Author Topic: difference between TV's and computer monitors  (Read 4732 times)

Offline Eli

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difference between TV's and computer monitors
« on: December 04, 2009, 09:55:03 AM »
Mordy, I'm addressing this query to you because you seem to be the most technical.

What is the difference between a TV and a computer monitor? I know it has to do with resolution, but I never fully understood it. Why can't I take a 50" TV, use it as a computer monitor, and have it look relatively normal? I know so many ppl who mistakenly did this because they needed a huge monitor for trading etc. and they ended up with a heavily distorted image which was nothing what they had expected.

So does it ever make sense to purchase a huge TV monitor as a PC screen? And if yes, how do I determine if it will look normal?

Another question...it seems like one technology uses one type of cables like composite/component and the other uses VGA/DVI - but sometimes both types of monitors will have HDMI. And then you end up with a TV screen and a PC with no way to connect the 2!

Any clarity on this would be appreciated.
-Eli

Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2009, 09:58:19 AM »
TV and Pc monitor work completely different.

one horizontal and one vertical.

technicalities aside, you can use certain "beween-adaptors (or whatever you wanna call them" to convert a tv to be a compatible pc monitor.

I dont have experience with that, but I assume that only "easy grafics would work" such as presentations and th news, but when it comes to speed (such as games), it wont keep up...

Offline Mordy

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2009, 12:32:15 PM »
Hey Eli...
SuperFlyer, that's not actually true. I assume you are referring to scan lines, and converter boxes. Converter boxes work fine for games and video, the only down side is that they upconvert/downconvert the pixels, so you end up with often odd-looking graphics up close, especially on text (which is what Eli was describing, it sounds like).

The fine line between televisions and computer monitors are blurring. Once upon a time, TV's used interlaced "scan lines" to draw pixels on a CRT screen, and you were limited to a resolution of roughly 480 horizontal lines. With the advent of Digital and High-Definition LCD TVs, they are starting to very closely resemble the same progressive scan technology that computer monitors use, and in fact often support higher resolution (a quick look at newegg.com's 22" monitor selection will show you that most PC monitors don't even support 1080p resolution!).

The result is that new TV's are often more expensive than PC Monitors, when it used to be the other way around. In many cases, you could use either for both, its really a question of what connections are available. I've seen TV's with VGA ports, and computer monitors with HDMI (or even older analog RCA ports).

I admit I could be wrong about some of this, but here's how it works as far as I understand it:
The big difference between digital TVs and Computer Monitors nowadays is mostly the adaptable resolution and that TVs still have support for older composite connections (the analog RCA tri-colored, for example, or 75Ohm cable wire) and built-in speakers.
HDMI is being adopted as a new standard for video components, however it is still mostly used for TVs because it includes audio in the connection, whereas PC's don't need usually handle audio in the monitor. Also, PCs can handle the same video in older DVI or even VGA connections, so there isn't as much of a reason to adopt a new standard.

Other than that, they seem to be mostly interchangeable. It sounds like the problem you are describing has more to do with resolution inconsistencies that monitor types. While CRTs used to be able to adapt to different resolutions, LCD screens have a set amount of pixels no matter what. The end result is that if you turn DOWN the resolution, you'll start to see pixels doubling up on each other to fit the screen. If you take your PC with a 1440x900 resolution monitor, and turn it down to 640x480, you'll see significant "pixelization" like you describe.
If you are using an HDMI screen, you must make sure your PC is outputting in exactly HDMI resolution (720 or 1080) to get a sharp picture.
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Offline Eli

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2009, 09:03:37 PM »
To add a drop to what you said...

PC's generally output VGA and DVI, while TV's have composite, component or HDMI as inputs.

If the TV is 1080p and you are outputting a resolution of 1920X1080 then it *should* look ok, but many of the PC to TV setups I've seen are with older TV's that have a maximum resolution of something by 480 which make a PC set to something normal like 1024X768 look absolutely horrible.

Also, the larger PC monitors like the 30" ones have much higher resolutions to display more on the screen, while a 50" HD TV will still only be 1920X1080 and will therefore make a computer screen look overly zoomed-in.

That's why if all you need is a regular computer screen up on a wall far away, you may be happy with a 50" TV (assuming it has the right connections), but if you want a huge computer workspace to have 2 wide spreadsheets side by side, you would need a big PC monitor which has a higher resolution.

Mordy, is what I said accurate?
-Eli

Offline Cheap dude

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2009, 09:40:27 PM »
Mordie- y wouldent u get a blackberry?

Offline Charles The Govenor

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2009, 11:56:39 PM »
Where does his blackberry opinion come in on this thread?

Offline Cheap dude

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2009, 12:56:47 AM »
Oops is that wrong ? I saw him and wanted to ask him a q.

Offline Charles The Govenor

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2009, 01:58:03 AM »
all right man wtvr,do your thing.

Offline Mordy

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2009, 10:46:30 PM »
If the TV is 1080p and you are outputting a resolution of 1920X1080 then it *should* look ok, but many of the PC to TV setups I've seen are with older TV's that have a maximum resolution of something by 480 which make a PC set to something normal like 1024X768 look absolutely horrible.

Also, the larger PC monitors like the 30" ones have much higher resolutions to display more on the screen, while a 50" HD TV will still only be 1920X1080 and will therefore make a computer screen look overly zoomed-in.

...

Mordy, is what I said accurate?

You got the gist of it. On old-school analog TV's with 480i, its more than just resolution. You also have to convert the video into an interlaced signal which will create "jitters" around fine pixel borders. Digital TV's (480p and up) won't have this problem, and as long as the resolution being output from the PC matches the pixel count on the display, it should look fine.
Although, with 480p or 720p, it will, as you say, look like you're zoomed in. 1920X1080 is nothing to scoff at, however. I just bought a 22" PC monitor that maxes out at 1050 vertical, so a 30" 1080p TV will actually still have more pixels than my PC workstation setup. It won't look "zoomed in", but rather like someone enlarged the normal display. But a nice 1080p TV will also cost a lot more than your average PC Monitor, and if the purpose is for more desktop space (ie, pixels), its not really the way to go.

Mordie- y wouldent u get a blackberry?

That, my friend, is a whole 'nother story, and I think there's a handful of threads on the topic already.
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Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2009, 01:34:42 PM »
What I said is correct, I did not elaborate, there are sites such as wikipedia and others explaining just that.

about blackberry, I got a short while ago the 9700 (Bold 2), and it's wow, only downside is the battery, which isn't too amazing.

Offline E

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Re: difference between TV's and computer monitors
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2009, 01:21:01 AM »
I would suggest for the most workspace going with multiple computer monitors apples screens are very high res