What is the difference between LCD TV and LCD monitor .....

[johns]

Seems impossible to sort out. What is the difference between
an LCD TV, an LCD Widescreen Monitor with an external TV
Converter box, and a LCD Monitor with a PCI tuner card like
the Hauppauge PVR 350 ??? All of them seem to be able to
cross adapt and do the same thing.

LCD TV ---
Comes with a DVI input, and I think you can also use it
as a PC monitor for apps and DVD movies

LCD Monitor with external TV converter box ---
Also has a DVI input. Is obviously a PC monitor, and is "tv
ready" in the advertisements.

LCD Monitor ---
So it IS a PC monitor, and I can buy a Hauppauge PVR
350 pci card that will display a TV or camera image on the
screen in any size window up to full screen. Mine looks
very good on my 19 inch LCD monitor .. even close up,
because there is a smoothing program that sharpens
the image.

So far, I've figure this out:

LCD TV ---
Has terrible resolution closer than 5 feet. I actually had a
store set one up for me as a PC monitor, and it was
unreadable. My impression is an LCD TV is cheap crap,
but big, and from a distance looks OK.

LCD Monitor with external converter ---
Not a clue. I would guess that the external converter might
be faster than an internal pci PVR card, because the PVR
works by converting the incoming TV image to an MPG
file, and then displaying that MPG file in real time. I believe
I read that in my Hauppauge manual for the 350 I have.

LCD Monitor --- with PCI TV card like Hauppauge 350
Nice for viewing TV in a window on a standard resolution
LCD monitor. There are some audio-video sync problems,
with certain broadcasts .. like TV movies. I think there is
a way to make the PVR bypass the MPG file, and display
directly ?????

QUESTION:

What is the best setup for a home theater system ..
considering both price and performance ???

1. PC with normal LCD monitor, and LCD TV separate ??
2. PC with wide LCD monitor that is "tv ready", but is also
a good PC monitor for games and apps. Viewable up
close and not grainy.
3. PC with Wide LCD monitor with PVR card ??

johns

 

[Enos Nivek]

LCD TV ---
Has terrible resolution closer than 5 feet. I actually had a
store set one up for me as a PC monitor, and it was
unreadable. My impression is an LCD TV is cheap crap,
but big, and from a distance looks OK.

I use a 27" widescreen LCD HDTV as a computer monitor and it looks
good. It's native res is 1360x768. A computer LCD monitor of the same
size would have an insane resolution which is bad for my eyes and bad
for running games at a fast frame rate. Also, LCD HDTV has a lot more
inputs than any computer LCD. I can connect anything to this thing. So
far I have computer hooked to DVI-D (has HDCP), video processor hooked
to VGA and Xbox360 hooked to YPBPR, I've still got three more inputs I
can use for other devices. I also get PIP TV using hardware instead of
having to install a Tuner card. I can switch between 1:1 and 16:9 at
any time via hardware instead of having to screw around with software
to do it. 1:1 If I hooked PC to VGA I can choose 4:3 too. If you are
doing high end graphics then I wouldn't use any LCD anyway and would
get a high end CRT. I have a CRT on my other computer. I don't know
what LCD TV you were looking at but they probably didn't have it set
up right for computer use and that's why it looked bad to you. They
probably had it not set at its native res and stretched to 16:9 when
it should have been set to its native res and 1:1. Overall though a
computer LCD monitor is of higher quality than an LCD HDTV but it all
depends on your intended use as to which offers the best bang for the
buck.

 

[Dave]

QUESTION:

What is the best setup for a home theater system ..
considering both price and performance ???

1. PC with normal LCD monitor, and LCD TV separate ??
2. PC with wide LCD monitor that is "tv ready", but is also
a good PC monitor for games and apps. Viewable up
close and not grainy.
3. PC with Wide LCD monitor with PVR card ??

johns

If your viewing distance (eyes to surface of screen) is more than three
feet, NONE OF THE ABOVE.

If you wish to watch TV and movies on a monitor that will work for PC use
(and intend to sit close to it), then get yourself a 19" or larger but -NOT-
WIDE, LCD monitor and any decent TV tuner/video capture card.

Wide aspect ratio PC monitors are the new fad, but most people don't realize
that they offer MUCH less viewable screen area, and there are like NO PC
applications that need the wider format (some would benefit from DUAL
displays though). Plus, if you expand a (widescreen TV program) to full
screen, it looks like shit at the high resolution of a PC monitor. Thus,
the widescreen LCD PC monitors are good for nothing.

The problem is that video (even HD video) is rather low resolution compared
to the native resolution of any DECENT LCD PC monitor. So you are going to
make a compromise somehow. Either you buy a TV and your computer text looks
blurry, or you buy a PC monitor and your video is blurry (or displayed in a
window that doesn't fit the entire screen).

If you are willing to live with watching TV programming in it's native
resolution, displayed on your LCD monitor's native resolution (TV video
displayed in a window that doesn't fit the entire PC monitor screen), then
any decent LCD PC monitor and TV tuner card will work great.

But buying a widescreen version is not a good idea. If you insist, up it by
two sizes. In other words, if you want a 17" LCD monitor, look for a 21"
widescreen. That will give you roughly the same viewable area, but it will
be expensive. -Dave

 

[johns]

X-No-Archive:yes

What make and model LCD monitor do you have? If I
can zero on on one, I can go to Best Buy, and bully
them into a demo. Video store here, doesn't seem
to know much about setting up your kind of monitor
as a PC monitor. I'm reading that the trick really is
being able to change the resolution .. even to set up
dual display on a single screen. I would like to see
that before I spend the big bucks.

johns

 

[johns]

X-No-Archive:yes

What I have is worse than you could imagine .. a collection of
commercial
junk in the living room that stays broke in one way or another all the
time.
Wife and I go back in the computer room, and watch DVDs and TV on
my PC monitor. My PC system always works very well, but the viewing
distance is the problem. I sit at the desk about 3 feet away, and I can
see
fine. She sits in her rocker about 8 feet away, and is just too far
away.
So I want an upgrade to a 2nd monitor that is big and viewable from
8 feet .. which is really too close for a standard TV. I need something
high resolution, but just big enough for that environment .. and cost
effective. I can run 2 monitors on my BFG7900GTO card, and I want
to be able to display DVD movies, normal and HDTV, and still be able
to shut part of that down and just work on the PC by myself. At the
same time, I'm stuck with replacing all the living room crap with
exotic
poop like one of the really big LCD TVs to go with our Bose stereo.
All of that will go obsolete in a couple years, and totally fail as
soon
as the warranty runs out. My PC setup never fails. I do marginal
upgrades that keep it operating at peak performance, and I will
need to maintain that standard .. or catch hell from wifey for buying
a $300 video card to just play games on. I am in deep doodoo, and
your advice is appreciated

johns

 

[JAD]

panasonic just annouced the 108" LCD TV

 

[johns]

X-No-Archive:yes

Holy Cow! We'll have to take out a wall.

johns

 

[Dave]

X-No-Archive:yes

What make and model LCD monitor do you have? If I
can zero on on one, I can go to Best Buy, and bully
them into a demo. Video store here, doesn't seem
to know much about setting up your kind of monitor
as a PC monitor. I'm reading that the trick really is
being able to change the resolution .. even to set up
dual display on a single screen. I would like to see
that before I spend the big bucks.

johns

I've used a couple of them. Current monitor is an AG Neovo F419(R12). For
PC use, it is awesome. For video use, it works well, as long as you are
sitting close to the screen, and don't run the video in full-screen mode.
Previous monitor was a NEC brand 17" LCD, and it also worked great. You
will NOT find the Ag Neovo at Best Buy. You probably will find the NEC.

Oh, FORGET about changing resolution on an LCD display. If native
resolution is 1280 X 1024 (somewhat common), then that is what you run it
at. Anything else looks like shit, to put it nicely. -Dave

 

[Dave]

X-No-Archive:yes

What I have is worse than you could imagine .. a collection of
commercial
junk in the living room that stays broke in one way or another all the
time.
Wife and I go back in the computer room, and watch DVDs and TV on
my PC monitor. My PC system always works very well, but the viewing
distance is the problem. I sit at the desk about 3 feet away, and I can
see
fine. She sits in her rocker about 8 feet away, and is just too far
away.
So I want an upgrade to a 2nd monitor that is big and viewable from
8 feet .. which is really too close for a standard TV. I need something
high resolution, but just big enough for that environment .. and cost
effective. I can run 2 monitors on my BFG7900GTO card, and I want
to be able to display DVD movies, normal and HDTV, and still be able
to shut part of that down and just work on the PC by myself. At the
same time, I'm stuck with replacing all the living room crap with
exotic
poop like one of the really big LCD TVs to go with our Bose stereo.
All of that will go obsolete in a couple years, and totally fail as
soon
as the warranty runs out. My PC setup never fails. I do marginal
upgrades that keep it operating at peak performance, and I will
need to maintain that standard .. or catch hell from wifey for buying
a $300 video card to just play games on. I am in deep doodoo, and
your advice is appreciated

johns

OH, well then you are looking at a rather unique solution. What you need is
a 21" or larger LCD HDTV, with multiple inputs, at least ONE of which is
DVI. The multiple Inputs and DVI input are the important parts.

I understand EXACTLY what you are trying to do now, and know that it won't
work unless your new monitor has multiple inputs and you use an external TV
tuner box (TV tuner OUTSIDE of the PC).

The reason is simple . . . your new monitor is not going to be the primary
monitor on your PC. If it was, then using the PC would interfere with
watching television/movies. Also, while it's POSSIBLE to use a PC's
internal TV Tuner card to watch TV on a secondary monitor, it's somewhat
difficult to do so.

So, what you need is a new monitor specifically made for TV viewing, but one
that has multiple inputs that can be connected at the same time. ONE
connector will have to be fully compatible with whatever external TV tuner
box you decide to use. The 2ND connector will have to be DVI, compatible
with your PC graphics card. Then use the controls/menu on the new LCD TV to
switch between the two inputs. When you watch TV, the PC won't be involved
in the process at all (you could turn the PC off, in fact). But then if you
switch to the other input, you can use the new LCD TV as a secondary PC
monitor, and it should work quite well that way. (because you can specify
it's native resolution output from your video card)

Of course, you still might be in deep doodoo about buying the really
expensive graphics card. But for what you are trying to do, a LCD HDTV with
multiple inputs is your only reasonable solution. Oh, and unless you want
to add another DVD player to the mix, you will need to play DVDs through the
PC, on the secondary monitor (your new LCD HDTV). THAT should work OK, as
long as you have decent DVD playing software. -Dave

 

[Enos Nivek]

X-No-Archive:yes

What make and model LCD monitor do you have? If I
can zero on on one, I can go to Best Buy, and bully
them into a demo. Video store here, doesn't seem
to know much about setting up your kind of monitor
as a PC monitor. I'm reading that the trick really is
being able to change the resolution .. even to set up
dual display on a single screen. I would like to see
that before I spend the big bucks.

johns

I have a Viewsonic N2750w. If you get problems with resolutions then
you can create custom resolutions using Powerstrip. Nvidia drivers
offer custom resolutions too but my ATI drivers don't. Using the DVI
connection I get less choice of resolutions but it is less hassle and
text is a bit sharper. I just set desktop to 720p (1280x720) at 1:1.
That gives me a black border around my desktop but it is still plenty
big enough. And you wil find many games coming out now support 720p.
You set the game to 1280x720 and monitor to16:9 using the HDTV's menu
and you have HD widescreen gaming from your PC. I've gotten quite a
few older games to support 720p by editing .ini or config files.

 

[Enos Nivek]

The problem is that video (even HD video) is rather low resolution compared
to the native resolution of any DECENT LCD PC monitor. So you are going to
make a compromise somehow. Either you buy a TV and your computer text looks
blurry,

The text on my HDTV is not blurry at all. I don't like super high res
text either as my old eyes can't handle it. I'm typing this to you
from a 27" 16:9 HDTV sitting 1.5 ft away and the text is sharp.
Anyone thinking about making he jump to widescreen on their PC needs
to go here.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/

After having widesreen I won't ever go back to a 5:4 LCD. 5:4 aspect
ratio is the worst ever invented.

 

[johns]

X-No-Archive:yes

Thanks Enos. I went by the video game store today where they have
a Viewsonic 2750 on display, and again I asked them to set it up as
you suggested so I could evaluate it. Problem with that place is they
are a bunch of con-artists who swear they don't see what is right in
front of their faces. At any resolution they set, I could see that text
was split into VERY seeable vertical lines, making it unpleasant to
work with. I tried to tell them that there was a way to make the text
look better, but they were so busy showing their asses, they didn't
have time to sell me an $895 ( their price ) item. No wonder the
internet is driving these schmucks out of business. I can get the
2750 from Amazon for about $600 now, but I'm not buying anything
until I see it work properly. They need to hire people who actually
know what they are doing. I just bought 57 new computers for our
Engineering CAD labs that I support, and these goofoffs are going
to tell me all there is to know about graphics. Wears me out trying
to get the truth out of morons in these computer stores. Reminds
me of the types in record shops who think they are rock stars.
All I'm trying to do is take my business to a local shop, and instead
I get to stand there and straddle a big ego. Stupid.

johns

 

[dawg]

Forget LCD.Go for DLP. Check the contrast ratio differences for a start.