Flat panel display Desktop Monitors

In essence, computer monitors and TVs are very similar. Both have the same job of presenting visual information to the user, and for this reason many early home computers used TVs as monitors. However, the type of image quality needed for the images of a TV signal were different than that needed to clearly display text, and the separate evolution of computer monitors began. While the two have been becoming more similar again, there remain potential differences:

First monitors don't need a tuner, and this remains the bigger difference between the two. A giant LCD screen with a computer hooked up to it can display the computer's output, and in fact that is exactly what is happening with computer-based media centers. Conversely, a monitor can be hooked up to normal video equipment (cable boxes, DVD players) as long as something else can process any TV signal. This can be tricky, but there are various how-to guides available.

TVs have traditionally used interlace scan technology, which helps keep bandwidth down while maintaining picture resolution. However, interlacing also can cause a phenomenon called interline twitter which causes problems with fine vertical detail, such as small text, and computer monitors have instead used progressive scan. Today, this still manifests in different resolutions. Standard HDTV resolutions are 720i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The 'i' refers to 'interlace' and the 'p' refers to 'progressive'. Modern LCD panels need progressive scan, and while most can "deinterlace" a signal, they are behind the rise of the various progressive HDTV resolutions (that is, 720p and 1080p), whereas the original CRT HDTVs are the reason for the interlaced versions. Both 720 resolutions work out to 1280x720 pixels and both 1080 resolutions are 1920x1080 pixels. Any monitor capable of these resolutions or greater is technically capable of acting like an HDTV. It is best if the native resolution of a LCD monitor is the same as one of these as LCDs are sensitive to scaling issues.

Originally, TVs and computer monitors both used a 4:3 aspect ratio. However, HDTV resolutions are widescreen in nature, but a little-realized wrinkle is that HDTV and widescreen computer monitors typically use different aspect ratios, with HDTV using 16:9 and most widescreen monitors using 16:10. The 'typical' monitor resolution that could be used with HDTV is 1920x1200 (as opposed to 1920x1080 for 1080p). This is slightly "squarer" than HDTV and will lead to small 'letterbox' bands on HDTV content even after everything is properly set up.

Read more in the Monitor Buying Guide

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