[X4U] Can I connect a computer monitor to my cable box?

[Crandon David]

Thanks Sroller, you gave me some great info!

 From a price standpoint, at Costco and Sam's, in the 22" and below  
range, computer monitors are $100-200 less, but I haven't looked at  
whether they have the correct connections or if they have speakers.

David


On Nov 2, 2007, at 5:52 AM, Stroller wrote:

>
> On 1 Nov 2007, at 23:06, Crandon David wrote:
>> ...
>> I'm getting a new TV for a spare bedroom. It's gonna be small,  
>> around 19-25" LCD.
>>
>> Can I buy a computer monitor of that size and use my cable box for  
>> the signal? Assuming of course we have compatible connections? I'm  
>> thinking about that because computer monitors are considerable  
>> less expensive than TV's of the same size.
>> ...
>
> It's likely that your cable TV box will have composite (single  
> yellow connector) video output. I think there are a number of  
> monitors that accommodate this, but this signal simply does not  
> give very good image quality.
>
> Component (red, blue & green video connectors) give *much* better  
> image quality. I think you can get monitors that support this, but  
> I do not think they're common or cheap.
>
> If your cable box is hi-def then it may have an HDMI output, the  
> highest quality of video transfer. You can connect this to any good- 
> quality TFT monitor using an DVI cable. HDMI output can be  
> encrypted via HDCP - and video output from a cable box most likely  
> IS encrypted - so you should ensure that the monitor is HDCP- 
> capable. Such monitors are not uncommon, but obviously not as cheap  
> as ones without the facility.
>
> Because of these limitations, I'd be surprised to hear that a  
> computer monitor would really be such good value. A monitor's video  
> scaler is likely not as good quality as that of a TV, and TVs tend  
> to have lower pixel-resolution than monitors. Unless the smaller  
> size is an absolute requirement, I would have thought that you'd  
> get a suitable 30" LCD TV - which is currently the size at which  
> you get best bang-per-buck in TV purchasing - for the same price as  
> a suitable 20" monitor.
>
> Stroller.
>
>
>
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