Can a TV be used as a desktop monitor?

[Enigma]

It may be a dumb question but can it?

[Gandalf]

Yes it can. We use an old Macbook and Apple TV to watch streaming stuff on the telly.

[Imperial528]

They can, but you should adjust your setup accordingly. Some smaller TVs these days advertise dual functionality and work just fine as a monitor substitute, but if you're using a device advertised primarily as a TV then it probably won't work well as a desk top monitor, due to the viewing distance presumed by the device and how that affects resolution. That said, if you're willing to deal with the unconventional setup, having it at TV distance should work just fine assuming the right UI scale.

[Zaune]

What are you planning to use the PC for while it's hooked up to your telly, and where are you planning to set it up?

[Mr Bean]

To add on to what Gandalf, Zaune and Imperial have said...

It may be a dumb question but can it?

Yes but...

There's a reason why computer monitor exists with everything from refresh rates to viewing angles to the big one how close you sit. So it depends on the TV and where you setting it on how good/bad an idea is.

Nothing stopping you from hooking up an hdmi cord or dvi or an old vga to composite cable if you want but we can't always recommend it.

Imperial covered the main bits, if you can find the model manufacturer we can tell what your going to be in for. Failing that age, brand name and sizes can give us an idea.

[Enigma]

Thanks everyone for the replies. The idea to use a TV as a desktop monitor has been shelved for the foreseeable future. But it did give me something to think about.

[Starglider]

Modern TVs work fine as long as the panel isn't unreasonably sized. A 30" 4K TV will make a nice display as long as you don't need twitch gamer super refresh rates or professional graphic designer colour accuracy. Considering you can get one of those for $200 now I don't know why you'd mess about with an old analogue connection unless this is explicitly an exercise in retrotech.

[Enigma]

Modern TVs work fine as long as the panel isn't unreasonably sized. A 30" 4K TV will make a nice display as long as you don't need twitch gamer super refresh rates or professional graphic designer colour accuracy. Considering you can get one of those for $200 now I don't know why you'd mess about with an old analogue connection unless this is explicitly an exercise in retrotech.

I meant a modern flat screen LED TV. But it is a moot point for now.

[Darth Lucifer]

Definitely, yes. I use a 32" widescreen and it's just awesome.

[Marko Dash]

I've used an older LCD TV as a monitor for the last year and a half, the only issues i have with it is that it has pretty bad image retention. for example if you watch a 20min youtube video without full-screening it and then switch to something else the video title and border will remain for a few minutes, or inversely for the first few minutes of doing anything fullscreen a ghost of the taskbar will remain.

similar to the 'burn in' effect from CRT TVs but not as permanent.

[houser2112]

I've used an older LCD TV as a monitor for the last year and a half, the only issues i have with it is that it has pretty bad image retention. for example if you watch a 20min youtube video without full-screening it and then switch to something else the video title and border will remain for a few minutes, or inversely for the first few minutes of doing anything fullscreen a ghost of the taskbar will remain.

similar to the 'burn in' effect from CRT TVs but not as permanent.

That doesn't seem like something that would be unique to the TV-computer use case, but something that would happen with that particular TV regardless of the input source. For instance, does this type of thing happen on a sports broadcast, where the score is displayed in the same place for the whole game? I've never seen that behavior on a non-CRT before.

[TimothyC]

That doesn't seem like something that would be unique to the TV-computer use case, but something that would happen with that particular TV regardless of the input source. For instance, does this type of thing happen on a sports broadcast, where the score is displayed in the same place for the whole game? I've never seen that behavior on a non-CRT before.

Plasma screens were and OLEDs are susceptible to burn in and ghosting.