anyone using an LCD TV as their computer monitor?

[ronmcdon]

Contemplating going this route, seeing how cheap some of the LCD TV's are relative to LCD monitors.
A 30" monitor is typically around 1k.
a 30" LCD TV is like half the price.
Would also be a great way to integrate using the PC watching movies, playing the Ps3, xbox, etc.

Technically, I can't see much compromise switching from a monitor to a TV.
Resolution quality would seem comparable.
I am not picky with Video quality as long I'm not running something primitive like 800x600

Compatibility
Resolution type might be a concern, as I'm not sure if they're compatible with PC's
Most LCD TV's have an input outlet for the computers, so I know that at least.

Is this something that would work well?
I know next to nothing about this sort of thing.
TIA!

Looking at something like this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889112024

[Matej]

Never tried that, but I am using my monitor as a TV.

[SochBAT]

it is doable. but resolution is something else. from sitting afar, things look goofy. gotta resize to lower resolution (relatively lower).

still crisp though.

[Finchie]

Itll work but reading stuff from far away might be hard at 1920 x 1080. So I would use a lower resolution when sitting from afar.

Id also be careful with sceptre I had a 22" widescreen monitor from them worked great for 2 weeks then the DVI port went out, 6 months later screen stops turning on all together.

[just1pepsi]

I had some weird issues with screen resolution in some cases. ie: getting "no signal" even when the video card was set to the native supported resolution for the tv. 1366x768. Also, Tv's are specifically setup for tv signal so they look better when viewing TV, and are generally not as bright as a specific "PC Monitor" - Thats just my experience with it. Vizio 42" LCD - so maybe a more expensive TV would work better for you.

[illvialuver]

i would do that if i wanted to sit 20 feet away from my computer

[flip3d]

LCD TVs have weird resolutions that aren't practical for normal use.

I have this 32'' ILO from walmart that only displays 1024x768.

[FusionR240sx]

fw351J laptop w/hdmi port to lcd tv with hdmi = awesomeness

[RurouniMidnight]

i have dual ouput video card so my computer is hooked up to my monitor and also 37" LG scarlet so if i want to watch videos or movies straight from my comp i switch over to the lcd tv and it looks awsome.

[ronmcdon]

Thanks for the feedback!

I was really looking for a smaller 32-ish" display I could throw on my desk.
Kinda like 1 ft away from me more or less.
At that size, you could prob get away with running a slightly lower resolution rate & look good.

I was checking out my brother's 50" pioneer plasma & manual.
I wanted to haul it to my desk, but the thing was too heavy and i didn't want to take any chances.

Seems that the TV provides several different resolution settings
1920x1080 (1080 p?), as far as I know, is intended for TV/Movies/console gaming.
***EDIT 1920 x 1080 is supported by some video cards.
just not the computer i have home for some reason.

The TV also support 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1280x768 (highest res wide-screen).
On a 50" or larger, maybe it would look a bit iffy.
On a 32", it might work pretty well if I run 1280x1024.
Idk if wide-screen would work.

On my existing 21"-ish square monitor, I'm running a modest 1024x768 from my pc.

gonna try to somehow connect my PC to my brother's TV.
should be fun to see how it works out.

[ronmcdon]

For those who have done this, how do you compare using a TV to a monitor?
What resolution (& refresh rate) settings are you using specifically?

[ronmcdon]

i have dual ouput video card so my computer is hooked up to my monitor and also 37" LG scarlet so if i want to watch videos or movies straight from my comp i switch over to the lcd tv and it looks awsome.

Why not just use your TV for everything?
Since you have both your monitor and TV 'side by side', how do the visuals compare?

[brokeAs240sx]

It works fine.

1080i/720p monitor, you get 1368x768 - not the greatest for text, but still works fine.

1080p, you get 1920x1080 - very nice for text

30" LCD Monitor, you get about 2500x1600 or something ridiculous - one of my buddies has one, there really is no comparison here, there's a reason it's 1k.

I've used my lcd (32" 1080i) for gaming and occassional surfing/browsing, works great. In fact, I have it setup as a 2nd monitor on my computer so I can watch hi-def movies - don't need a separate dvd/blu-ray player, etc.

Whatever you do, make sure your video card is up to snuff - I've seen the older ones go haywire when trying to setup 1080p w/ hdmi.

[Matej]

TV on my monitor looks better than it does on our actual TV's.

Plus I can resize it to a whatever size window I want and watch TV while browsing the internet. I am watching TV as I am typing this.

Windows Media Center has its own equivalent of Tivo, except it is even better in my opinion, and free. You can record whatever you want and/or burn it to dvd.

Oh, and I have a remote too. It came with the PC. All the functions of a TV, and more.

[Leetheslacker]

I've used a 42 samsung before. Theres a setting in xp somewhere in display settings that changes the dpi of text or something, basically makes it bigger and so much easier to read.

also takes some refresh rate fiddling to get it to not flicker.

[pignose4life]

I use my samsung 32inch LCD 720p with the pc input for my dell. It use to be my main monitor, but now i just have it on the side so i can watch tv while being on pc. I still have it hooked up as a second monitor so i just play bluray rips on it pretty much all day and I am very pleased with the results.
Use powerstrip to fine tune your display or get more resolutions. http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

[ZX88]

monitors and lcd tv are the same just one has a tuner and speakers while the other doesn't. i used my samsung as a monitor it worked just fine.

[screaminfast]

I'm using a 42" 1080p LCD as a secondary monitor to my 30" Dell. Works great :)

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2070/238/104/45786626233/n45786626233_1407395_2902.jpg

[BustedS13]

Itll work but reading stuff from far away might be hard at 1920 x 1080. So I would use a lower resolution when sitting from afar.

Id also be careful with sceptre I had a 22" widescreen monitor from them worked great for 2 weeks then the DVI port went out, 6 months later screen stops turning on all together.

i have a 24" Sceptre, bought in november and no issues yet. looks great, no dead pixels, and it's 200 shipped. this is hard to beat. i have a friend who went out and one-upped me a couple months later by getting a 25.5" samsung. 1.5" more for over twice the price. fucking clown :w00t:

I'm using a 42" 1080p LCD as a secondary monitor to my 30" Dell. Works great :)

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2070/238/104/45786626233/n45786626233_1407395_2902.jpg

this is awesome.

[greddy2die]

im using a 27inch lcd tv as my comp monitor and tv with my xbox hookd up to it also.

I havent had any problems with it at all.

hdmi on my pc to the hdmi port on the tv = ftw

[ravinaziankid]

I'm using my Vizio 32" HDTV hooked up using a DVI from the PC to HDMI. If you have an upgraded graphics card, you can use HDMI to HDMI but since my card is a little old it doesn't have that feature. The quality is pretty good and playing games and watching HD movies is great too. I've been using this setup for over 2 years and it's great.

[ronmcdon]

great info, thanks!!

all this has me thinking it should be ok to use my computer with only a 32" LCD TV.
Think 1080p (1920 x 1080 ) would be sufficient for everything except maybe text.
If I adjust the size of the text, then everything should be no problem (i'm guessing here).
Just have to make sure the TV supports a 1080 video resolution

Right now at work, I'm using a 24" wide-screen LCD monitor @ 1680 x1050 and it looks pretty good.
Don't think 32" @ 1920 x 1080 would be so bad.

Haha...I relish the prospect of getting a 32" PC display for cheap!!

[ronmcdon]

I'm using a 42" 1080p LCD as a secondary monitor to my 30" Dell. Works great :)


Nice setup!
What resolution are you using on your 30" Dell, if you don't mind me asking?
Also how well does the 42" work as a solo monitor?
Would the resolution be too low as a PC monitor for that size?

[screaminfast]

Nice setup!
What resolution are you using on your 30" Dell, if you don't mind me asking?
Also how well does the 42" work as a solo monitor?
Would the resolution be too low as a PC monitor for that size?

Thanks :) The Dell is 2560x1600 :wiggle: I think a good LCD 1080p TV would be good enough for almost anything. I mainly use my secondary display for when I do video editing or I need a web browser open when I'm designing something.

[Akiros]

go 1080p at MINIMUM if you do it.

There is a reason for things costing what they cost.

[woodchuck]

i use a 40 inch at 1080p for my htpc. it works just fine, but after long hours of using it for web searching - my eyes get tired from all the extra scanning they have to do because of the size. it was like watching multiple imax movies back to back to back.

[JVD]

My buddy has like a 32" LCD as his monitor. I hate it.

I dunno if you can fix it, but the text looks terrible. Some shit is unreadable.

Had such a hard time getting through my Tucker Max stories.

[LeftNutOfGowd]

That's how I have it set up so when I watch a movie or something with my girl we just watch it off of the TV

http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo331/sigsNgifs/PICT1341.jpg
http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo331/sigsNgifs/PICT1339.jpg

[Mikey213]

I got a 50 inch Vizio plasma with wireless keyboard and mouse. It has it's own menu for PC resolution and such, just click on auto and your good.

[lucky7]

damn, some of you guys have some really nice set-ups. i just have a 22" LG flatron that i got like 2 years ago. i want a bigger one, and the prices have gone down quite a bit, but theres absolutely nothing wrong with the one i have. :D

[Daniel.]

an old photo but I'll whore it out again.

To reflect everyone else's thoughts here, get at least a 1080p display. Otherwise your text will look like ass.

I'm using a samsung LN46A650 46" 1080p display for my secondary.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/spidermansro/IMG_0529.jpg

[Future240]

damn, some of you guys have some really nice set-ups. i just have a 22" LG flatron that i got like 2 years ago. i want a bigger one, and the prices have gone down quite a bit, but theres absolutely nothing wrong with the one i have. :D

Acer H243Hbmid 24

24 inch monitor, 1080p. build in speakers, mountable I believe, tilts, blah blah blah 250

[upsdude]

it's a little messy, but this is my set up: 40 inch samsung lcd...i've had this for almost 3 years now. playing WoW on it is pretty cool :wiggle:
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/7757/compz.jpg

[ronmcdon]

thanks for all the responses!
nice to see some very enviable desktop setups on this thread.

tried hooking my PC to a 50" 1080p.
Looks pretty awesome playing newer games (tested fallout 3 only) and watching movies.
Typing is a bit fatiguing, esp after an hour or more.
Browsing the internet actually is a lot of fun.
I can def see how those of you who use LCD TV's, use them as a dual display setup.

Gonna try to pick one up my next paycheck.
If it works, great.
If not, doesn't hurt to have a dual display.

[HyperTek]

bump! ok my mom picked one up for her shop, and wow nice tv.. lol, im kinda wanting one now, esp since i play racing sims on my pc it might look sweet... not sure if i can have my monitor and a tv on my desk tho, might be too much lol.. 32 seems like a sweet spot in size.

[ronmcdon]

pls hook it up & let us know how it goes :)

[!Zar!]

bump! ok my mom picked one up for her shop, and wow nice tv.. lol, im kinda wanting one now, esp since i play racing sims on my pc it might look sweet... not sure if i can have my monitor and a tv on my desk tho, might be too much lol.. 32 seems like a sweet spot in size.

32" what, Vizio?

[HyperTek]

my mom got this one Memorex 32 in. (Diagonal) Class LCD HDTV (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_05771787000P?mv=rr)
for the price and its 1080i its pretty nice imo.

edit, didnt realize its a 1366 x 768 resolution.. so it probably downscales 1080.. oh well still not bad for her shop lol

[theronin]

playing wow on it is pretty cool :wiggle:
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/7757/compz.jpg


leeeeerooooooy jeeeennnkkkiiiinnnnsssss!!!!!