Big screen TV as monitor

[tech_joe]

Hello everyone, I'm Joe, have just joined your forums.
I'm a computer technician for the federal government, previously have worked for Service Canada and now for Revenue Canada. So I've got a good bit of expertese under my belt, just not in This field!

I'm looking into purchasing a big screen TV as primary computer monitor. I've got an ATI Saphire X1950PRO with 512mb that is currently driving 2x 19" wide Acer LCD's.

I want a big screen between 37 and 40-42 inches (as I cant go bigger because of space limitations, I've got an L shaped desk). I need your recommendations.

I've read all the articles I could sink my teeth into, but I still can't make my decision. I dont game too much, once in a while, butI do alot of surfing, MSN, and most importantly I watch TV shows, DVD's, etc. I dont even use our real tv anymore

So, looking into my options, I've decided that LCD would be better for me because of several factors:

- an LCD is ample responsive for video watching, and they are acceptable for gaming (for the amount I do, its not worth the plasma)

- I have a large window facing south-west right beside my computer screens (and where the TV will be), so I can't control the lighting much. again, LCD would be better.

- energy consumption. it's expensive bills nowadays, and LCD's take less juice

- my system is on a UPS, and scince LCD's take less juice, it wont tax my UPS as much when we have blackouts.


I've also decided that I'll be hooking my computer to the TV with an DVI->HDMI cable. There is a very nice and long one for a good price up on NCIX that someone linked in another article about tv's on this forum:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20754&vpn=HDMI-DVI%2FD-25-M%2FM&manufacture=Others

(although if someone thinks a shorter and better quality cable should be preffered, please speak up. I favour length only because my setup is particular and I need long cables to get everything where it needs to be!)

I can't decide on which brand to go with. I've seen alot of chatter about how the Sharp is the best LCD available, yet others say the Sharp's have issues.

I lean toward panasonic as well, scince my personal experience with their electronics has been widely positive, but most people here seem to ignore panny's.

I've also been told that I should go for Sony Bravia, but they're overpriced.


oh, I forgot to mention that I'm going 1080p, this is not negociable...
seeing how I will be using this TV ONLY on the PC, I want something with good resolution: this means using 1080p.



Thanks for your input, Joe.

[Cptn Vortex]

I would strongly suggest a Sharp Aquos 37" 1080p. They can be found at great prices, and they are very nice panels. I use a 32" Sharp Aquos, and absolutely love it. The Sony's are nothing special. Also keep your eye out for NEC panels, they are a little more industrial grade, same with LG. I will see if I can track something down for you. And not to do too much of a sales pitch here, we(frontierpc) accept government and corporate PO's....
NEC NEC Display Multeos M40 LCD WideScreen Monitor, M40-AV, FrontierPC.com Canada

Viewsonic is also a good brand, and has a awesome price, but it just wont meet the image quality and build quality as the NEC Viewsonic N4285P 42" LCD TV, N4285P, FrontierPC.com Canada

[cdn_Madrach]

I' currently using a samsung 46" lcd 1080p for cable tv/ sat(both regular and hd) occasional cod4, some hd/blue ray watching and some web surfing. Everything looks great

[tech_joe]

Hey Vortex,

you said that LG are good... I was considering them as well.

Do you have first-hand experience with them? (anyone else who used LG please comment!)

Thanks!

[Eldonko]

I like Sharp for LCD, they have been a leader for years.

[Cptn Vortex]

I dont really have any hands on, and their 1080p series of corporate/industrial displays are not released yet. But I have seen them (went to a product tour show last week) and they certainly look awesome. It's just hard to find their stock!

[Dashock]

Im using a 32inch Samsung but it runs at 720p if you can find the Sharp at 1080p by all means get that its better for all compatability specially games as not all games support my resolution but it doesnt really bother me as movies and shows are more of my thing and its absolutely brilliant!

[Jmac]

Viewsonic does NOT make good HDTVs ...

They have a terrible failure rate, the remote is sub-par and the TV's responsiveness to remote input is terrible, the picture quality using HD content is average, but bad for SD content. I would not recommend them at all.

Samsung, Sharp, and Sony are all good units. Sony currently uses Samsung panels (but usually paired w/ better tuners, filters, remotes, etc. for a higher price and a crappier warranty). Sharp's most recent offerings seem to have banding issues w/ analog inputs (HD15, Component, etc.), although they have none w/ digital input (HDMI). Since you're using DVI > HDMI, this won't be an issue for you.

As mentioned, NEC makes some excellent screens. They're definitely not aimed at the consumer, which has both pros and cons. As someone who's "in the industry," the pros will probably outweigh the cons.

I haven't tried Panasonic's latest TVs, although I've heard mixed reviews. They use S-IPS panels instead of the MVA/PVA panels most HDTV manufacturers use. While this may not be so great for HDTV use (S-IPS panels don't have deep blacks or consistent response times like MVA/PVA, which are desired traits for movie watchers), I wouldn't be at all suprised if it made it a better HDTV/PC Monitor than the units that use an MVA/PVA panel as S-IPS offers better colour reproduction, better screen uniformity, and lower input lag.

[tzetsin]

I've got mixed feelings on the sharps, i tried out a 47 inch aquos 1080p, it was ok but my wii hated it... the wii motes were all whacked out with its resolutions. it had a pretty good res on a computer though and the picture was nice. I ended up returning it for dead pixles and came home with a samsung and the pic quality is way better than the sharp, though the res is the same, the brighness and contrast are alot nicer. and it gets along with my wii :D

FYI both the sharp and the samsung i had were capable of higher than 1080 resolutions on dvi.

[Kappy]

Well Looks like you have alot of choses to make, I use Toshiba 42" Lcd 1080p. Here a link so you can see more specs.Toshiba Canada - home entertainment - television - flat panel television - 42RV530U One this I have to tell you I hurts your eyes when you get flash bang, man that is bright