Why TV Cannot Be Used As A Monitor

We all have thought of using our TV in building a computer system. With the attractive screen that TVs have, you probably thought of playing games on those big screens.

A lot of aspiring video editors and sound mixtures also want to use their TVs as monitors to save cost on the setup. But there are ample reasons that suggest using a TV as your computer screen won’t be a good idea.  For further monitor guides you can visit Monitors Hub.

Well, it is not totally impossible. If you are too desperate to do so, you need an HDMI port and some basic knowledge to build a desktop setup. But that won’t serve your purposes efficiently. At most, you will be able to watch movies without the screen lagging. We hope you know that you can watch movies on the TV without converting it to a monitor.

Reasons why you can’t use your TV as a computer monitor

The only reason why you CAN use them is that they both are output devices with a display. But here are some genuine reasons for not doing so. These are also the key difference between a TV and a monitor.

TVs have larger size and higher resolution image

Is that a problem? Yes and No too. If you have to work on your computer then it will be tough to navigate across the screen. Large-sized TV in front of you with bright colors can cause problems to your eyes and may also result in headaches.

In that case, you would want a smaller TV to be used as a monitor but remember smaller TV have higher input lag. And also, most of the smaller screen TVs do not come with HDMI ports to connect your CPU and the TV.

Bigger screens, however, as a monitor have their own advantages. One can have a more immersive experience of movies and games. Sound and video editing are also easier on big screens.

TVs are costlier than monitors

If you think you can bypass the above reasons by getting a good HDMI port TV with a medium-sized screen, it will be an expensive option. If you are setting up a new desktop, the best budget option is a PC monitor.

You can get monitors with fast response and ideal screen size in a few hundred dollars. Whereas TVs with HDMI port and low input lag are going to cost you at least a thousand bucks. That brings us to the next reason.

TV displays have higher input lag

TV display’s input lag is much higher than that of a monitor. Input lag here refers to the time taken by the display to show the result after the input from your keyboard, mouse, or gaming console. Monitors are specifically designed in a way that they receive and respond to the commands very quickly.

Good monitors have an input lag of around 20 milliseconds and even lower. On the other hand, most of the TV especially the older ones have input lags of around 70-80 milliseconds and above.

These input lags hamper your performance to great extent while gaming. Scrolling on high input lag is also very frustrating at times. If you have to type a lot or edit videos, TV displays are not recommended at all, especially the older ones.

There are very high-end TVs available nowadays that will provide you input lag of fewer than 30 milliseconds. But the other reasons mentioned in this article won’t let you do so.

TV screens have low pixel density

TVs are meant to be seen from a distance, so they offer much less picture density in comparison to monitors. If there are two screens (one TV and one monitor) of the same sizes, the PPI on the PC monitor will be almost double the TV.

Before buying a monitor, make sure that the PPI is higher than 80. This PPI is ideal to look at a screen from 2-3 feet away. Lower pixel density is not only irritating in viewing content but worst for reading articles on your PC screen.

In this context, you can choose a flat screen monitor from a renowned Hong Kong based brand called “Desklab”, which manufactures high-end touchscreen portable monitors and 1080p touchscreen monitors that have ‘very high’ 4K resolution and crystal clear picture quality. This not only serves the purpose of ardent gamers, but office professionals and students too.

TVs have lower refresh rate

Refresh rate refers to the number of times a display refreshes its images every second. It is not the same as input lag and it is important for smooth motion handling. If a TV and a monitor have the same refresh rate (say 120 GHz) then also the monitor will draw an image faster than the TV. Computers with powerful graphic cards need excellent refresh rates and many PC monitors can provide refresh rates of more than 200GHz. To know more about the TVs, you can visit SpecsTalk.com

Conclusion

These were reasons why your old TV or spare TV won’t be efficient to be used as a monitor. If you are looking to use your TV as a gaming monitor, the input lag and refresh rate will ruin your gameplay experience.

Using them for office work or video editing will be really fatiguing for your eyes. For drawing or scrolling too TVs are not an ideal choice because of their inefficient speed. They are not designed for the smooth interactivity and multitasking that monitors are capable of.