Going to costco tomorrow want to buy a lcd tv/monitor any thoughts

[harry palmer]

Hi there

my really old crt just really went green and I am off to costco tomorrow to
get a new display for my pc. I would like to get an lcd tv that I can hook
up to the computer so I have the best of both worlds. Anything in the
20"-32" range is fine. Any thoughts on which one to buy? I'm not too worried
about manufacturer but the vizio's seem to be ok units?? Anyone that has a
pleasant experience please advise.

thanks

 

[rjn]

my really old crt ...

What size and res?

... just really went green ...

Often just a loose connection on Red or Blue.

... and I am off to costco tomorrow ...

Oops. Too late.

... to get a new display for my pc.

What video ports?
If it's a CRT vintage PC, it's apt to be VGA only.

I would like to get an lcd tv that I can hook
up to the computer so I have the best of both worlds.

On a modern PC, with DVI, I suspect you'd be looking
for a TV with DVI in or HDMI with a DVI adaptor.

Anything in the 20"-32" range is fine.

Wide? or 4:3

20-30in wide HD TVs will be likely 1366x768. SDTVs less.
31in and higher might be 1920x1080, but probably not
at any price you'd care to pay.

Any thoughts on which one to buy?

I'd be more tempted to get a PC monitor and a DTV
converter box (if I really wanted TV, which I don't).

I'm not too worried about manufacturer ...

Good thing, as few "brands" actually make what they sell.

... but the vizio's seem to be ok units??

No opinion really, but wouldn't lean toward them myself.

 

[Peter Huebner]

Hi there

my really old crt just really went green and I am off to costco tomorrow to
get a new display for my pc. I would like to get an lcd tv that I can hook
up to the computer so I have the best of both worlds. Anything in the
20"-32" range is fine. Any thoughts on which one to buy? I'm not too worried
about manufacturer but the vizio's seem to be ok units?? Anyone that has a
pleasant experience please advise.

thanks

Well I had an unpleasant experience, kinda. Went into a megastore and looked at
a 32" hdtv 1366x768 (Sanyo or Sharp) that boasted a computer input. I stood a
meter in front of it and watched the movie that was playing on it. Not good.
Fine, in fact excellent picture from 3 or 4 meters away, but not close up. I
would not want to use that for computer work ... to get a monitor I think is a
safer bet. You can always watch movies on the computer and/or even add a tv
tuner card or use a vivo video card.

-P.

 

[rjn]

... looked at a 32" hdtv 1366x768 (Sanyo or Sharp) that
boasted a computer input. ... Fine, in fact excellent picture
... from 3 or 4 meters away, but not close up.

Anyone contemplating using a TV as a monitor really
has to do the math, and it's not trivial, because the TV
branders are not going to give you direct answers. The
diagonal measures are at least useful with flat panels,
but you still need to trig those down to dot pitch.

For normal monitor distances, 12-24in, the dot pitch needs
to be in the range 60-100 dpi, or 0.42 to 0.25mm.

For sitting further away, you need to scale the dot pitch,
or recalculate it as degrees per pixel.

And what you discover is that almost no TVs at monitor
sizes (14 to 30in) have monitor resolutions. They are
all lower, often only 640x480, and the pixels will be too
big at normal monitor viewing distances. TVs above 30in
may be "full HD" (1920x1080), but the dot pitches are
again too large for normal monitor viewing distances.

Which is why if you start with a monitor (that has a
decent scaler and TV video inputs), and use it as
a TV, pixel size is rarely a problem.

The 16:10 monitor vs. 16:9 TV thing, on the other hand,
might be a problem for TV content if you are sensitive
to a/r distortion.

 

[harry palmer]

Anyone contemplating using a TV as a monitor really
has to do the math, and it's not trivial, because the TV
branders are not going to give you direct answers. The
diagonal measures are at least useful with flat panels,
but you still need to trig those down to dot pitch.

For normal monitor distances, 12-24in, the dot pitch needs
to be in the range 60-100 dpi, or 0.42 to 0.25mm.

For sitting further away, you need to scale the dot pitch,
or recalculate it as degrees per pixel.

And what you discover is that almost no TVs at monitor
sizes (14 to 30in) have monitor resolutions. They are
all lower, often only 640x480, and the pixels will be too
big at normal monitor viewing distances. TVs above 30in
may be "full HD" (1920x1080), but the dot pitches are
again too large for normal monitor viewing distances.

Which is why if you start with a monitor (that has a
decent scaler and TV video inputs), and use it as
a TV, pixel size is rarely a problem.

The 16:10 monitor vs. 16:9 TV thing, on the other hand,
might be a problem for TV content if you are sensitive
to a/r distortion.

this is spot on and a great help to me, I really appreciate the
quantification of the values involved. I was going to use a wireless
keyboard and mouse with the screen hanging on the wall ( hence the tv
requirement). Again thanks Bob for taking the time, you are what is best
about newsgroups.

harry palmer