Buying LCD display, can I do PC and TV in one?

[Feneris]

I'm looking for a 22" to 24" widescreen monitor for the computer. I'd like to be able to plug my Freeview HDD recorder into it too so I can watch TV on it. The Freeview has SCART and the Red/White/Yellow outputs. Is there a computer monitor that can do both? I'm looking for a nice, reasonably pricy pc monitor, not an LCD TV that with a VGA input. Any ideas?? Cheers F

[hellsbrink]

Samsung MP series.

I use one (19") and it takes PC, regular TV antenna, SCART and the "red white and yellow" plugs. The mutt's nuts

http://shopping.msn.com/prices/shp/?itemId=24163934

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Samsung_SyncMaster_211_MP__5394207#productdetail

[The Flying Pram]

Many of the Sony range have PC inputs. There's a new 23" widescreen model ( KDL-23B4050 ) on their site.

[Saab Dastard]

Wasn't there an issue not long ago about the use of computer monitors as TVs to circumvent TV licensing or something, so the manfrs had to delete the SCART / phono inputs to "prove" that they weren't TVs?

Sorry if that's a red herring, but all the PC LCD monitors I've come across recently have either DVI or VGA (usually both), but I've not seen a Scart or Phono input.

Also, I have never seen a converter from SCART or Left/Right/Video phono to either DVI, VGA D-Dub or HDMI - particularly as neither VGA nor DVI support the audio input / output.

As The Flying Pram says, you can get a TV to act as a PC monitor, but you pay £100 more for the same or lower resolution as an LCD monitor.

SD

[hellsbrink]

SD

That went for any TV receiving a digital signal, not just monitors. Your old analogue connection would actually "leak" from the recever/demodulator (I know, I simplified things) so the TV transmission signal could be picked up with the right equipment. Digital TV, through a SCART/RGB, does not do that. Of course, the stories about the actual "detectors" they used are disputed, but in theory they could pick up a signal from your TV and tell which channel you were watching.

And, as posted, you can buy nice monitors from Samsung that are monitor, TV, FM radio with SCART and RGB on them. The picture quality is fantastic, trust me.

And you can't beat it for watching things like F1 so ya have the TV on PinP while you keep an eye on the live timing off the net.

[The Flying Pram]

Sorry, I must learn to read before posting. If it's of any use, with reference to Saab Dastards comments about resolution, my Sony KDL-15G2000 which is an old model 4:3 ratio TV, quotes these in the handbook.
Signals Pixels(H) Line(V) Frequency(H) Frequency(V)
VGA 640 480 31.5 60
SVGA 800 600 37.9 60
XGA 1024 768 48.4 60

[green granite]

Actually Saab It was to do with import duty, companies that imported TVs complained that computer companies were importing monitors with scart sockets and paying a much lower import duty.

[frostbite]

I hope the logic on Samsung gear has improved. I have an 8yo combi that (a) switches on to last channel viewed (no choice), (b) is called Fastext but doesn't have memory to store any pages.

I'm sure there's other niggles but I can't recall them right now. Having said that, audio and picture are good.

[Saab Dastard]

Actually Saab It was to do with import duty, companies that imported TVs complained that computer companies were importing monitors with scart sockets and paying a much lower import duty.

Thanks - I knew there was some issue, but the memory ain't what it used to be!

[hellsbrink]

Mine (synchmaster 930mp) is like that. I don't mind the channel thing and I never use text so that ain't an issue. Ain't seen any other "problems".

But, after 5 years, it doesn't have a single dead pixel and the speakers are still good despite being cranked up a few times for music playing. You can't say that about too many LCD's.


(PS.. That also included it being bounced around in a suitcase when I took Eurostar from London to Brussels, folloowed by a train to Antwerp and a taxi from the station to this house. I have no complaints and would recommend one to anyone. Wonderful piece of kit)