In the past, most CTR televisions were not compatible with a personal computer. For the majority of the 1980's, and 90's, computers used the 'Video Graphics Array' (VGA) display, which produced a resolution of 640×480 (and above).

Created in the 1980's by IBM, VGA was a step forward in computer display technology, but was incompatible with the normal broadcast technologies used by televisions (NTSC and PAL).

Therefore, little effect was ever made to develop a widespread convertor for VGA to NTSC or PAL. You wont find many TVs with a VGA socket on the rear.

Only recently has compatibility between TVs and PC's become a possibility. As the analogue signal of TVs and PCs becomes obsolete, the next step forward is digital.

  - DVI

With the advent of HD ready TVs, these displays are fitted with either a DVI or HDMI socket, or both.

At the same time, most PC video cards (the component PC monitors are plugged into) are fitted with DVI sockets. Therefore, the incompatibility of the previous analogue systems has not transferred itself to the new age of digital signals. Which has ensured that PCs and TVs have eventually incorporated compatible systems.

If your LCD/Plasma TV has a PC 'in' socket, then it's just a matter of purchasing the correct cable, and plugging it into your video card (PC). The 'plug and play' nature of Windows and digital systems will do the rest.

The only thing you may need to alter is the display settings in Windows. First click on 'Control Panel' on the Windows start menu, and here you can alter the resolution and vertical frequency Hz of your display,