s-video card then you can you connect the cable from the graphic card on your computer to the TV you may need to switch between A/Vs that are available on your TV and should get your TV to be a monitor but keep in mind that the TV has lower resolution than regular monitor so the picture will not be clear on the TV as it is on the monitor but for watching videos or photos it should be OK . You can get another cable that you may connect to the TV at one end and the speakers out connector on your computer's sound card and this way you can can get the sound from your TV as well.

Answer 8

Yes, surely you can. I just did the same thing. I bought a RF modulator (video converter) some S-video cable and RCA cables. The clarity though is a bit low. Its either 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768 and so, it is best to view movies and such things rather than working on it involving lines, commands, text, etc. The entire TV screen will be utilized The entire setup costed me $18 for a RF modulator and $7 for a S-video cable.

Answer 9

Multiple ways, as you stated you do not have a "fancy bells and whistles" TV set. but just for the sake of answering ill list all the ways im familiar with

Standard computer monitor aspect ratio is 1:2 while tv is 4:3 and widescreen is 16:9

1 S-Video connection, does utilize MOST of the screen

2 DVI Mostly found in top of the line HD tvs and the like

3 TV Video card for desktops, has a coaxial connection just like your incoming cable or satelite connection

4 Composite TV cards utilize Individual RedGreenBlue connections aka RGB also in the form of a video card for desktop PCs

5 VGA to TV converters while not the best option due to their low resolution (Mainly found in 800x600 athough some may be higher)
ive included some of the above products links ex. the cards and converters

your best option if you do not wish to rip open your PC or Laptop would be to go with the VGA to TV converter as most laptops support an external monitor and Virtualy EVERY PC supports VGA... (some newer ones are DVI with their digital flat panel LCDs)

hope this helps!

EDIT: a converter depending on the quality will strech the screen to fit, not noticable to most people when not playing games. if your looking for a high quality picture its better to get a tv out card as the output is meant to be used on a 4:3 tv and some cards even support 16:9

Answer 10

Well, I'll tell you my personal experience:
First of all you don't need an s-video socket on your TV set, however, you should have at least a "Video-in" socket. This looks like the speaker jack of your stereo, and it's usually colored in yellow. This is for the TV set, regarding your computer: you should have your video card equipped with "TV out" option, actually most video cards in the market now have this option, just check with your local computer store. Then what's left is quiet easy, you'll just have to hook up a special cable (usually ships with your video card) between the socket at the back of your card (in the computer), and this may be s-video or normal video-out socket, and attach the other end in your TV set where I mentioned earlier. Now comes the audio, you have two options: either to use your conventional PC speakers, and so you don't have to do anything more than switching them on. Or you can choose to connect your audio jack at the back of your sound card with an external audio device (can be a stereo or even the TV set) using the audio-in jack of whatever the device you'll be using.
Having finished this, you'll have finished all your hardware work. Now comes the software, this varies between one card vendor and another, but often you'll have to go to "display" menu from the control panel, find the monitor option and choose "Clone". This will make your TV display exactly the same picture on your monitor. You can also choose to make the TV your primary display device if you are planning to discard your conventional monitor and permanently use your TV set as a monitor.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to e-mail me at [e-mail]

Answer 11

You will need a PC-to-TV converter.

Make sure to buy the model that enables you to output on both TV and VGA monitor. This prevents you from changing cables and damage to your connector pins in long term use.

You should be able to connect your TV or other S-Video compatible monitors along with your VGA monitor.

Ask your vendor about this.

I have just one question though... How about the sound? I'm sure you will like the 27" display... But if you'll only be listening to a desktop speaker then its gonna kill all the effort.

I have another suggestion... But its really out of topic...