plasma as secondary pc monitor

September 19, 2007 1:28 PM

Is there a relatively affordable way to connect my computer to both a monitor and plasma screen, having the ability to switch between the two seemlessly?

Does the technology exist to do this wirelessly and how much does it cost comparatively? also, can I stream movies on my computer to the plasma tv as well as surf the internet using a wireless keyboard?

thanks for the help

posted by nyu2 to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Search Google on "reverse KVM". I haven't yet seen working wireless KVM configurations.

If you have two monitors and one computer/mouse/keyboard, then you should be able to use a wireless keyboard exactly as if you had one monitor.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:49 PM on September 19, 2007

Wired, sure. Just get a video card with multiple outputs, and any modern OS (Windows included) can switch between them effortlessly; the plasma TV will be just another DVI monitor as far as the computer's concerned.

On the other hand, doing it wirelessly is not in the cards with current technology, especially at the resolutions you're talking about.
posted by Tomorrowful at 1:55 PM on September 19, 2007

FOLLOWUP: If it is through a wired connections, how much will the resolution be distorted once the image is transfered to the plasma screen?
posted by nyu2 at 2:12 PM on September 19, 2007

It shouldnt be distorted at all. If your video card can output the resolution then everything should be native.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:19 PM on September 19, 2007

Torrmowful has the right idea, you essentially are doing multiple monitors, only that one is in a different location than the other.

If you use a switchbox, you are going to run into resolution problems and will end up having to change the resolution every time u switch monitors.
posted by mphuie at 3:02 PM on September 19, 2007

Some (many? most?) plasma screens are not multi-resolution monitors, so if you are going to use a digital output signal, such as DVI, it's important to know the EXACT resolution your screen supports, as you may need to come up with a custom configuration file or setting to make this work. Many screens are a standard size, such as 1024 X 768, but some are oddball.

Case in point: I have a 42" Panasonic ED (not HD) monitor, and it has a weird native resolution of 842 X 530 (or something like that; this is from memory). Anyway, I decided to use an analog signal because the digital signal was SO finicky, and even after using a utility to create a custom display profile I wasn't happy with the results; the analog was a bit better, and neither was great for text or web browsing. Just be careful if you go the route of creating a custom digital profile, as there is the potential to damage the screen if you get the values wrong in a major way.

Also, the folks over at AVS Forums may have some specific advice for your specific monitor.
posted by mosk at 3:20 PM on September 19, 2007

type of computer(desk/laptop)? how many display outputs?
posted by ijoyner at 12:44 PM on September 20, 2007

Shouldn't the OP be worried about burn-in?
posted by pantheON at 5:56 PM on September 21, 2007