Laptop to TV

I have an Acer 15" laptop which I have been using for a few years to process and store my photographs.

Following the purchase of a new TV. I now have a Sony 20" TV that I want to use as a monitor for my laptop. I have made the connection using a HDMI cable and have got the desktop to fit the screen, more or less as I want it without distortion. However, when loading photographs from laptop to the TV, sadly the sharpness isn't anywhere near as good as when viewed on my laptop.

Can anyone please recommend any further adjustments that would improve the sharpness when viewed on the TV/monitor?

The video card in my computer is, NVIDIA Geforce 9600M GT, which sadly doesn't have the facility for sharpening.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Is the resolution in the control panel set to 1080x????

Mine after plug and play decided it wanted to only give me 1280x resolution which meant huge pixels on my 32" Vizio...

TV lack the resolution of most computer monitors, you will never get the same image quality.

It's to do with the number of pixels per square inch, a computer monitor usually has more and is designed for close viewing distances.
A TV on the other hand is designed to be viewed from further away.

Thanks guys for your replies. After a bit of searching on the Internet, I did half expect that would be the answer, but was hoping that someone might come up with a quick fix.

I think I shall stick with my old laptop for processing etc and maybe have a larger one when this one is due for renewal. Having said that, it will probably last for years. My old Acer XP has been running none stop, 24/7 for the past five years connected to my weather station, with only a replacement screen lamp during that time.

Time for a nice 25" or 27": IPS panel that you can use with that laptop...and its eventual replacement.

^^^ i was going to point the OP in that direction.. since he is trying to use a 20" tv.. why not a 24-32" monitor.. they are not that expensive... and would work great..

TeleFragger wrote in post #14545810
^^^ i was going to point the OP in that direction.. since he is trying to use a 20" tv.. why not a 24-32" monitor.. they are not that expensive... and would work great..

MCAsan wrote in post #14545623
Time for a nice 25" or 27": IPS panel that you can use with that laptop...and its eventual replacement.

Thanks guys. The only reason I had been trying the TV was because it had become redundant after purchasing a new TV. However, I do like the idea of using a larger screen, so will take a look at a separate monitor for my 15" laptop.

killwilly wrote in post #14548613
Thanks guys. The only reason I had been trying the TV was because it had become redundant after purchasing a new TV. However, I do like the idea of using a larger screen, so will take a look at a separate monitor for my 15" laptop.

i understand ya there... i have a computer in my entertainment center.. however my tv was a 32" crt... so it was crappy..
now i have a 40" samsung LED 3D tv.. havent tried the computer on it.. for some reason TV's just dont have what it takes...

good luck finding a nice unit.. let us know what you settle with.. and maybe a pic... and quick pro con vs the 2 as you will have the experience and a search could help someone else out in the future..

TeleFragger wrote in post #14549057
i have a 40" samsung LED 3D tv

I recently bought a Samsung UE40ES8000 HD Smart TV, together with an Orbitsound T12v3 soundbar, as a combo, they are fantastic. We have only had them for one week, so still learning how to use it.

This is the reason I have the spare TV. The 32" Sony which was in the sitting room is now in the bedroom, leaving the 20" Sony spare.

With XP I found VGA gave me a better picture than HDMI, to my 40" Samsung LCD. With Win 7 HDMI works well.

tim wrote in post #14551795
With XP I found VGA gave me a better picture than HDMI, to my 40" Samsung LCD. With Win 7 HDMI works well.

That's an interesting point, thanks. I was thinking of getting a VGA cable to connect my wife's old Toshiba laptop, which has no HDMI port.