Want to use an HD TV as a computer monitor for a new Dell Dimension desktop. I can either use an HDMI cable or a VGA cable. Both the desktop and the TV have both connectors so it's just a matter of picking one, buying it, and connecting it.
Any suggestions, pros, cons, or opinions on either method of using my TV as a computer monitor?
If it matters, the TV is a 37" Sylvania HDTV and the computer is a Dell Dimension 570.
abaddono1
Favorite Answer
hdmi is digital, vga is analog. hdmi uses a smaller connector so that may be beneficial.
i would go with the hdmi any day.
you'll get good picture with either of them, resolution is not an issue At all. vga is more susceptible to interference from other sources but unless you're running a cheep 30 foot cable, you'll see no difference.
please ignore this idiocy about resolution, both hdmi and vga will handle anything the TV is capable of.
mmarrero
VGA quality is lower, it's analog. It's a lot better than anything non-digital cable.
With VGA, the TV has to auto-synch the image, because it usually don't report the native resolution to the PC. To make things more fun, Microsoft intelligently uses a black splash screen when Windows boots, so you might want to wait seeing it 'till Windows finishes booting. You must use a non-black background.
Ironically, even with HDMI some TVs don't report either their native resolution to the PC. Native 720p or 1080p is ok for movies, awful text. You need to find out the LCD native resolution, and pray the TV likes it. My 720p is 1366x768 rather than 720p (1280x720)
Btw, text won't look perfect. LCD TV pixels aren't usually square, so that movies and games look less pixelated.
Anonymous
HDMI any day!
Pros: View in high definition (720p or 1080p),
Carries video AND sound. VGA only carries video in a lower resolution,
You can see hdmi cables in almost every shop while with VGA, you may need to look online.
More reliable and durable.
Cons: None
Anonymous
HDMI delivers a cleaner signal and will carry sound to your T.V., in most cases, as well. This means that you won't have to worry about finding a way to deliver the sound from the computer to the T.V. and you can just deal with one cable.
Anonymous
Feature - VGA - HDMI
Audio - No - Yes
Clarity - variable distortion - perfect
Resolution - 2k/1.5k - 4k/2k
Price - $5 - $5
Plug mechanics - Double screws - Simple clip in
Alternatively, you could use DVI if you don't care about audio (And/Or want to free up hdmi slots)