Using a monitor instead of a TV?

So, I recently picked up a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed, and my intention is to hook it up to an LCD TV via HDMI to serve as a secondary monitor.
The computer simply won't recognize the TV at all—oddly enough, everything worked perfectly back when I was running XP. Does anyone have any insight on how to resolve this...

So, that adapter I ordered off eBay finally showed up. Paid about ten bucks for it—a Video to VGA converter—and honestly? It works perfectly. No issues at all. 🙂

This thread is pretty old, but I’d rather dig this up than start a whole new one from scratch. So, here’s the situation: I’ve got an 8-year-old Samsung TV that’s finally ready for retirement. Right now, I have a newer iOS TV box hooked up via HDMI, which runs through my receiver to feed the sound into my home theater system.
I’m actually considering skipping a traditional TV entirely and just grabbing a monitor—since I really only care about HDMI ports and an audio out. I don't need an antenna jack or any of that extra fluff. I just want a screen north of 40 inches where I can plug things in however I see fit.
Which way is the smarter play here—a standard TV or a dedicated monitor? I’m looking at something around 43 inches, 4K resolution is a must, and honestly, I don't even care if it has built-in speakers.
What are the actual pros and cons when comparing a TV versus an LCD or LED monitor?
Specifically, I'm curious about image quality, depth of field, backlight performance, and anything regarding eye strain or radiation levels... any recommendations?