Using a HDTV as my computer monitor ?

[chaingang]

Im in the market for a new TV and notice they come with a VGA in-put also HDMI. My question is if I want my computer to be viewed on this HDTV will it work and will it be a good signal. If need be I will purchase a high end grafics card that has a HDMI output so I can run my DVD's and Sat DVB-Card from my computer to the big screen. Whats my best option to do this and get a clear picture.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[edDV]

How much are you willing to spend and what screen size are you looking at?

Generally, a HDTV makes a poor primary computer monitor. It depends on the display technology and specs. Large screens have large pixels and must be viewed from a distance.

LCD will probably look better as a computer display but don't expect it to match a normal computer LCD. Video LCDs are optimized for low room light and video gamma (detail in dark grays). Computer LCDs are optimized for bright office lighting and more linear gamma (bright screen).

I recommend a two monitor approach. A normal computer monitor for normal computer activity and a HDTV for TV display.

[chaingang]

So a better video card wont make much of a difference ? I have a 26 inch LCD and looking to buy a 45 inch LCD. I never knew there was a difference between Computer and TV LCD's. But it does make sense.

[edDV]

So a better video card wont make much of a difference ? I have a 26 inch LCD and looking to buy a 45 inch LCD. I never knew there was a difference between Computer and TV LCD's. But it does make sense.

If you search for a LCD HDTV that supports normal computer resolutions like 1024x768 or 1280x1024 over VGA or DVI, then you won't need a special card. Also look for one of the newer LCD screens with at least 1366x768 native resolution for a decent HD picture.

You will need the HDMI connection for your tuner or sat box (and for future HD DVD player) so best to have a separate port for the computer.

[sbt5]

I connect my Samsung 42 inch hdtv plasma to my computer to watch dvds The picture is just as good as using my dvd player with progessive outputs and component inputs to the tv. I actually prefer to do it this way because the computer's software player allows me to scale the picture so there isn't any black bars on the screen. Also, I have been experimenting with recorded my own hd dvd at 720p with very good results. However since the tv is a plasma I don't leave a static picture like a computer screen on for very long, due to screen burn in. But if you are considering a LCD tv this should not be a concern. Oh, I'm using an inexpensive video card with it standard VGA output and video card automatically selects the right resolution and frequency. I my case 1024 x 768, 60Hz. Looks just as good on the big screen dtv as on my computer monitor.

[bdf24]

I'm going to be purchasing a Sony KDF-E42A10 within the next few days. It has a VGA input and audio input for use with a PC. I'm actually looking forward to testing it out. I think it would be nice to build a really small PC to fit into my entertainment center. Hook an ethernet cable up with cordless keyboard and mouse. Then be able to surf the internet from the couch. If it looks good that is. I just picked up a male to male VGA cable cheap off of ebay to check it out.

Something to play around with anyway.
This is my first HDTV so I'm pretty pumped about it. Can't Wait!

[dazeman27]

Has anyone had trouble with video overlay on their HDTV? I'm using a SOny KDL40S2000 40" LCD TV and I"m having trouble with the hardware overlay function from my videocard. I'm using a EVGA 7800GT card. Has anyone else had this problem?

[bdf24]

Just tried mine the other day. Looks perfect. Crystal clear.
Now thinking about building a mini PC to fit in my entertainment center with internet access and wireless keyboard and mouse. Surf from the couch baby!
I just gotta get that one by the wife though.

[dazeman27]

What type of output did you use? Mine worked fine using the composite video but when I tried to use DVI, that's when the hardware video overlay function stopped working

[bdf24]

My TV has a VGA input for PC's. That's what I used. I haven't tried HDMI or DVI. Probobly never will as my HDMI input will be used by my cable box, And the VGA works fine.

[dazeman27]

The reason that I used the HDMI is so that I could get HDTV quality resolution from my computer. This way I'm able to read text and everything looks much better than when I used the composite video out. I think that VGA is basically the same quality as composite video because it's analog but I'm not entirely sure on that. I'm in Japan right now and I don't have a cable box, but I suppose that I'll get an HDMI splitter box for mulitple inputs when the time comes. Again, the picture from the DVI looks awesome, but the hardware overlay function for videos doesn't work. It worked fine with the composite RCA out and it would probably work fine with VGA, but my card doesn't have VGA out and I don't have any VGA cables so I haven't tried yet.

[bdf24]

I've used composite out before in the past and video quality is horrible IMO! The VGA input is much better. It's perfectly clear. Text is crystal clear and so are the graphics. No comparison to composite input! Pretty much the same as looking at my PC monitor. It's that good.

[dazeman27]

but VGA is analog right? So, I'd have to get some sort of adapter cuz I only have 2 DVI's out and a composite/component/s-video cable. EVGA 7800GT card

[edDV]

but VGA is analog right? So, I'd have to get some sort of adapter cuz I only have 2 DVI's out and a composite/component/s-video cable. EVGA 7800GT card

VGA is analog but also wide bandwidth. VGA normally uses square pixels (e.g. 1024x768 or 1280x1024), HDMI uses video resolutions (e.g. 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i).

[dazeman27]

I still don't understand why when I use 1080i from the DVI out into HDMI on my HDTV, the video overlay doesn't work. I have to have to disable hardware video overlay on the computer and have the computer on full screen to get a full screen on the TV. THis is really annoying as I'm not able to use my computer for anything else while I'm watching SImpsons. THe overlay works fine when I use composite though. How wide is the bandwidth with VGA? I guess that I didn't think that it would look that much better than composite video

[jagabo]

VGA bandwidth exceeds (single channel) DVI bandwidth. But with a digital display (LCD for example) you usually want to use a digital transmission at the native resolution of the display device.

When you use analog VGA the digital data from the graphics card is converted to analog RGB, then at the monitor it is converted back to digital form for display. These two conversions reduce image quality. Exactly how bad the results are depends on the devices used. Many LCD monitors have poor quality A/D converters. You can get VGA to DVI or HDMI converters but you may find it cheaper to buy a graphics card where overlay works properly on the digital outputs.

The situation with composite is much worse. First the full desktop is reduced to about 640x480. Then the RGB pixels are converted to YUV. The chroma channels (U and V) are further reduced in bandwidth and multiplex together with the luma (I) channel. Finally the the video is sent to monitor in 480i format. Then at the monitor the the chroma and luma are separated, the picture is converted back to RGB, and scaled back up to the monitor's native resolution.

As to why overlay doesn't work for you, I can only assume the digital output of your graphics card contains the desktop before overlay is applied. For example, play a video with media player in a window. Hit Print Screen, then paste the clipboard into a paint program as a new image. You'll see a black box where the video was -- the same thing you see on your HD monitor. The black box is a "hole in the desktop" through which the video was displayed. I suspect there is something in the graphics card's configuration applets that will fix the problem.

[dazeman27]

I really tried tweaking with this card a lot but I just couldn't find a fix. I have the newest drivers and this is a really good card. I'm not as farmiliar with NVIDIA as ATI though. I remember that ATI had theatre mode settings, but this card doesn't have that. You just choose which display recevies overlay settings, I chose the secondary display. However, I'm not sure if the HDTV is technically being seen as the secondary display cuz it calls the computer display 1a and the TV 1b.
hehe..THe card does have the abliity to frun 1080i through component, would this be a superior display to DVI or VGA?

[edDV]

What is your card make/ model #?

I've never got the ATI cards to equal the Pioneer 480p DVD player let alone the HDTV cable tuner (for video, not desktop).

For desktop I like a 19" CRT or LCD at 1280x1024 or better 18" from my nose.

[dazeman27]

THe card is an EVGA 7800GT. It has two DVI outputs and a multi-connector that has component/s-video out and s-video input as well. I haven't used the input as I haven't really had a reason to yet, but I like playing Simpsons...etc. all the time, so the ouput with overlay functionality is an absolute must. For a long time I used the composite out because scaling down the resolution onto a CRT with 480i made AVI videos look better, but now that people are starting to rip things at HDTV quality and I have an HDTV, I'd like to take advantage of it. I also wasn't able to read words on the HDTV so it was hard to play games with the composite video. I haven't actually tried the component cuz I don't have a video cable long enough. I could relocate my computer, but I haven't the energy until someone tells me that this would be the best route. THe HDTV recommends using the VGA input for your computer, but I'm not sure if it's taking into consideration how far the video card technology has come. If I could get the overlay to work, I'd keep using the HDMI input and just use a switcher box when I need the HDMI for another device(ie. PS3). I haven't actually used anything that's HDTV quality yet including digital cable cuz I"m in Japan so all I have is what's being transmitted via local affiliates. I'm surprised that I haven't found anyone else with this problem yet. I guess that most people don't try to use the DVI output into a TV.

[edDV]

First, your DVI-I connectors on that card support VGA out with the right adapter or cable. VGA would most likely support overlay. Cable lengths should be kept to 20' or so. Otherwise you will need much more expensive "projector" quality VGA cables.

VGA on that card supports up to 2048x1536 QXGA but the TV probably maxes lower (see manual).

I don't have the card so I can't speak to overlay with the DVI-D modes or analog component. You might want to speak to the manufacturer.

There is nothing wrong with VGA technology. It will probably give you the funcionality you need for overlay and game support. All I can say is experiment with all three types of connections.

[BogieV]

Yes on theory DVI direct should be better than simple VGA connection. But ask yourself the question why manifacturer will put A/D convertor in it's product? First thing to mind is to cut on price, wright? But how about if it really doesn't make much difference!
I remember early reviews of LCD monitors (PC) when the DVI was just out. The case when the picture was better with the VGA rather than the DVI on the same monitor was not rare.
I'm still using 17'' PC monitor with only VGA and I don't have any complains - text, anything else is the way it should be for normal use of PC. You'll need faster responce screen for video editing or even fastest for games though.
TV LCDs are a little bit different beasts. There are more things to consider (as mentioned - ambient light, also wider angles of view, etc.) But most of the models that have dedicated PC input right now use VGA - you can change the resolutions from your PC just like with any other monitor but for best results set it up to the native resolution - that's all!

[dj4monie]

I have tried several no-name per-say LCDs with a VGA connection and the results are EXCELLENT.

1) You can update your current card drivers, ATI or Nvidia to support 1366x768 (ATI build 9.02 supports - 1280x768). I know ATI's 9.13 build or higher supports that, but it also has digital audio support, and you'll get audio pops and clicks with an audio in 1/8th cable going from the video card into your audio card. That's a analog connection, doesn't work so well.

The solution is to connect your video card internally to the sound card with $5 plug you can get from any PC store, but one should have come with your card, one came with my AIW 9600XT.

I'm lazy I haven't done that yet, but I know it would solve the pops and clicks issue I had with the latest driver build, I went back to 9.02 and everything is peachy.

2) There several bargin LCD's between 26 and 32 inches that will be simply good to stunning with any content above RF or Composite. With True Type Fonts and 1:1 mapping, your text never looked better on a 32" screen and you can have HUGE MSN or Yahoo mess windows, so you can sit 10-12' away and still see everything, clearly.

On DVD or HD content played from your PC connected either to VGA or DVI, I can't tell the difference, it looks the same PQ wise.

You'll be hard-pressed to buy a upconverting DVD player when Win DVD and Power DVD and even ATI's DVD player do so well.

With video files, WinAmp or Windows Media Player looks fanstatic. VCD basically looks like a good VHS tape and very watchable on an LCD.

PS2, Gamecube and Xbox/360 all look great with component connections, can't go wrong here.

GT4 in 720 is great and slightly better at 1080, enuff said!

I have been doing some secret shopping for a company and I have been to several electronic stores including Ken Cranes. I have taken a borrowed Laptop or my slim PS2 with GT4 to judge PQ on these sets. Because SD content can be effected by several issues, I don't really use that to compare and honestly, anything would look better than my semi-washed imagines I get with the 20 year old 19" set that doesn't even have S-video and I refuse to watch it or use it for gaming.

You won't be disapointed, however you'll get better results from the AVS Forums on the subject of LCD's and Plasmas