any tech wizards around here...using a monitor as a TV

[lolcantturn]

Basically I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow and I want to setup my monitor as a TV since I don't use it. It's a pretty decent 30" LCD display and it would work great in my dorm. I have cable coaxial TV in my dorm, but the problem is the monitor is a VGA connector and I'd have no idea how I would convert the video and audio signal the Coaxial provides and divide it to display the video signal of the VGA, and split the audio into speakers.

Basically, I'm wondering how I can use a coaxial TV connection to be compatiable with my VGA connector of my monitor. Thanks.

[Asbradley21]

Basically I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow and I want to setup my monitor as a TV since I don't use it. It's a pretty decent 30" LCD display and it would work great in my dorm. I have cable coaxial TV in my dorm, but the problem is the monitor is a VGA connector and I'd have no idea how I would convert the video and audio signal the Coaxial provides and divide it to display the video signal of the VGA, and split the audio into speakers.

Basically, I'm wondering how I can use a coaxial TV connection to be compatiable with my VGA connector of my monitor. Thanks.

Yep it can be done with one of these.

[pureaudio]

You need a tv tuner for you computer. The coaxial will hook to your computer and use the video out from your computer to your tv.

Edit: I misread, is there no computer in the equation?

[Raxe]

AFAIK you still need a computer to 'translate' the analog coax signal into a digital format a VGA monitor can understand and display. A monitor doesn't have that processing ability, but there may be dedicated boxes that do that now with the popularity of HDTV on the rise.

[lolcantturn]

Yep it can be done with one of these.

Awesome! Will I need my computer? I'd like to do it without a computer

You need a tv tuner for you computer. The coaxial will hook to your computer and use the video out from your computer to your tv.

Edit: I misread, is there no computer in the equation?

No computer involved

AFAIK you still need a computer to 'translate' the analog coax signal into a digital format a VGA monitor can understand and display. A monitor doesn't have that processing ability, but there may be dedicated boxes that do that now with the popularity of HDTV on the rise.

much appreciated!

[AndrewBird]

Do you use a cable box already, or is the coax coming straight out of the wall? If you are using a cable box, it should have RCA outputs already that you can then just get an adapter from RCA video to VGA. If it is just coming out of the wall, you need some kind of tuner box.

[lolcantturn]

It comes out straight from the wall

[Asbradley21]

Awesome! Will I need my computer? I'd like to do it without a computer


No computer involved


much appreciated!

Nope. It runs as an independent set top box, just plug in your coax, VGA, speakers and power and you're good to go.

[iidesu]

um...I'm wondering the same these days...

[Massimo]

Please correct me if I am wrong but don't some recivers do this aswell these days. Other wise pick up a $20 TV tuner card and put in you PC.