Dennis wrote from Rosenberg, TX, to ask about connecting his computer and television. He wants to use the same LCD for surfing the Net and watching satellite television. But he’s not sure if that's possible.

Well, Dennis, this will work. There are several ways to do it, depending on the display. Since you haven’t purchased one yet, you’re in a pretty good position.

First, you could purchase a computer monitor. You would connect the computer to the monitor. The monitor probably wouldn't have a connection for the satellite box. So you would need to connect it to a television card in your computer. Your computer would need to be on to watch television.

A better solution would be an HDTV-ready television. These are also monitors; they don’t have tuners. But they usually offer more connections than computer monitors. And they’re cheaper than tuner-equipped televisions. If you go this route, you'll need both HDMI and component connections.

Now, connecting your computer to a television can be tricky.

The temptation to use a large screen television as a monitor may be too great to resist. Unfortunately, though, connecting a computer to a television set isn’t as easy as it should be.

On the plus side, your HDTV probably has a slew of connections. Hopefully you can match them to your video card.

Let’s go through the connections in descending order of quality: HDMI, DVI, component, s-video, VGA and composite. Your computer’s video card probably doesn’t have component or composite connections. But it will have a VGA connection and possibly DVI or s-video.

I would try to use an HDMI or DVI connection. DVI connections are the most popular digital connection for video cards. HDMI is the most popular for televisions. This may seem to present a problem, but it doesn’t.

HDMI and DVI are compatible. You can buy a cord and use an adapter at one end. Or, you may find a cord that will make the connection without an adapter. The only thing you really lose going from DVI to HDMI is sound. DVI can’t carry sound, but HDMI can. You’ll have to connect your computer to your sound system.

You’ll need to make some adjustments to the display settings. This is tricky.

Your television will have a native resolution. This is the resolution at which it was designed to display images. You’ll get the best quality picture if you match the computer’s resolution to the television. Consult the TV's manual to find the native resolution.

The television’s native resolution will probably be too high for your video card to display. But the video card may allow you to create custom resolutions.

Custom resolution procedures will vary from card to card. Consult the manual.

If your video card won’t do custom resolutions, you have two options. Live with it, or buy a new video card. Make sure the new card offers custom resolutions.

Since you’re bringing your computer into the living room, you may want to use it as a PVR.