I know there have been threads on this, but they’re fairly old and deal with older LCD tech.
I’m wondering if I could use a 32-inch Samsung 1080p TV as a decent monitor. I’ve currently got two 20-inch Widescreen Dells, but I need something bigger. Plus, the TV can double for my 360 and (eventually) PS3. And my new desktop has a Blu-Ray drive, so I can watch movies on it.
I’d connect with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter that comes with my Radeon 4850.
Thoughts?
I use a 46" as my primary monitor on my main gaming/television playback/everything else PC in the living room. It works out well enough for me. What problems were you expecting to have? It might get a little grungy if you’re literally on top of the screen at your desk (1920 x 1280 should smooth that out well enough, though), but that’s all I can think of.
Well, I’d be sitting at my desk, so 32-inch is probably as big as I dare. (There’s a 40-inch Samsung 1080p at the same price, but it’s probably too big if I’m sitting a couple of feet away.)
Also, I’ve noticed that other people who connect their PCs to TVs can get noisy signals, but I think it’s because they’re using VGA. I imagine the DVI-HDMI connection should be pretty clean?
Mine is. I’m using a cable from MonoPrice, which is fairly high quality (lord knows it’s thick enough to be shielded from everything) and I don’t see any problems at all, and I’ve been known to play games on it.
The key factor is to find out if the TV you’re looking at has a 1:1 pixel mapping mode that doesn’t do any overscan. You can kind of kludge your way around this using overscan compensation in video drivers (in Nvidia ones, I haven’t had an ATI card for a while but I assume they have a similar feature), but it generally works out a lot better if your HDTV can just not overscan to begin with.
i use a 32" s-ips panel panasonic 32lz800.
it is great EXCEPT for colored (red/green) etc text. the tv has built-in edge enhancement that smooths out fonts (ie for hdtv non monitor use) that makes monitor output all fuzzy/blurry/double image with that colored text.
I use a 37-inch Westinghouse in 1080p and sit about three feet from it and it’s fantastic as a computer monitor for both work and gaming. I use the DVI port for that since audio is going to the computer speakers, the HDMI port for TV viewing, and the component jacks for 360 gaming.
As mentioned, you want something with 1:1 pixel mapping that does absolutely nothing to the signal in terms of filtering. Keep an eye out for displays labeled as HDTV Monitors as they don’t have integrated tuners and therefore generally don’t do much signal filtering, if any.
I have a 37" westinghouse connected to my computer over DVI, and sit about 3 feet from it on my desk. It’s the perfect size for everything at my viewing distance. I also have a 24" WS LCD in portrait mode on the side for some extra dual screen action. I love this set up.
What was the question again?
I hath the same thing.
After seeing these pictures, I absolutely have to make this happen. It might even have to involve a new desk.
Same! It is awesome.
How did you guys shop for a TV with the pixel mapping feature you’re talking about? I went looking or examples and couldn’t really find any. I suppose just knowing whichever models you guys are using would work too.
Westy 37 for life!
I love mine. I am tempted to get another just to stockpile it for the inevitable future.
In answer to my own question, I found this:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748074
A list of HDTVs with 1x1 pixel mapping!
I think I am actually going to upgrade to the westy 47 here eventually and give my wife my 37.
Wow…real office/computer space is almost as pleasing to the eye for me as the sweet TV set-ups. Poor me. ;)
Now I just need to find a good deal on one of those Westinghouse tvs or another one from that list. Hmm.
I have a 26" Samsung 720p that I don’t use anymore and would like to use it as my computer monitor. I tried searching around the web and getting more confused. My tv has a PC input but when I plug it in, my tv displays “Not Supported Mode”. What do I need/have to do?
thanks everybody
What resolution do you have your video card set to output?
I tried changing the resolution around on my desktop and it works with x 800 settings only. It’s no good; everything is giant sized and stretched so I’m not actually fitting more things on my screen! :(