Confused abt native resolutions and monitors

I have a laptop that has a native
resolution of 1280 x 800

I was thinking abt buying this combo LCD TV/monitor
form Vizio in link below

However, its native resolution is 1680 x 1050

But it also supports 1366 x 768, 1024 x 768, 800 x
600...... but NOT 1280 x 800

I'm confused.... would it be possible to use this TV as
an external monitor with my laptop? Or will all the
changes in resolutions other than "native" make it
unworkable?

http://www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=51

On Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:41:05 -0500, me@privacy.net wrote:

>I have a laptop that has a native
>resolution of 1280 x 800
>
>I was thinking abt buying this combo LCD TV/monitor
>form Vizio in link below
>
>However, its native resolution is 1680 x 1050
>
>But it also supports 1366 x 768, 1024 x 768, 800 x
>600...... but NOT 1280 x 800
>
>I'm confused.... would it be possible to use this TV as
>an external monitor with my laptop? Or will all the
>changes in resolutions other than "native" make it
>unworkable?
>
>http://www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=51

When using the HDTV as a monitor, the native resolution that you would
specify for the HDTV is 1680 x 1050.

If you used your laptop and the external monitor at the same time, you
would use 1280 x 800 for your laptop and 1680 x 1050 for the Vizio.

Are you thinking of using the Vizio as your primary monitor for a
laptop? I don't know if there are other considerations that would
make a HDTV monitor different from a computer monitor.

The Vizio does look like a great product for a great price.

journey <journey@merr.com> wrote:

>Are you thinking of using the Vizio as your primary monitor for a
>laptop?

Yes I am thinking that

As well as having a small TV to use as well

Hi!

> I have a laptop that has a native resolution of 1280 x 800

This is for the internal panel only. Most laptops have video hardware that
can drive the internal panel and an external display at their own optimal
resolution.

> I'm confused.... would it be possible to use this TV as an external
monitor
> with my laptop?

Yes. And you will most likely be able to run it at the proper (native)
resolution. Just about all laptops sold today will let you specify the
resolution to use with the internal panel and a separate resolution for the
external display. (nVidia calls their version of this feature "DualView".)

That said, you may have to update or hack your graphics drivers to let you
do this. As an example, my Dell Latitude D800 is more than capable of
running the internal panel and a separate display at two different
resolutions. However, the official Dell provided drivers would not allow it.
I had to use a hacked driver and INF file to enable these features. (If you
need to do this, check out http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/)

William