From time to time we may need to work from home on a laptop or maybe kick back and watch a movie. However, it can be frustrating dealing with gigantic spreadsheet or enjoying a Full HD movie on such a small screen. Laptops that have screens larger than fifteen inches these days aren’t as common as they once were (although you can find them if you look around) but their weight can be a major drawback if you’re looking for portability.
Fortunately, many of us will have an alternative and it would be staring you in the face in many households – the television.
Modern televisions will allow connectivity via HDMI or DVI/VGA cables allowing you to use your television as an additional screen. You will need to adjust how far you sit from the television to obtain the optimal viewing position though, perhaps a bit further away for larger screens. You may also obtain further usability if you invest in a wireless keyboard and mouse particularly if your HDMI/DVI/VGA cable is not long enough and you end up using the television as the sole display from which you work.
Cables should be relatively cheap with minor increases in cost as length increases. Also, don’t be duped into forking out hundreds of dollars for HDMI cables – just make sure they are certified for high speed operations if you’re buying a cable longer than three to five metres and you should be fine.
However, just a word of warning. Some televisions may suffer from burn in if you leave static content up on the screen for too long. LCD televisionss don’t tend to have this issue whilst older plasma televisions are more susceptible so be careful – if you’re going to be out of the room for a while then turn off your television.
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