Newbie needs some help! Using TV as a Computer monitor.

[CS-Source-ChallengeME!]

I am quite new to this. But i recently bought an LCD tv (1080p). And i wanted to make it a monitor for watching movies/recording movies/surfing.

I have a cable that would attach to the back of the LCD tv (like a regular monitor) but im not sure if it would be able to use the full HD benefits. So obviously I would prob need to change my video card to a more upscale one for full HD.

another question i had in mind also was that there are video cards that have two outputs. how would i be able to use the tv to watch movies as well as my current monitor to surf around at the same time? is that possible?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! THANKS!

[o0vL]

you may need a hdmi cable or a dvi if you want hd...i believe

[TotallyKiller]

You would probably need to have a vid card that supports HD.

And yes, with most vid cards, you can push out video to your TV and still do work on your monitor. For ATI it's usually in the theater mode/clone mode settings in the 'overlay' tab. I'd suggest that if your card has VGA and DVI output that you'd have the VGA to the monitor and the DVI to the TV. I have that setup at home and it works just fine.

[CS-Source-ChallengeME!]

so how would it work in terms of watching tv on my tv? i know there is a tv tuner i can buy for the pci port. but what i don't get is how to watch tv and surf at the same time (what do i need to do for that).

also recording tv is something im interested in. thanks for the help

[Smoked]

HDTV have hdmi? if so here buy this

http://monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2404&seq=1&format=2

[CS-Source-ChallengeME!]

would i be able to use the fully 1080p ability with just one hdmi cable?

also if anyone has experience on the ablility to record tv on the computer or just be able to watch tv and surf at the same time with a different monitor. let me know! thanks

[ah802]

You only need one graphic card output to power up a panel (preferably digital like DVI or HDMI). Unless your PC has enough horsepower to deal with 1080p (most don't) you'll be watching most (downloaded HD content) at 720p or 1080i and you'll be pressing your bandwidth to download anything so you'll be looking at some sort of Blu-Ray player and an HDCP graphic card (read the requirements on the box).

It is possible to hook one of the outputs to the VGA input on your panel (if it has one) and then using the second PC output to another port and use the PIP or POP to view screens if you don't have a secondary monitor. Some software fiddling to allow seperate displays on each port.

Using a PC as a recorder device is certainly possible e.g. AIW or TV card, but recording HD is the rub... OTA (Over The Air) recording is possible and there is a number of solutions for that. Again, you'll probably have to update all yoru PC equipment to accommodate.

[CS-Source-ChallengeME!]

You only need one graphic card output to power up a panel (preferably digital like DVI or HDMI). Unless your PC has enough horsepower to deal with 1080p (most don't) you'll be watching most (downloaded HD content) at 720p or 1080i and you'll be pressing your bandwidth to download anything so you'll be looking at some sort of Blu-Ray player and an HDCP graphic card (read the requirements on the box).

It is possible to hook one of the outputs to the VGA input on your panel (if it has one) and then using the second PC output to another port and use the PIP or POP to view screens if you don't have a secondary monitor. Some software fiddling to allow seperate displays on each port.

Using a PC as a recorder device is certainly possible e.g. AIW or TV card, but recording HD is the rub... OTA (Over The Air) recording is possible and there is a number of solutions for that. Again, you'll probably have to update all yoru PC equipment to accommodate.

yah im actually buying a whole new computer for this (needed to update the technology anyways.)

using the pc as a recorder device i can just purchase a tv card to hook it up to my pci port right?

[Cybersid]

I use my 8800GT with a VGA CABLE to powerup my Samsung 46" 1080P.

Works great!

[ah802]

yah im actually buying a whole new computer for this (needed to update the technology anyways.)

using the pc as a recorder device i can just purchase a tv card to hook it up to my pci port right?Let the staff at the computer shop know what you want to do... especially the recording of video portion. You'll have to decide if you're capturing STD TV video or want HD which means basically limits to OTA reception, and will dictate the type of hardware you need. If I were you, I'd go with something like a Happenhauge PVR STD set-up for now, and then opt for the heavier HD hardware down the line as the dust settles.