How to Use A Computer Monitor As An HDTV

This guide will show you what you need to know about using a computer monitor as both your monitor and an HDTV.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. When shopping for a new monitor, the most important thing you need to check is the native resolution of the monitor you are interested in. 1920x1080 is true 1080p, but most monitors display at 1920x1200. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the extra vertical space can stretch your HD movies.

2. Check the specification and features of your monitor. If you are planning on using a monitor as an HDTV, make sure that one of the features is 1:1 pixel mapping. If your native resolution is 1920x1080, and you plug an HD device in like a PS3, this will insure that you are viewing in true HD and will eliminate annoying things like scanning lines and blurring.

3. If you will be primarily using the monitor for gaming, I suggest 1920x1200, and just living with the HD stretching for movies. If you don't game a lot, go with the true HD and make sure you have a video card that has an HD port. New NVidia cards have these ports, but all cards with a DVI port will need a DVI to HDMI connector, which isn't too expensive.