The reason they make that disclaimer is there are problems that are associated with many laptops, but not all. The big one is the inability of many laptops to output a HDTV resolution that a HDTV can recognize, and that goes double for a CRT based display as they usually will only work at 640x480p, 720x480p or 1920x1080i. The last resolution is the only HDTV format but it is interlaced video which most laptops, or computers for that matter, will not output. At least with a desktop computer the video card can be upgraded to one that will support HDTV.
In any case a CRT HDTV is not going to make a very good monitor unless it was designed for PC use. And then the CRTs that are designed for PC use are generally limited to 800x600 resolution. It could be fine for DVD viewing and photo slide shows, but that's about it.
So if the cost of the transcoder is a bit high for you, I would consider it a risky venture.
Read the link I provided. The powerstrip software is free, but probably won't be too usable in your laptop.
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