Hello,

I do not know if I should post this in the "hardware" or "laptop" forum, so I just picked hardware. If this is the wrong forum, then I ask the mods to move it accordingly.

Anyway, I want to get a laptop for my mom. It is easier for her to see things on a big screen. She is thinking about getting a large (at least 30 inch) LCD TV.

My questions are:

1) Whatever the laptop screen size, is it possible to hook the laptop to the large LCD TV so that instead of squinting her eyes at a small laptop screen, she can sit back, relax and use her LCD TV as her monitor?

2) If possible, would doing this raise in privacy / security issues (i.e., signal going from laptop to TV being intercepted, hacked, etc)?

I looked on google / wiki but haven't found much info. Then again, I don't really know exactly what to look for.

Any thoughts, info or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!

External monitors can easily be attached to laptops, and with the right adaptor you can use a TV as your monitor. However, your comment is about 'privacy/security' issues has confused me -- are you attempting to wirelessly beam a video signal to the TV from the laptop? I don't know that such an option is available (considering that what you're talking about would be more or less broadcasting from your laptop, which would require the TV to be tuned to a particular frequency/channel, which in turn would interfere with your neighbors if they tried to watch that same channel)

Can you provide more detail about what you wish to do?

Bigger displays are not always better. It is better to get a notebook computer that has low resolution than buying a big secondary LCD monitor. LCD monitors are different than CRT because LCD can only handle one resolution until pixelation starts when using a different resolution than its native resolution. CRT monitors have a wide range of resolutions and refresh rates. Just change the font size on the notebook computer until your mom can see it. Also another way is setup screen panning.

If you want to hook up external displays to a notebook computer, make sure the notebook computer uses nVidia graphics or else it is going to be hard.

Ramsey Electronics has a small TV transmitter that does not or should not interfere with local broadcast channels.

JW and Electro:

J.W. --

The "security" aspect is just a general concern. It would be a "wired" connection from the laptop to the LCD TV. I don't know if having yet another wired connection could pose a security risk, so that is why I asked. Maybe it is not an issue. I just wasn't so sure how to bring up the subject.

Electro --

The bigger LCD screen would be an LCD TV, not an LCD monitor. I would like to hook up a laptop (probably 15 inch or 17 inch) to a large screen LCD TV so that my mom (as she gets older it is harder for her to read things on a regular size screen -- for both LCD and CRT) can have an easier time with things such as her financial spreadsheet, letters she writes, etc.

Any thoughts, ideas? I remember somewhere (can't remember where) that someone said a DVI cable could do what I want. Is that true? I looked up DVI on wiki and it didn't help much. What exactly is it?

Thanks again.

Not a lot people know that TV resolution is horrible. On a 25 inch TV, the text and pictures are very, very tiny and unreadable even though I am young. In order for your mom to see the text. The TV size needs to be 72 inches in order for anybody to see the text and pictures clearly.

Setting up panning will make it easier for your mom to see the screen on the notebook computer. Panning is like setting your default resolution at 1600x1200 and hitting CTL+ATL+- to go into 800x600. It will zoom in about two times, so everything looks bigger with out changing the font size, button size, etc.

DVI (Digital Visual Interface) is combination of digital and analog connector that is replacing the VGA port. LCD displays output better picture with the DVI connector, but only it uses digital. Also there is HDMI and mini-DVI which are backwards compatible with the DVI connector. I think HDMI will replace DVI to include four connectors which will provide four displays.

MBA - realistically speaking, using a wireless connection is much more suspectible to interception than a direct wired connection, although there is no such thing as perfect security if you your PC is connected to a network. If you are using wireless, be sure to use some kind of encryption, although in the context of your original question, it sounds like your main interest is just to display your PC's video signal on the TV, which doesn't involve wireless.

As Electro mentioned, most televisions use resolutions that are far lower than a typical PC monitor. I don't have any current numbers, but a few years ago, the typical TV used a resolution of 800x600 (aka the typical 4:3 aspect ratio) while PC moniitors were using a 1024x768 resolution, which is still the 4:3 aspect ratio but delivers a much crisper image. I'm skeptical that anyone needs a minimum of a 72 inch screen in order to see anything clearly, but purchasing a large, quality LCD might be a simpler solution. Check NewEgg for deals on >+20" LCD monitors. Good luck with it

I have tested a 32 inch TV screen. Text is still hard to see. I still recommend a 72 inch TV screen or larger.

The cheapest is just setup desktop panning. Everything will be two to four times bigger.

How do you do desktop panning? I could not find anything on wiki about it (desktop panning). Off to GIS I suppose. Is it easy to do / undo?

So, you suggest an LCD monitor as opposed to an LCD TV, is that correct?

If yes, then could the LCD monitor be easily turned into an LCD TV? Perhaps it would require a special vid card or tuner?

Basically, I would like some large display (at least 50 inch) for her that she can use to watch TV and use as a computer display screen.

Thanks again.

Did the salesman tell me the truth?

JW, Electro, and anyone else reading:

I conducted a "test" to see what response I got. The next part of the "test" is to post what was told to me. I would appreciate your own opinions.

I went to Best Buy and told a salesman that I wanted a large LCD TV that my mom could hook her laptop into, with the result that her computer output would appear on the large LCD TV.

She told me:

a) I should look for a model that has a "PC outlet". . .I think that was the term she used.
b) That the resolution would be 1080 for a computer (horizontally measured, I believe).

Your thoughts? Opinions? I know JW and Electro cautioned against getting an actual TV due to resolution issues, but isn't 1080 really good? Or is it more complicated than that?

FYI: It was a 40 or 42 inch LCD TV she showed me. PC outlet and 1080 resolution.

Thanks!

If you get an LCD/TV monitor with sufficiently high resolution you should be OK - check the tech specs before you buy anything. My main point was just to try to suggest against hooking up a plain regular TV to your monitor as a way to improve resolution -- it won't, due to the fact that plain TV's have much lower resolution than PC monitors.

You might consider bringing the laptop to the store, and asking the technician to hook it up to the monitor you are interested in, so you can see for yourself what the final results will be. Just tell the guy that you are prepared to spend the money to make the purchase on a big ticket monitor, but your need to be sure that the resolution is sharp enough for your needs. In other words, ask them to demonstrate the product. If they don't do it, or won't do, then it seems clear that they either are incompetent, or are just cluelessly reciting some sales pitch. Take your business elsewhere. A good salesman should be able to answer technical questions and provide actual assistance

Big screens aren't cheap, so if you're going to lay out the cash, I think you should do a lot of research. Good luck with it

Most LCD monitors have poor converters for VGA to digital which the LCD only accepts. What this means in simple terms is it will not give you the quality that you hoped to see. If the notebook computer does not have a DVI or HDMI connector, forget about LCD monitors. In Linux, not all video cards in notebook computers are fully supported. nVidia is the only one that supports their hardware well for desktops, workstations, and notebooks.

I strongly suggest on a budget you try setting up desktop panning. Both in Linux and Windows (with Powerstrip) can zoom into the desktop to make it easier to see. You can get up to 4 times zoom if you plan it wisely.

Another way is get an Optivisor.

Electro:

Assume the laptop in question does have DVI capabilities. . .and the large screen LCD TV has both standard "VGA" and "PC output" capabilities. I don't know what the difference is between the standard "VGA" capability and the "PC output" capability except that the sales rep said the VGA is lower quality.

Regardless, would DVI help in that scenario?

BTW. . .what is "optivisor?" I could not find anything on wiki, so I will google. But if you could clarify I would appreciate it.

I like JW's idea and thought of it myself. . .take the laptop into the LCD TV store for a "test drive." That might be the most simple way. Afterall, this LCD TV, if purchased, would easily go over 2000 USD.

On a separate note, would I be correct in assuming that the output to the large LCD TV, good or bad, would NOT depend upon my software (i.e., Windows vs Linux, Word vs OpenOffice, etc. . .)?

Thanks again.

The correct term is VGA or DVI not PC output. LCD accepting VGA is not going to display very well. The text will be harder to see because of distortion trying to convert analog to digital.

The reason why I suggest desktop panning is because huge LCD TV cost a lot of money. The price is not for the faint of heart. With 2000 US dollars, you can take your mom on a vacation and have experiences that will last a lifetime, but if you buy an LCD monitor, it will last a few years.

An Optiviser is a head band that magnifies objects up to 10 times. It used to see small objects. When not using them, you can flip them up.

Example of an Optiviser.
http://secure.transtronics.com/Optivisor.html

What about DVI. . .would that make a noticeable difference?

BTW....thanks for the weblink.