Using Toshiba high end TV as computer monitor via HDMI?

[Hermes]

I don't like little screens. I am totally fed up with my iphone5 and even my 7.7 inche Samsung tablet. Then one day someone told me I could hook up my devices to a TV and enjoy a non-miniature viewing world. I was blown away with the comfort and visibility. Why would anyone not want this as an alternative? Well, I quickly learned who - me, as an author I don't want to have to move my eyes an epic distance when checking my typing. Movies or youtube are something diffferent than creating content. I don't know if I will even be able to create Word Press content with this system. But, anyway...

My plan is to use a good 40" TV set up on the wall less than 2 meters (7 feet) in front of me and give my aging eyes a rest. I have a 5 year old laptop (SONY Vaio) that I will replace soon with a SSD one. In my limited experience I have had only success using a device (iphone) with a TV connected by HDMI.

Yet I read warnings that there could be problems. Whaat problems? Isn't all I have to do is show up at the second-hand dealer's with my laptop, plug it in with my HDMI and see if it works?

The model is 3-4 years old I am told:
40PU200em
LED

I don't know if it has the fancy USB featurebout in its reviews and specs. Doing my due diligence now in preparation to going back to the shop. Price is USD128. I am in small town Malaysia

When the dealer set it up with his source it looked pretty darned good to me.

My only hesitation is the huge amount of sideways real estate and whether I would be paying for space I can't use. I mean it seems really distorted shape for a TV. Movies aren't that ratio are they? Youtube isn't. Why would anyone want such a strange ratio?

And especially, what is the point of having so much space since the TV monitor can't magiclly create any more space than my computer monitor has, right? All it is going to do is copy what I see on my laptop. I can't see how it could do otherwise. Maybe I can configure my laptop,or the TV, or both for this situation?

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

Should have no issues at all. I have my HTPC connected to an off-brand Insignia LCD TV that is fairly ancient in today's standards and it does just fine. Make sure to match the output resolution from your laptop to that of the TV (a quick search shows it is Full HD so 1920 x 1080) and you shouldn't have any strange distortion either. I'd set the TV as your main display and not worry about looking at the laptop screen.

 

[Dethroy]

The TV in question sports FullHD - 1.920 x 1.080 pixels and hence the most common aspect ratio of 16:9. TV productions & most entertainment content (e.g. youtube) use this aspect ratio.
Movies however mostly make use of cinemascope (2.35-2.39:1 / 21:9 aspect ratio) with a few exceptions (e.g. IMAX).

The only real drawback when utilitzing big screens for pc usage is that you will most certainly run into scaling issues from time to time (OS, UI elements of all sorts of software, etc.). That's at least my experience.
You won't have "more space", interpretated as in more pixels, but you will bloat your pixels up in physical size and therefor have the same content (same pixels) displayed on a bigger surface which might be beneficial in certain scenarios.

 

[RejZoR]

1080p on a 40 incher as monitor is imo not enough. For such purpose you'll need 4K TV. Otherwise you'll have horrendously blocky everything on screen. For viewing at 2+ meters it's fine. But for monitor usage of up to only 1m range, not enough.

 

[Hermes]

1080p on a 40 incher as monitor is imo not enough. For such purpose you'll need 4K TV. Otherwise you'll have horrendously blocky everything on screen. For viewing at 2+ meters it's fine. But for monitor usage of up to only 1m range, not enough.

I appreciate your precision Sir. I just measured and yes indeed the distance between my eyes is 1.8M.

Should have no issues at all. I have my HTPC connected to an off-brand Insignia LCD TV that is fairly ancient in today's standards and it does just fine. Make sure to match the output resolution from your laptop to that of the TV (a quick search shows it is Full HD so 1920 x 1080) and you shouldn't have any strange distortion either. I'd set the TV as your main display and not worry about looking at the laptop screen.

I do not know if my PC experience will be like that of my iphone. However, when I use the proprietary lightening->HDMI adapter and HDMI cable to TV in order to rescue its tiny screen space , the screen on my iphone5 goes black and therefore becomes useless. But this wouldn't be the first time Apple is at odds with normal standards.

Thank you all for your experienced opinions.

 

[RejZoR]

I appreciate your precision Sir. I just measured and yes indeed the distance between my eyes is 1.8M.

You must have a really big head then It's hard to say what each individual likes, but considering people demand QHD on 6 inch smartphones, FullHD on 40 inches seems a bit small DPI...

 

[Hermes]

correction...

not - between my eyes

but, rather, between my yes and where I will afix the TV

 

[Bill_Bright]

Then one day someone told me I could hook up my devices to a TV and enjoy a non-miniature viewing world. I was blown away with the comfort and visibility. Why would anyone not want this as an alternative? Well, I quickly learned who - me, as an author I don't want to have to move my eyes an epic distance when checking my typing.

Then you are sitting too close! So if you cannot move back farther, getting a smaller screen is what you need to do.

My only hesitation is the huge amount of sideways real estate

Not sure what you mean here. Any graphics solution with any computer you buy should easily support widescreen resolutions so you don't have any big black bars on the sides, and still not distort what you do see.

Old 4:3 ratio TV shows and movies made for TV may still have those bars (or be stretched out and distorted) but again, that would be with old shows, nothing new.

That said (skip to my point is below if not interested in a history lesson), while using a big screen TV with a computer can have its advantages, there are some disadvantages too and HDMI is one of them. HDMI came out of the home theater electronics industry and was designed to eliminate/convert all the 6 channels (5.1) of audio cables plus the video cables going between DVR/Blu-ray players, DVRs, home theater receivers, and TVs into one small cable between each device. There is also a couple wired in an HDMI cable used for a control channel that these devices used to handshake and establish communications between selected devices. And for home theater systems, HDMI works pretty well (still not perfect, but they are getting there).

Note that the big big-screen TV makers (Samsung, Sony and others) happen to be some of the bigger names in computer monitor makers too and they did not want deal with all the logistics of dealing with two types of digital video connections (DVI and HDMI) so the home theater industry started jamming HDMI onto the computer industry.

Good idea but the fit is just not very good. This is because audio in computers is handled differently than in home theater systems. While some monitors come with speakers, the audio "fidelity" is not high - lousy by any definition. So most computer users route their audio to separate, self powered speakers systems. And while most graphics cards support HDMI, they are still designed to support, primarily, computer monitors, which traditionally, don't have speaker (especially not surround sound) and don't use the control channel either.

So when you connect a computer to a TV via HDMI, the TV is expecting 5.1 audio (and the control channel) to come through too. And some times, they just don't want to sync up properly. Maybe a brand new computer and a brand new TV will have the latest revisions of HDMI and all will be good. I don't know. We are in the 14th year and 6th version of HDMI and all the bugs still have not been worked out. If it goes the way of USB, don't hold your breath. It's been 22 years and several versions (each supposed to fix issues with the previous version) and USB is still plagued with problems.

DisplayPort shows promise but is not fully implemented yet.

My point is, for an author, that is someone who does a lot of writing, I think you would be better off sitting at a desk in a comfortable (ergonomically correct for writing) desk chair, with a nice 22-24 inch monitor about an arm's length in front of you. Then you can have 2 pages of text in front of you and you only have to move your eyes, not your head to see it all. And if in the same room as your TV, you can lean back and take a break and see what's on TV without having to flip input sources back and forth. Plus decent computer monitors actually are better (or at least feel better) for the eyes because they are designed to support very high resolutions producing extra sharp "crisp" text viewed for hours at a time.

If considering a notebook instead of a PC, then I still recommend a desk and connecting an external monitor and full size keyboard and mouse. You might also consider an all-in-one computer. These are basically full sized monitors (23" in this case) with a notebook computer integrated into the back of the monitor to save space.

 

[Hermes]

Rezjor wrote:
"considering people demand QHD on 6 inch smartphones, FullHD on 40 inches seems a bit small DPI..."

Thank you Sir. I welcome additional opinions from those of us 55+ or with vision problems.

I do not insist on fantastic clarity. In fact, I don't see the point of even 4K (and found 3D to be downright annoying). I mean, how far do we have to go? I would rather see great intellectual and artistic content and less emphasis on the technicalities of the medium. I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s and I managed OK watching TV at resolution that would now be considered garbage. I just feel a bit claustrophobic watching a monitor so close, too close to those glasses I tried at B&H in NY when SONY first came out with a model that actually were goggles. For all I know an HD TV so far away might be less clear than what I have now close up.

To uh, clarify, it is not about clarity per se as comfort and ease. And creating space on this kitchen table as use as an office desk.

for an author, that is someone who does a lot of writing, I think you would be better off sitting at a desk in a comfortable (ergonomically correct for writing) desk chair, with a nice 22-24 inch monitor about an arm's length in front of you. Then you can have 2 pages of text in front of you and you only have to move your eyes, not your head to see it all. And if in the same room as your TV, you can lean back and take a break and see what's on TV without having to flip input sources back and forth. Plus decent computer monitors actually are better (or at least feel better) for the eyes because they are designed to support very high resolutions producing extra sharp "crisp" text viewed for hours at a time.

If considering a notebook instead of a PC, then I still recommend a desk and connecting an external monitor and full size keyboard and mouse. You might also consider an all-in-one computer. These are basically full sized monitors (23" in this case) with a notebook computer integrated into the back of the monitor to save space.

Thank you for this specific advise for my needs.

BTW, I am delighted but perplexed how this website knew what I was doing. I expected to quote then delete what was not germane. But instead after selecting and copying (to send in email to a friend), not just my computer but also this forum website somehow was able to ascertain what I did and quoted just what I had selected was quoted. Hmmm

Bill Bright wrote...
"Hermes said: ↑

My only hesitation is the huge amount of sideways real estate​

Not sure what you mean here. "

It seems it was an optical illusion. Comparing the dimensions of both rectangles (my laptop and the flatscreen TV) they are perhaps identical.

 

[silkstone]

I have that kind of setup for my HTPC. I have to adjust the font scaling, but then I sit ~2.5 meters away. I'm not sure i'd personally be comfortable WP on that kind of setup, again because of scaling issues (you really have to get the distance between yourself and the screen just right), but it will work no hitch.

Take your laptop into the store and try it out yourself, remembering to sit the expected distance away from the screen. Spend at least 10 minutes performing a few 'regular tasks' and see how it feels for you personally.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Take your laptop into the store and try it out yourself, remembering to sit the expected distance away from the screen. Spend at least 10 minutes performing a few 'regular tasks' and see how it feels for you personally.

I think this is an excellent idea! And if they don't let you, or help you, go somewhere else.

And don't forget to take the necessary cable.

 

[AsRock]

I use my DELL 1764 ( 2010 ) which i connect to my TOSHIBA HDTV all the time for playing DVD's from our local library and have had 0 issue's. I used to use it for Netflix too but stopped due to getting a ROKU 3

 

[Bill_Bright]

I used to use it for Netflix too but stopped due to getting a ROKU 3

I watch Netflix through my Roku 3!

 

[AsRock]

I watch Netflix through my Roku 3!

Well it's a 3.1w device so yeah i stopped using the laptop due being 20-30w . Point is if i did not get the ROKU i be still happy using the laptop though AV with my 40" HDTV.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Then you are sitting too close! So if you cannot move back farther, getting a smaller screen is what you need to do.
Not sure what you mean here. Any graphics solution with any computer you buy should easily support widescreen resolutions so you don't have any big black bars on the sides, and still not distort what you do see.

Old 4:3 ratio TV shows and movies made for TV may still have those bars (or be stretched out and distorted) but again, that would be with old shows, nothing new.

That said (skip to my point is below if not interested in a history lesson), while using a big screen TV with a computer can have its advantages, there are some disadvantages too and HDMI is one of them. HDMI came out of the home theater electronics industry and was designed to eliminate/convert all the 6 channels (5.1) of audio cables plus the video cables going between DVR/Blu-ray players, DVRs, home theater receivers, and TVs into one small cable between each device. There is also a couple wired in an HDMI cable used for a control channel that these devices used to handshake and establish communications between selected devices. And for home theater systems, HDMI works pretty well (still not perfect, but they are getting there).

Note that the big big-screen TV makers (Samsung, Sony and others) happen to be some of the bigger names in computer monitor makers too and they did not want deal with all the logistics of dealing with two types of digital video connections (DVI and HDMI) so the home theater industry started jamming HDMI onto the computer industry.

Good idea but the fit is just not very good. This is because audio in computers is handled differently than in home theater systems. While some monitors come with speakers, the audio "fidelity" is not high - lousy by any definition. So most computer users route their audio to separate, self powered speakers systems. And while most graphics cards support HDMI, they are still designed to support, primarily, computer monitors, which traditionally, don't have speaker (especially not surround sound) and don't use the control channel either.

So when you connect a computer to a TV via HDMI, the TV is expecting 5.1 audio (and the control channel) to come through too. And some times, they just don't want to sync up properly. Maybe a brand new computer and a brand new TV will have the latest revisions of HDMI and all will be good. I don't know. We are in the 14th year and 6th version of HDMI and all the bugs still have not been worked out. If it goes the way of USB, don't hold your breath. It's been 22 years and several versions (each supposed to fix issues with the previous version) and USB is still plagued with problems.

DisplayPort shows promise but is not fully implemented yet.

My point is, for an author, that is someone who does a lot of writing, I think you would be better off sitting at a desk in a comfortable (ergonomically correct for writing) desk chair, with a nice 22-24 inch monitor about an arm's length in front of you. Then you can have 2 pages of text in front of you and you only have to move your eyes, not your head to see it all. And if in the same room as your TV, you can lean back and take a break and see what's on TV without having to flip input sources back and forth. Plus decent computer monitors actually are better (or at least feel better) for the eyes because they are designed to support very high resolutions producing extra sharp "crisp" text viewed for hours at a time.

If considering a notebook instead of a PC, then I still recommend a desk and connecting an external monitor and full size keyboard and mouse. You might also consider an all-in-one computer. These are basically full sized monitors (23" in this case) with a notebook computer integrated into the back of the monitor to save space.

Top info, thankyou Bill.

 

[Hermes]

I bought it and it seems to be working well. Only thing that surprises me is that there is no audio out jack for headphones (don't like to disturb my neighbours late at night). So I have to get an adapter and plug into TV's RCA out (L/R). Seems odd to me). Hmm, all kinds of ins (HDMI, USB, VGA etc, but no traditional headphone jack, large or small.

The audio on my SONY Viao is not great so I don't like to hear the computer content through my laptop even on min-speakers, but it would be a much shorter cable. I will consult my buddy who is more technicaland we will experiement. If my experience in film producing is at all relevant it is audio that is the technical hassle (and requires more money and time for quality), more than image.

 

[silkstone]

Why not connect your headphones directly to the laptop? I doubt going HDMI > TV > RCA Adapter > Headphone will do much for the sound quality compared to straight from Laptop > Headphones.