Use a computer monitor as an HDTV from Encript on Vimeo.
Did you know that you can use your computer monitor as an HDTV saving you some money on getting a brand new HDTV. If you purchased a monitor which has DVI or HDMI inputs it is possible that you can use this as an HDTV because it is capable of receiving HD input signals. If your monitor was like my monitor it will require a little more muscle to get you up and running. Because my monitor used DVI I needed to get a DVI to HDMI converter cable which converts the connectors. I am pretty sure most TV cable companies do not have boxes which have DVI connectors on them so there was no avoiding this step. I checked staples first and could not find the cable I needed. I then checked best buy and found it but it was waaaaay too much money. They ranged anywhere from $60.00 to $99.99 dollars. So I ended up having to look for it online. I checked a few places. A friend referred me to a site called www.monoprice.com. They had what I wanted but still a little bit more than I was willing to pay. So finally I checked eBay and there it was for $9.01 with free shipping so I ordered one. Once I got the item in the mail It was as simple as plug and play. The only adjustment you would have to make is where your sound is going to come from since most monitor do not come with speakers you will need to get external speakers. If you have some cheap satellite speakers laying around you will need yet another converter cable. This time you will need to find a 1/8th” Stereo to RCA cable, radio shack RadioShack Linky has plenty of these.
So what are the down sides? Well Dell monitors (or monitors in general) don’t have IR sensors on them so I cant turn it off with a remote. I have to power it down the old fashion way. Speakers have to be turned off the old fashion way also. Monitors were not meant to be used as televisions. The amount of hours that Televisions are in use for far surpass that of computer use. This probably will burn out faster than a TV would. It could get hot very quickly. The viewing angles are not very wide and the contrast ratio is also low. It was meant for the person to be directly in front of the monitor, so not to the side or below. Other than that I feel its still worth it because it saves me space that my tube tv didn’t do and I get to utilize the HD signals.
Checklist
Video – Monitor with either HDMI or DVI input this was mine yours will vary.
Video – If DVI then you will need a converter cable. (DVI to HDMI Male to Male) my dell was DVI-D. Yours might be different please verify this before you purchase. eBay
Video – Cable box or Satellite box with HDMI output.
Sound – 1/8th” Stereo to RCA cable. RadioShack