Using the PC for both TV and Gaming

[necw00]

Hello,

My situation is the following: I was using my PC for both gaming and video using a TV. Now I bought myself a monitor and I would like to use the monitor only for gaming while the TV should be connected for movies.
The PC is currently under my desk which is aprox. 5m away from the TV. I was wondering if I should use 2x HDMI cables (a long one to be connected to the TV and a shorter one to be used at my desk for gaming).
Alternatively, would it be a good solution if I buy an HDMI switch? But I am unsure how this would work. Does one HDMI cable from my PC go into the switch and then I would need one for my monitor and another for my TV (total of 3 cables).

Any suggestion is appreciated.
Thank you

 

[why_wolf]

If you use a switch you would need 3 cables 1 in and two out. For what you are describing, which is exactly what I do right now, you would be better off using HDMI for the TV and either the DVI or DP for the monitor. That way both stay plugged into the PC at the same time. You can then use them both at the same time in extended display mode or just leave one turned off and just switch which display is turned on depending on what you are up to.

 

[necw00]

Thanks, my GPU has 2 HDMI outputs so it shouldn't be a problem as both cables would stay plugged in.
In this case, would it still be needed a switch or I can just have them both plugged in and switch between them in windows? My only "issue" is that if the PC is set to display only on my monitor I would still need to get up and go to the PC to make it display on the TV (which I could skip if I buy a remote controlled switch?)

 

[why_wolf]

Thanks, my GPU has 2 HDMI outputs so it shouldn't be a problem as both cables would stay plugged in.
In this case, would it still be needed a switch or I can just have them both plugged in and switch between them in windows? My only "issue" is that if the PC is set to display only on my monitor I would still need to get up and go to the PC to make it display on the TV (which I could skip if I buy a remote controlled switch?)

No switch would be need in that case. You can mess around with the display settings in either Windows or through the GPUs control software. One trick you can try is only have one monitor/TV on at a time. So for example say your done using your monitor and want to use the TV now. Just turn off the monitor and turn on the TV. The display should auto switch everything over to the TV as it will detect it as the sole display currently working. You might have problem with sound with you have PC speakers. You have to teach windows what the correct default speaker is. Tell it the TV is so when you turn it on it will auto move the sound. When the TV is off the sound should default back to whatever you normally use.

None of this stops you from using a switch, it just doesn't cost you any more money. So go the free path first to see if it works for you.

 

[GearUp]

If you are using Windows Media Center and Windows 7 the experience is not that smooth. By the time you stop everything to do a web search on the PC you may have forgotten what you wanted to look up. If you aren't careful the TV tuner may have to be reset. Just ignore this if you aren't intending to do so.