Can you use your TV as a Computer Monitor? (desktop, screens, LCD)

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by akrausz

If both your laptop and TV have HDMI ports, then you can connect them with a cable. If not, it is still possible, but we would need to know what ports you have.

According to the booklet for my TV it says it has an HDMI port to use for DVD or Bluray players, so I assume that can be used for a laptop as well

[Peregrine]

Yes, it can. Most TV's today, if any, don't use the blue cable referenced earlier.

[Robert9]

A friend of mine had a HMDI cord, so I tried it on my work laptop and my personal one and it works great on my TV! Thanks!

[Mike2023]

You can get burn in on the TV avoid displaying fixed images or they could become permanent a high refresh rate can help to prevent it on new TVs.I used a old LG and got burn in on the screen using it for a monitor.

Burn-in is a visible mark that is left on the screen and remains no matter what you are watching or doing. This may be caused by leaving a fixed image on the screen for a long period of time and can be particularly noticeable on OLED TVs.
Channel logos from sports, news or weather channels fixed images from icons, banners or gaming user interfaces. Some of the new TVs promise no burn in so you should check your TV for this..


I wanted to add the old LG was a LCD TV and it was by careless use that caused it leaving the PC on and displaying for well over a day to a week..I was running gadgets in Windows and they burned into the screen.Yellow seemed to be the worst for burn in.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Monitors aren't that expensive. I bought my wife a 27 inch 1080p monitor at MicroCenter for about $100.

32 inch 4k IPS monitors are less then $250 on Amazon.

[adjusterjack]

And a Toshiba 32" TV is $89.99.

Other 32" TVs are between $100 and $200 depending on the features. And you don't need much by way of features to hook them up to a computer.

I bought two identical 32" LED TVs 7 years ago, for my desktop, for $170 each when 32" monitors were barely available and cost more than twice as much.

The TVs stay on most of the day every day and are still going strong. I have images on the screen (post it type notes) permanently with no burn in.

I'd go with TVs in a heartbeat. When these go, I'd probably opt for the lowest priced 32" TVs without bells and whistles.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by adjusterjack

And a Toshiba 32" TV is $89.99.

Other 32" TVs are between $100 and $200 depending on the features. And you don't need much by way of features to hook them up to a computer.

I bought two identical 32" LED TVs 7 years ago, for my desktop, for $170 each when 32" monitors were barely available and cost more than twice as much.

The TVs stay on most of the day every day and are still going strong. I have images on the screen (post it type notes) permanently with no burn in.

I'd go with TVs in a heartbeat. When these go, I'd probably opt for the lowest priced 32" TVs without bells and whistles.

720p on a 32 inch TV? I wouldn't want to see what that looks like. Even the smallest laptops and tablets have more resolution then that.

[Peregrine]

You would think it looked gorgeous. Literally no one can tell the difference between 1080, 4k or 720 on a screen that small. Pretty universally accepted that the difference is indiscernible on anything less then 42".

[akrausz]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

You would think it looked gorgeous. Literally no one can tell the difference between 1080, 4k or 720 on a screen that small. Pretty universally accepted that the difference is indiscernible on anything less then 42".

The discussion is using it as a 32" computer monitor. I have a family member that does that on a desk a couple of feet away.

[Peregrine]

OK? That doesn't change what I said. No one is going to look at a computer connected to a TV running at 720p and have a clue that it's not 1080.