Using the TV as a MAC computer monitor (by 4 users)

I have an ilo 26in I got at the local walmart, I tried connecting my pc to the lcd panel using the svideo, I had a blurry image of the desktop, but then I tried playing video and the picture was fine, that worked for me since I only use it to play movies on the pc through the lcd. I've read that anything but video will be blurry on an lcd, don't know exactly why. and I've only used the svideo connector, if your using hdmi you should have the best possible connection, at that point try the display resolution settings to the left and right of default on your mac's setting, 1280 by 760 should be best for the tv.

Don't use s-video.

I am having the same problem as above.  I am using my plasma as a display for my mac and dell pc using the PC input (15 pin).  
Plasma works great with my DVD player and with cable; however, when switching to the PC input I see my desktop but the color is red washed/blurred.  
I've used the Plasma's and the Mac's color settings extensively.  No luck.  This must be something simple.  
Any help?

I regularly connect my MacBook to my 50" LG through the VGA input (RGB input as it's called on the TV.) I use a VGA video adapter on the mini DVI output port, then use either 1024x768, 800x600, or 640x480 resolution (the only ones supported by the TV--others will work, but you have to find them by trial and error, which is a pain and not worth the trouble, in my hard experience.)

You can also use an HDMI adapter. The model of Mac you have, and video card if you have a tower system, will affect which is easier for you. I already had the VGA adapter for a monitor I used to use with the laptop, so I just went with it.

Now, the aspect ratio is wrong when I use it in 16x9 format as opposed to 4x3 format. The chipset I have is capable of correcting the display, but Mac OS 10.4 doesn't provide any means of adjusting it (I tried some 3rd party programs, but they only adjusted the resolution, not the pixel aspect ratio.) Hopefully Leopard fixes this, I don't know yet.

If you view videos from the Mac, the aspect ratio can be a problem. But if you use VLC instead of Quicktime, DVD Player, or RealPlayer then you can correct the aspect ratio (or you can pay the nuisance fee to Apple for Quicktime Pro.) In VLC, select the 1:1 aspect ratio to correct for the stretched screen.

I'm getting a fabulous picture be it via the VGA lead or the HDMI out of my new ASUS M2A-VM motherboard.  This machine of mine is running with Vista however and I believe Vista was designed with this application - to a 16x9 format screen, in mind.  Hv not tried doing the same with XP.

my albatron 20 inch tv has a line across the upper part of the screen. if first appeared while i was using it as a computer monitor. i no longer use it for my pc, yet i see this line while i'm watching regular tv programs. how do i resolve this issue.

thx

next time don't ask a guy at walmart about tv's
he/she is capable of selling them to you... but probably not giving much info. usually they don't know much about electronics..
hence working at walmart in the first place.

I'd suggest using the VGA port on this display even if you have a DVI port on your video card. The VGA port on this display supports more resolutions.

The display prefers 1280x1024 I believe, but my vidcard can force it to go 1360x768, which is closer to the display's native 1366x768.

I deal with these monitor/TV's often. The company I do Tech support for used to sell them with computers. Note: I said Used to, we recalled all of them due to the horrible Astar/KXD support and faulty power supplies, and the fact that they had a 20% failure rate after 3 months. When they work they look nice. Although these are incredibly finicky units when used as a monitor they must be set @ 800x600 resolution, If not on-screen text is very difficult to read, and if your graphics support it, diddling with smoothing also helps. Oh and by the way, When calling for support KXD told me the LTV-2001 VGA port is supposed to have been disabled due to some Intellectual Property infringement, So they are not supposed to be used as a monitor, the KXD guy said "I'm surprised you got it to work as a monitor at all!".

You should'nt really have a problem viewing your desktop,as mentioned in other solution; as long as your pc matches the tv resolution, as some lcd's may not take 1280 x 720 and also check refresh rate.

If your tv has a dvi connection, purchase a vga to dvi lead, this gives as good a result a HDMI, which are not available on PC's.