The TV and PC Nuptials

You have just graduated from college, left your parents’ place where you’ve lived since the days of Dawson’s Creek. You’ve chosen to live in the big city. But then you thought, “Crap! The best flat that I can get seems to be smaller than my mom’s toilet and bath!”

Okay, let’s see if we can lessen your agony.

The personal computer and the TV are considered to be two distinct entities in most homes. The good ol’ TV is typically in the family room along with the Jurassic VCR and that humongous speaker system. Meanwhile, the desktop PC lies there in the home office. Things worked well back then, because you had something you don’t have anymore – SPACE!

The solution: Integrate! Essentially, make the PC your TV, or even better, the other way around!

Make the PC your TV. Make the PC double as an improvised TV set. You will need a TV tuner card (costs $50 in the nearest hardware store). The manufacturer doesn’t really matter a lot. A decent PC lifespan (before it is replaced) is just about 5 years. Hence, any self-respecting hardware manufacturer will have very little difficulty matching that. Of course, it’s a different story if you get one from a shady seller on eBay. With a semi-decent graphics card, a sizeable monitor and relatively cheap 2.1 speakers, the viewing experience is almost identical.

Make the TV your PC. This one is a little tricky but if done right, works like a charm. Most modern LCD TVs have built-in computer input ports and some even with USB’s! It will need nothing but a $10 connector cable to make the setup work. Furthermore, this works even better if you have a thin TV which gives you the option to mount it on a wall. Most modern LCD TVs (starts at $150 at Wal-Mart) have even better resolution than most PC monitors. Afterwards, you can just store your old monitor under the bed as you can directly work on your PC while using your TV set as a monitor.

Both of these options do not necessitate the purchase of overly expensive hardware upgrades. The total cost is typically way below $50, so yes you don’t have to order pizza for two weeks just to make either work. So there you go!