MillieF

I imagine me on a sunny bright mountain top too the more pragmatic bit of me still is here in bloody Fredericton happy days...

magnumpi

Yes, most PC monitors don't even have speakers anyhow and the display cable only displays. But if you want a speaker system just plug into the headphone socket

BristolUK

Excellent, thanks.

I have the speakers for my old desktop and I bought some USB powered ones only a couple of weeks ago to boost volume on a 10" dell netbook I bought. They pack a punch!!

Tangram

Easier and cheaper to update a gadget you plug in than the whole TV. Also software updates to gadgets are more regular than software updates to TVs ( eg. the recent API update to YouTube )

BristolUK

I'm convinced. Everyone seems to be suggesting Smart TVs are not the way to go. Refreshing.

Just have to wait for one of our TVs pack up and then see what to replace it with.

bats

It is that easy. It's what we do. We send the sound through a sound bar though previously we used our Bose radio/CD.

In the kitchen I use an Apple TV and my iPad. Though we do have an old netbook somewhere I could dig out and use. I'll try that as it will fit on the shelf.

plasticcanuck

I have a Smart TV (Samsung 3years old) and found that the Smart content is heavily dependent on strength of WiFi signal. A good strong, reliable signal and the streaming of U.K TV is not bad, although contact can be clumsy. However, I much prefer using my laptop and iPad with Apple TV and Chromecast. I can send virtually anything to the TV including FilmOn, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, Netflix, Acorn etc,etc,etc. When I replace present TV I will check to hopefully discover that Smart component has been improved. If I don't believe so, I will go with a Dunce TV.

BristolUK

I wonder if I can get anything for coining that 'marketing' expression.

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

I connected it and it works exactly as expected. Unfortunately the picture quality is so much worse than the laptop.

I had them side by side and the difference is just too great for me.

I know you get used to what you have and I never believed that monitor to be inferior when I was on the desktop prior to switching to my laptop.

But I used to have the typical computer desk with the monitor on a shelf when my mother in law bought me the laptop and I used to operate the laptop from the desk part (moving the desktop keyboard to the sliding part) so there were times when I had both laptop and desktop computer on and the difference in display between the two, top and bottom, was never as great as side by side today.

Obviously I never ran a movie or something simultaneously but I did copy stuff onto a thumbdrive that I had viewed on the laptop, which I then plugged into the desktop and viewed on that monitor without noticing anything.

I've adjusted brightness, contrast, all the other options available but it's so inferior.

I can only conclude that the desktop monitor behaves better with the desktop as the source than it does with the laptop as the source.

Disappointing.

BristolUK

Shoppers DrugMart flyer has arrived.

For the weekend they are selling a 40" TV for $189.88

Also, a 32" for $129.88, which is even less than the one which prompted my original comment. That's only $30 more than the 19" monitor cost me 4 or 5 years ago.

All I need now is for one of the TVs to mysteriously fall off it's unit.

bats

Why don't you connect your laptop to one of your TVs instead of the monitor? We just switch between laptop or tv depending on what we want to watch

BristolUK

None of them have connectability. They're too old. One of them even has a curved front.

bats

We managed with our sony Trinitron. But what the heck treat the fam to a new tv

BristolUK

If I get some good news later I may. But they've all got more money than me now. I just have the house and bills.

magnumpi

Yes the monitor won't be HD as it's not using HDMI.

When purchasing this new fangled Tee Vee remember to check the available HDMI ports, then it becomes so easy even Bats could hook u up

bats

Cheeky bugger