Using a computer monitor as a TV screen: is it possible / any reasons not to do it?

"I don't know where you got the impression that PC monitors were cheaper.

A thirty-inch monitor goes for over a grand, but you can get a good 32"" LCD for under five hundred

You are obviously getting a lot better resolution with the PC monitor, but if all you are doing is watching 720p TV content, get a TV.

Oh, and if you do decide to go the PC monitor route, make sure it supports HDCP, otherwise you might not be able to watch TV or Blu-Rays at full resolution"

"For a number of years in college, I used one of my monitors as a primary screen, including TV. The only issue is that you have to dedicate some resources to a TV tuner in your system. At the time, tuners were a little buggy and had annoying software.

The only reason against it is that it is really not friendly to group viewing, which is where the large screens of the TV shine. Many monitors, especially badly-built LCDs, will have bad viewing angles, as they are built to have one person look at them directly. TVs on the other hand are viewable from basically any angle you can see the screen from, and that helps when you have 2-3 people watching the same screen.

Most newer Computer LCDs will have the hookups you need for connecting your HDD recorder. I've seen ones with S-Video, and with component inputs or RCA cable ports, just check the specs.

You should also be careful about screens which are very large, as they sometimes require special drivers, video cards, or multiple monitor hookups in order to function. Once you get near 30"" at high resolution you begin to have to worry about this."