HDTV VS. high end monitor

[zillion]

Hey guys... I've read THG for years now and I was looking to update my monitor. I have a kick *** Geforce 6600 GT Card looking for a good display. Since I see Computers and Home Theater merging technology (especially with TVs going HDMI input) I'd like to be ahead of the game and get a good screen that I could use either for my home theater someday but at least for now as my PC monitor.

What I'd like:
Great picture, widescreen, left and right swivel maneuverability, easy rotation from horizontal to vertical, good input compatibility (maybe DVI and HDMI?)

I see THG's Viewsonic articles and I hear Dell has some fantastic widescreens. Of course Panasonic has great reviews for HDTV/plasma tvs too. Should I go Computer monitor or TV? I mostly watch DVDs instead of tv (TV shows on DVD) and play classic games and SOME new ones So, best bang for buck, which direction and make/models should I steer towards? Thanks! -Z

[AllGamer]

i myself i'm looking for a "monitor" upgrade

i want to merge a Dual monitor into 1 large wide LCD/Plasma TV
most of the newer ones with 2 inputs you can use PIP side by side
making it Dual screen in 1 screen

problem is.... all the refresh rate from all the Current choices are slow

i don;t mind the Price, but i'm very picky at the response time of the screen.

the best screen i've seen so far was still 8ms from...?? Panasonic? or Sharp? i dunno forgot, but one of those usual names you see in electronic shops.

[zillion]

Hmm... AllGamer, seems like we have no takers... I thought this would have been a hot discussion topic. Do you know of any screens that are good for both home theater AND PC screen?

[eazyt]

after coming back to this site after a while i am suprised to see there isnt a whole FORUM dedicated to htpc's

once you play your games and have your desktop configured for a big screen hdtv you will never want to go back to a puny computer monitor

my advice to you if you want to get a bigscreen for your computer make sure its 1080p capable or atleast 1080i 720p lcd sets and such are not as good for Desktop work(fine for movies and games though)

I have been doing this for about a year now on my panasonic 1080i 16x9 hdtv with a dvi to hdmi converter

the thing with 1080i while it still looks top notch is its interlaced (30hz in computer speak) and while working on the desktop you tend to notice some flickering .you can fix it pretty much alltogether by using certain shades(dark) and beefier fonts my 1080i set gives me basically a 1696x956 widescreen resolution and the desktop looks great and readable it also does 1024x768 with no overscan for games that cant do my native resolution ive never tested nor seen a pc hooked up to a 1080p set but im guessing its high resoltion with no flickering and Awesome looking

720p is lower resolution (1280x720) but its in progressive mode(60hz) so the flickering is not as bad but its big for the desktop (could be better dont have much experiance with it) most lcd sets are 720p

ITs also not easy finding your sets native resolution and getting things just right its very easy to throw your tv out of sync by sending it signals it cannot display (ie.switching resolution for games) you may have to use powerstrip to make some custom timings for different resolutions so it will display properly and there is a remote possibity of damaging your set...in my manual it directly states the hdmi input is not meant for pc's
but its all trail and error and with a little work you can get it working perfectly ...i managed to without blowing the thing up

good luck if you decide to go that route

[eazyt]

EDIT

i forgot to tell you my tv
its a Panasonic tau Pureflat CT-34WX15

you cant beat good old crt tv's for picture quality and for the price this tv has better picture than 3000 lcd or plasma sets

[Dennis Bacon]

hey guys, the samsung LN-##### line of monitors are awesome for both TV and for Computer, I use the 23 inch version as my monitor, it has vga port, svideo, HDMI, component, composite, and coaxial all on it, the picture is beautiful with the 3,000 : 1 contrast ratio it makes pc games nice and bright and very pretty. Hooked up as a t.v. this is a little bit small but there are larger versions of this, here is the link to them http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/lcdtv/index.asp

[derekisgod]

i have a 32'' sony hidef. in the manual it says not to be used as a computer monitor. can i use it as one even though it says not too? any help would be appreciated

[eazyt]

mine says the same thing ....and it works fine ...in fact im typing this on my tv right now

i have thrown my tv out of sync numerous times and have to switch from hdmi input to another input then back to hdmi to get picture again well ive found out a way to minimize this it still happens sometimes when switching resolutions

it seems to be fine with it ..if im doing long term damage to it i have no clue 0.

also i think a big thing about them saying its not meant for a pc is so they dont have to deal with any tech support as its not guaranteed to work