A while ago I got a 24" MVA computer monitor. I like it, so I was thinking about getting a second of that model just to use as a TV in the office. The monitor (a Samsung S24A650D), it’s 1920*1080 and does have a "video"mode (which seems to chop of the edges of the picture) and I tried it from my cable box and it seemed to work OK. Is there anything wrong with this setup that I’m missing (I heard that real TVs have an algorithm to smooth the effects of compression?). Most posts on the web seem to want to go the other direction, to use a TV as a computer monitor.
Now a days most GPU’s/APU’s have video filtering algorythms built in and available for tuning via your graphics settings panel. It would help if we knew what type of GPU you are running and if you’ve got the latest drivers installed for it.
But yeah, the only major differences between a monitor and a TV is pixel density (monitors usually have a higher pixel density than TV’s), a lack of a built in TV tuner, and lack of signal processing (other than scaling and some sharpening/color options).
So you should be fine. And depending on your GPU you can probably apply several different video filters to improve the image from your PC.
And now I realize that you want to hook up your cable box directly to the monitor.
Yeah, you’re fine. As you mentioned you’ll be getting a “rawer” signal, but you are unlikely to notice issues on anything but those low quality, heavily compressed commercials they sometimes air on HD channels. And who cares about those?