Monitor / TV combos and TV card questions ...

[Dystran]

I would be grateful for any advice ...

I thought about getting a monitor/tv all in one to save space in my bedroom. These Tv's i assume can be used without having to turn the PC on. Problem is i was told the monitor side of the equipment is not of good quality. Any opinions on this?

Secondly, I thought that maybe I would just buy a 17"TFT instead and then get TV tuner card. I have some question in relation to this ...
(1) Does the PC have to be turned on if i wanted to watch the TV?
(2) Can I shrink the TV picture small into the corner of the monitor so that I can work in word/excel while watching?
(3) Can I plug dvd/video etc into the TFT through the tuner card using even a normal coaxial connection?

Any help much appreciated!

Rgds
Gavin

 

[Ben Mex]

I cannot comment on the first part of you query... I can comment on the second part, though...

1. Yes. The TV card needs some software to run - it will come with the card.

2. You can make the picture as big as you want. Make sure you set up to be "always on top" so it takes priority over the other applications and the sound won't go off if you want to minimize it.

3. The one I have is very basic and I connect a VCR and an old analogue camcorder through the coaxial cable - I can even capture some video footage onto the hard drive! Make sure you tune the card with the VCR/DVD etc plugged in and playing something so the card picks up the signal and allocates it a channel number.

There are some TV cards now (they cost less than £100) that can also pick up freeview.

I hope this is of some help!

 

[SimonInd]

Another solution would be to use something like the Pro-V ( £100 ) which receives analogue terrestrial TV, has composite and s-video inputs and outputs VGA. It also has VGA passthrough capability for your PC. This would allow you to use the monitor as a TV without turning the PC on, as the PRO-V would be supplying it with a signal. The downside is that you couldn't use the PC and TV at the same time.

A better option IMO is the Nebula Freeview card which is around £120 but will give you freeview on the desktop, composite video in, and pretty good PVR software.

Cheers

Simon