use a monitor as a tv

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scrapking

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I want to buy an XD monitor, primarily for gaming (looking at a Dell U2713H)- but I want to dual purpose it as a TV. Can I simply get a second cable box from my provider, and plug it in to the HDMI input on the monitor (WHILE my PC is plugged into the DVI port, or would I have to swap cables every time I changed the monitor's purpose)?

Of course I would need an external sound output, since the monitor doesn't have one, but I want to make sure that a) this is possible, and b) there are no severe drawbacks to it.

Thanks.
 
Solution
Wolfshadw
Don't get a second set top box from your cable company. Get a cablecard ready TV Tuner device for your PC. Turn your PC into a DVR box with any of the following:

Hauppauge WinTV-DCR-2650 - Two Tuners, External, Network Connected.
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime - Three Tuners, External, Network Connected
Ceton InfiniTV4 PCI-E - Four Tuners, Internal, PC Based
Ceton InfiniTV4 USB - Four Tuners, External, PC Based
Ceton InfiniTV6 PCI-E - Six Tuners, Internal, PC Based
Ceton InfiniTV6 Eth - Six Tuners, External, Network Connected.

I have the Ceton InfiniTV4 PCI-E card installed in my HTPC. I have three of the four tuners assigned to the HTPC. This means I can record two shows while simultaneously...
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chugot9218

chugot9218

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It requires some front end investment, but you can actually buy a PCI Tuner/"receptacle" (don't know how else to explain it) that has a slot for the cable card that usually is installed in the cable box you would get from the provider. You get a reduced rate on your box rental as you only need the card, install it on your PC, and you can record/watch up to 4 channels at once, giving you your own multi-channel DVR. Just a thought, I intend to do this some day myself! Here's an example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Video+Devices+%26+TV+Tuners-_-N82E16815706001&gclid=CJPC0reZjboCFeYWMgodSSwA3A Kind of spendy as I said, the higher the price the more channels you can watch/record at a time. Otherwise the option you chose works fine as well!
 
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Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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Don't get a second set top box from your cable company. Get a cablecard ready TV Tuner device for your PC. Turn your PC into a DVR box with any of the following:

Hauppauge WinTV-DCR-2650 - Two Tuners, External, Network Connected.
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime - Three Tuners, External, Network Connected
Ceton InfiniTV4 PCI-E - Four Tuners, Internal, PC Based
Ceton InfiniTV4 USB - Four Tuners, External, PC Based
Ceton InfiniTV6 PCI-E - Six Tuners, Internal, PC Based
Ceton InfiniTV6 Eth - Six Tuners, External, Network Connected.

I have the Ceton InfiniTV4 PCI-E card installed in my HTPC. I have three of the four tuners assigned to the HTPC. This means I can record two shows while simultaneously watching a third. The fourth tuners, I have assigned to my (hard wired, networked) all-purpose system. This means, I can record two shows on the HTPC while watching a third program on the HTPC and also watch another program on my all-purpose PC.

I don't know what it costs to lease a second set top box in your area, but here in Minnesota with Comcast, it's $17/month for a second set top box (more for a second DVR). That means in under 18 months, the card/device you purchase will have paid for itself in the amount you save from not leasing a second set top box.

-Wolf sends
 
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Solution
Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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Yes. $2/month. So at a savings of $15/month, the cost of the card is still covered in about 18 months (at least, it was for me).

-Wolf sends
 
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S

scrapking

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These are some very interesting options.

I just checked with the cable company on the 2nd box, and that's running us, here in NJ, with Cablevision, ~$8 per month. Currently we are getting the DVR comp'd (for switching from Verizon recently - what a mistake - another discussion entirely) but once the complimentary period runs out, that will be another ~$10 per month it would save... although these products will only work on the PC/TV hybrid without additional investment.

A question though - My initial question involved hooking the monitor directly to the cable source, without going through the PC at all - these other solutions would require watching TV through a window? Full screen mode? Are there performance issues? How much will these alternatives tap my HD space for DVR purposes?

Great suggestions though! I am really intrigued.
 
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Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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1) No. These are full screen resolutions. I do not have a cable set top box in my apartment. All Cable TV is watched on my HDTV (and come Sunday Football, my projector) via my HTPC and Windows Media Center. If there are two shows (football games) that I want to watch simultaneously, the preferred game is on my HDTV and the secondary game is on my All-Purpose PC Monitor. It's all HD.
2) If your PC is powerful enough, there are no performance issues. I initially ran my HTPC with a dual core AMD Athlon X2-240 processor with no issues.
3) Hard drive space is going to depend on how much you record and keep. A two hour HD movie will take up around 12GB of hard disk space. There are tools you can use to decrease that amount (I use MCEBuddy, for example).
 
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