Using a computer monitor as a TV

[Ethan_Kaizer]

(I hope this is a proper section for this topic)

Hey guys,

There was recently a big lightning storm here, which fried the very old tv that I had in my room. I'm going to college soon, and I don't have the money to spend on a brand new television, nor would it be worth it at this point because I won't be here for 9 months out of the year.

The computer I'm using now has a 19 inch Dell Monitor, which plugs into a VGA port. I use a cable box in my room, as well as an xbox 360.

What's the easiest, and cheapest way I can use this monitor for cable/xbox? Note that the monitor doesn't have speakers, so I'll have to have external speakers.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Yami]

I've never worked with cable, so I have no idea there however me best guess is that you'll need some sort of converter box for [whatever the cable cable is] to VGA.

You can get an Xbox 360 VGA cable (this kind Xbox 360 High Definition VGA Cable (Xbox 360): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games) which will give you video to the monitor; it has the left/right usual sound cables for sound.

 

[philbar71]

you can get a tv tuner card. that will work with analog unscrambled cable, like this one.

Newegg.com - ASUS My Cinema-PHC3-100/NAQ/FM/AV/RC TV Tuner Card PCI Interface - TV Tuners & Video Devices

it has connections for plugging in something like a xbox but i would imagine it would look worse than a tv.

 

[overlord20]

craigslist.com my friend. There is a search I pulled up for you.

classifieds - craigslist

 

[jrmcginl]

I have a detached laptop monitor that I would like to use with my PS3 and possibly watch TV on it, the only connection it has is a 40 pin plug that used to go into the motherboard, any ideas on what I need to do/buy?

 

[dirkpitt45]

All you need to connect an xbox to a computer monitor is the Microsoft Xbox brand VGA cable. Then if your speakers don't have those red and white connectors in them you have to make an adapter. Which is easily done at radioshack for $10. I can post pictures of the parts so you can find them if you want. But you plug the red+white into the adapter which turn them into a stereo signal, and you plug that into your mic pink port. Then you just go find the option (forget exactly where, but its not that hard to find) to play microphone sound through the speakers and your set. So all you have to do is switch the input to the monitor from your computer, or your xbox, really easy once you get used to plugging it in blindly, you don't need to screw them in either, it holds itself fine.

Don't bother with TV tuners, they're too expensive.

@jrmcginl I don't think thats possible. You'd need a power supply + an adapter for the 40 pin. Would be much easier to just buy a monitor or TV.

 

[bmxfreakrider]

If the device you are using has RGB outputs (three RCA jacks, one red, one green, one blue) you can do it without any converters or adapters.

Heres a page which makes a cable, just uses a male end instead of a female. (monitor I used had a vga input jack, and also worked the other way around for hooking a pc into the RGB hookups on the back of a 55" mitsu rear projection TV)

This page is kind of old (i wrote it almost 4 years ago) but all the info is there.