TV as Monitor?

October 7, 2006 3:27 PM

How do I use my TV as a monitor?

I want to display my screen on a TV and have the audio come out through the TV speakers, too. What is the best way to go about doing this? I have a Sony VAIO laptop and it has a monitor out port.

posted by chitlin to computers & internet (7 comments total)

The problem with this is that your TV is probably going to be at a different resolution that your PC. The monitor out option really isn't designed to work on a normal television (though certain hi-def hardware does have computer inputs.)

You will probably need to get some kind of video out pcmcia card.

This site seems to go over the basic concept pretty well.
posted by quin at 3:39 PM on October 7, 2006

If you have a high-definition TV, there's likely to be a VGA input on the back, meaning it's as easy as getting a long video cable and plugging it into your laptop's monitor output.

If it's not a high-definition TV, then you don't want to do this for normal PC use. The TV's resolution is too low for you to read text on it, even with a low screen resolution set on the PC.
posted by CrayDrygu at 3:47 PM on October 7, 2006

More specifically you may want to look around for either a PCM/CIA or a USB s-video adapter. (unless your Vaio has built in s-video, but my googling suggests that they don't).

Basically, s-video is going to be your best bet. Most/ many tv's nowadays have them as inputs, and there are quite a few products on the market that let you output your computer display as an s-video source.

On preview: what CrayDrygu said as well.
posted by quin at 3:49 PM on October 7, 2006

CrayDrygu writes "If it's not a high-definition TV, then you don't want to do this for normal PC use. "

There are plenty of reasons for hooking a low-res TV up to a computer. That's how I watch episodes of TV shows which I have downloaded legally, for instance.
posted by mr_roboto at 4:16 PM on October 7, 2006

A lot of laptops now have S video out, including a lot of viaos. Check to make sure yours dosn't have one before buying one.
posted by delmoi at 5:24 PM on October 7, 2006

That is true, but given the wording "use my TV as a monitor" and not "watch video on my TV" I also got the impression that the poster wants to do what CrayDrygu is talking about. And I agree, a standard definition TV makes an absolutely lousy monitor for anything but watching video. If you want to simulate what it would be like, set your monitor to 640x480, set the minimum font size to around 18 points, and then turn the focus adjustment pot on the back of the flyback as far out of alignment as it will go.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:25 PM on October 7, 2006

Thanks, everyone. I really want to use this primarily for watching video, and I thought it would be nice to show to clients to preview AutoCAD drawings. Apparently, the resolution may not allow the latter. I appreciate the suggestions.
posted by chitlin at 8:47 AM on October 8, 2006