My roommate has a flat-panel TV and I am going to try and hook my laptop up to it so when I download movies we can watch them on the bigger flat panel TV.

Now I got interested in checking out the flat-panel TVs
as the other day I was in a retail store and found out that
they have some way down in price.
So I got to New-egg to check out Flat-panel TVs there and find out there are different types and so forth.
There is LED, LCD, Plasma, and HDTVs

so now what is the difference.
I want one that watches Cable TV and also can be hooked up to a
laptop and be used as a large monitor also.
what would be good for that purpose?

http://lifehacker.com/5884840/whats-the-difference-between-different-television-screen-types-and-why-should-i-care

Thanks for the info. I read through that and have a much better idea about this now.

You want a smart TV, with wireless internet capability.

As for downloaded movies, I copy mine onto a USB stick and plug that into my PVR (I think Yanks call them DVRs). Saves a lot of mucking around. Much simpler than trying to use the TV as a PC monitor.

I believe there are TVs around now with direct USB input.

I should add (if you haven't already worked this out from James's link) that there are really only two screen kinds - LCD and Plasma. LED is a variation on LCD, and HDTV (High Definition) is (in very broad terms) the capability to receive high definition broadcasts (screen resolution). The set itself is still Plasma or LCD. Nowadays you'd be hard pushed to find a TV that isn't HD.

Hmm Interesting. I will first have to see if my roomates flatpanel TV has a USB port so I can transfer movies to it that way.
Man that would make the whole thing very easy.

But at some point. Maybe not now BUt I like the idea of having a decent size flatpanel TV that can be used as a monitor
so when I am watching moves and doing other things I have a bigger
screen to view on.

hmm My Laptop I think only have one output for TV and It comes with a built in menu where you can choose to hook that up to different types of input. SO I will check into this.
I would like to do this if I can. I watch a lot of movies on my laptop and it would be nice to hook it up to a decent size flatpanel TV

connecting your Laptop to almost any of the new Hd Tv's is a no brainer and works great. Usually you have 2 choices, HDMI and VGA. HDMI transfers the Audio and Video in one Cable. The VGA is the same cable you use to connect a monitor to a computer but is only good for Video. A second cable for audio would be needed and most TV's are ready for either kind of Connection. I use the VGA with a Male to Male stereo audio cable plugged into the Head Phone jack. The Usb ports on many of the TV's are only good for jpg.s and Mp3's. The ultimate best Usb port is one that would allow you to plug in an External Hard drive and bring up a menu on the TV to select what movie you want to see.
Be warned that an External often needs to be formatted in Fat 32 for that to work and any movie over 4 gig will not play. Newer ones could be different now. I have not seen one yet on a TV but have on some of the newer Blu-Ray players.
Using a Laptop makes it unnecessary and any size movie could be viewed. Ntfs allows for files larger than 4 gig. Many Hd movies are in the MKV or MP4 type and often larger than 4 gig some can be up to 30 gigs.
Try it with your laptop it works great and very convenient as you can download and watch on the same device. The cables are also very cheap.
Plug it in to watch a Movie then unplug and use it normally also.
It's the only way I watch any movie these days.

VGA is the lowest video quality connection since it is actually analog. Most computers today also have a DVI pure digital video output. There are single and dual DVI link connections Single link and dual link The single link has 18 pins plus the ground blade, the dual link has 24 pins plus the ground blade.

If possible use dual link, it has double the video performance. DVI has a maximum cable length of 5 meters, and it does not carry audio, so you will need separate stereo audio cables.

Of course HDMI is the best quality connection and it also carries the audio.

Shelly

I know that "VGA" should be the lowest quality due to it being 100% analog. I find this to be totally "NOT" true. I have connected my systems in every way possible and I find the VGA is not only the easiest to get configured but also gives excellent quality. Using the HDMI should be the best of all and I don't like it. It really depends on who made the HDMI port and who supplies the Driver. I find the Intel HDMI sucks and it is the worst. NVDIA or ATI seems in my case to be the best depending on the quality of the hardware. If I had to choose I will say "ATI" beats NVDIA but are very similar.

I also have used a DVI to HDMI cable as a way to connect and in that case it also delivers Audio. Never used Just DVI to DVI because I never had a TV with a DVI port. DVI to HDMI does give you the audio also. Not great Audio but it does give audio and Video in one cable.

The Quality I get with the VGA is just as good as any VGA connected to any Computer VGA connected Monitor. Text and Video are crystal clear and Is my favorite way to connect a computer to an LCD TV. They (TV's) really are just very large Monitors and basically the same as the little kind we tend use with our computers.
It is however, VERY important to use the "Native Resolution" for the TV. If you don't the Quality can really suck and is a very important thing to know about your TV before you begin that project.
I suggest you set up the laptop with the proper resolution before you connect the VGA. Sometimes the Resolution on the computer is not compatible and you will get nothing on the TV screen. Using a laptop can be different because it has a built in Screen. Make sure the default screen is not the TV to begin with. I suggest you set up the external monitor as a "Clone". When you know the proper Resolution for the TV it is better to "Extend" your Desktop and just drag whatever your watching over to the TV and it allows you to use the Laptop or computer for other things while your watching a movie at the same time.
A computer with only one Video Connection is where you can run into a problem. Set it up with the proper resolution before you do anything else.
Edit:
I forgot to mention that if you use the "clone" the resolution will be the same on both the TV and Laptop screen and invariably one of them will not look right. In the Case of the "Extend" you can set each up separately with it's proper Native Resolution. So "Extend" is the best way to go.

Thanks. You know your stuff and there is a lot to thnk about here
Yeah I think I would do the TV as an extend. and then as you say I can just drag the Media player over to the TV and watch it that way.

Yeah I have not know much about the TVs today until now.

I have to find out what kind of TV my roomates is.

You say "If possible use dual link, it has double the video performance."

Are you saying you can get a cable with 2 DVI ports on one end (in the computer) and 1 DVI (To Monitor) on the other end and doing this gives better video performance?
Or do you mean Two DVI cables connected to a Dual DVI Monitor?

I never heard of doing this but I see many video cards and some OEM systems with 2 DVI's.
It's strange I did not know that if that is what you meant.

Is that what your saying? If so I would love to try that.

I never said any such thing. You should learn a little about DVI what it is and the different types of DVI.

DVI cables send information using a digital information format called TMDS (transition minimized differential signaling). Single link cables use one TMDS 165Mhz transmitter, while dual links use two. The dual link DVI pins effectively double the power of transmission and provide an increase of speed and signal quality; i.e. a DVI single link 60-Hz LCD can display a resolution of 1920 x 1200, while a DVI dual link can display a resolution of 2560 x 1600.

Shelly

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

I did not know that there was two different DVI type plugs
with different pin settings like that

I believe my Laptop has a VGA out port. So I know I can hook that up that way. All I need is a connector cable. I used to have a bunch of them but I recently moved and left stuff behind like cables.
I really am not concerned about carrying over the audio because my laptop has nice speakers with good sound enough to fill the room
so if the sound is coming from the laptop is sufficient to fill the room then there is no need to transfer the audio over to the flat-panel TV.

I was going to hook this up to my roommates flat-panel downstairs in the
living room to watch movies and probably will. But I am also thinking about purchasing my own flat-panel TV for this for my own bedroom as I saw that flat-panel TVs are not expensive anymore!
they are very reasonably priced so If I buy one I can use it for Movies I download.. also as a large monitor and also to hook up my cable TV to it.

I just found out that my laptop has a HDMI connection output also!

I didnt know that until just now.
so that should make this even easier
I have 2 options
analog and HDMI

Of course HDMI is the best quality connection and it also carries the audio.

I just found out I have the HDMI connection!
so that is sweet. I didnt even know that I had it.
but found out I do. So now I just need the cable
and I should be able to send the image and the audio!

When you have the HDMI plugged in enter the Software for your Video.
Most of the time you can access it by right clicking on your desktop and not on any Icons. On the Menu you should see something about your Video Driver software. Hit that and look around where it gets into connecting another monitor or a TV. Plug in the HDMI to the laptop and Tv, on the TV select the port Number the cable is plugged into. Shut down (not restart) the laptop and there is a very good chance it will just start up automatically.

When the Laptop is done booting you should see your laptop screen on the TV and the laptop may prompt you and ask if you want to "Clone" or "Extend". This is where it gets a bit funky. select "Extend" and hopefully all you will see on your TV is the Laptop Wallpaper and no Icons. If you see only the wall paper and no Icons on your laptop screen you will need to change what is seen as the "Main" screen. They are labeled #1 and #2 in boxes. These Boxes are dragable and you can click on it and drag it to the position you want. The first one on the left is seen as the main screen regardless of it's number(In Windows config).

It's really Not hard to do but varies between Companies and their software. You may also need to set up the resolution for HD 1080p if you don't you may see black bars or a blurry picture on the TV. Most of the time when I have problems like that is if the Video and HDMI is INTEL based chip-sets. If you have Intel then stick to "Their" Video Software and don't do it through windows.

I have a Sony Laptop. And it has a nice built in feature to rug up whatever additional monitor set you want.
You hit a Blue FN button and one that signifies the monitor setup
and a menu pops up on screen. you have these options
Computer Only, Duplicate, Extend , projector only

so there is even a setup if you want to hook up a projector to it.
so its nice that that is built in.

Now that I know that I have a HDMI connection to my laptop
that makes me eager to just go out and buy a Flat Panel TV
that is suitable. I found one at Walmart for 190 bucks

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-32-Class-LCD-720p-60Hz-HDTV-X322BV-HD/15739136

I think that would be nice I don't need anything bigger than that
and it has some nice options.
HDMI ports etc.

We have a 32" as our second TV in our bedroom. It's great for that sort of viewing area/distance.

Thanks for the feedback Paul.
Yeah I am going to do it.
for one I have never been the kind of person who likes an extremely
huge screen I just dont.
Like some guys are impressed to have these mega huge screen TVs
but I never bought it.

32 inches is fine for me.
especially just for hanging out in my bedroom and
watching movies on it. and view other things from my laptop
on it like art and so forth.

Technology is just so dam cool these days.
So much you can do right at home you know.
Like with the nice computers we have today and fast speed
connections like we got its amazing how we can have access to
so much and not even have to leave the house.

I mean I get movies online
Books online for my kindle
music and news etc etc.

We didnt have access like that in the 70's

Oh, Does anybody know
what does the p number stand for when you are buying one of these??

I decided that I want to go out and buy this one
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-32-Class-LCD-720p-60Hz-HDTV-X322BV-HD/15739136

Sceptre 32" Class LCD 720p 60Hz HDTV, X322BV-HD


You see how it says 720p what does that mean??
because other models have other P rating
like the one below is similar only it has 1080 P

Sceptre 32" Class LCD 1080p 60Hz HDTV, X325BV-FHD


is that pixels???
Does it make a big difference between 720p and 1080p?
should i spend the extra money to get the higher p
whatever it is??

(I am just trying to figure things out before I buy one)

--------------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p

720p is just fine for a 32" display. The difference in picture quality between it and 1080p isn't noticeable until you get to screens that are 40" and above.

OK thats cool. Thanks for letting me know.
Its best to find out before I buy one then
to kick myself in the rear later wishing I had know better
before I bought it.

Ill get the 720p
that will be find after you have explained it
thanks