Back in the pixellated, pre-Internet days of the late 80s and early 90s, the thing to buy for your computer was a monitor. Unless you’ve been alive during the time when computers plugged into TVs this will seem quite strange, computers have always plugged into monitors, right?

While it’s true PC and Mac computers have always plugged into monitors, before Microsoft took over the planet it was quite normal for computers to plug into normal TVs, with all the fuzzy RF-induced shimmering mess that gives.

But you know all this, so what’s the point?

Well these monitors weren’t VGA, at best they were TTL RGB which is sort of like RGB SCART. Most monitors had composite inputs, or Chroma/Luma inputs – and sound. This makes them excellent monitors for plugging into DVD players or chipped XBoxes running XBMC. Sure, staring at a 14 inch monitor isn’t going to be fun from across the room, but it works really well in my bedroom on a bedside table.

The image is pin-sharp, doesn’t flicker or lose focus in the corners and is a lot better than the TV I was using.