TV as a monitor.

snuka316 · 03-04-2005, 10:17 PM

i was just wondering if there was a way to hook my regular TV up to my desktop and use the TV as my monitor. i know that most of the newer TV's can, but i'm looking at just a regular old TV. (not real ol, like 5-7 yrs)

**superflysmith** · 03-04-2005, 10:39 PM

It's possible but the quality of your picture probably won't be that good.

**johnwill** · 03-05-2005, 11:34 AM

It will be basically unusable. There are many VGA -> NTSC adapters that will accomplish the goal, but the results aren't worth it. I use the composite output to drive monitors in an industrial application, but I also use large screen characters so they can be read.

wagster · 03-08-2005, 07:12 AM

Search around for a 'scan converter' - the official term for a box that converts a VGA signal to a video signal. The Chinese make some fairly cheap ones these days. As others have pointed out there will be a significant drop in resolution - NTSC is a 525 line system where as you are probably using 768 lines at the moment. Even 800x600 VGA signals have the edge on video. Good for watching DivX movies though - I have one built in to this Toshiba which I use for just that reason.

03-04-2005, 10:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
snuka316 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 OS: windows 98	TV as a monitor. i was just wondering if there was a way to hook my regular TV up to my desktop and use the TV as my monitor. i know that most of the newer TV's can, but i'm looking at just a regular old TV. (not real ol, like 5-7 yrs)

03-04-2005, 10:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
superflysmith An American Hero and Moderator, The Conversation Pit. Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 1,581 OS: XP PRO	It's possible but the quality of your picture probably won't be that good. __________________ "Some people go their whole life wondering if they ever made a difference. Marines don’t have that problem." Bush made the Packers lose

03-05-2005, 11:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,623 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	It will be basically unusable. There are many VGA -> NTSC adapters that will accomplish the goal, but the results aren't worth it. I use the composite output to drive monitors in an industrial application, but I also use large screen characters so they can be read. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

03-08-2005, 07:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
wagster Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Search around for a 'scan converter' - the official term for a box that converts a VGA signal to a video signal. The Chinese make some fairly cheap ones these days. As others have pointed out there will be a significant drop in resolution - NTSC is a 525 line system where as you are probably using 768 lines at the moment. Even 800x600 VGA signals have the edge on video. Good for watching DivX movies though - I have one built in to this Toshiba which I use for just that reason.