What Screen for 360\PS3\Revolution\PC

0gami

0gami

0gami

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Hey all,

I'm looking for a smallish (24-26inch) Widescreen HD Screen to play my 360 and PC on and eventually the PS3\Nintendo Revolution on (should I buy one)

I've been looking at the DELL 2405FPW, would that do for all four items above?

Looking to get the best out of the 360 for now, currently have a 22" CRT, and while the 360 really does look amazing hooked up to it, i'd prefer something widescreen as most games seem to be widescreen ready out of the box these days.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,
 
Samsung do a really nice 23" LCD/TV (LE-23R51B) which would be good for all of the above, as well as making a decent TV. It can be had for around £500.
 
I would think the Dell 2405 would be a poor choice for Revolution and any other non-HD source since the picture quality would be poor, also the Dell isn't the proper widescreen ratio so you'll probably get borders along the top and bottom.

I would recommend the Samsung HDTV's they're ace.
 
The Samsungs are great but not the best for PC usage.

The best 26" LCD TV for PC use is currently the LG 26LX2R. They also do a 32" version.

It's one of the few that offers 1:1 pixel mapping so using it with a PC is quite simply perfect. Add in the fact that is has both an HDMI port and a DVI port and it is an excellent bet for connecting up all the above. I have the 26 incher and couldn't be happier.
 
GordyR said:
The Samsungs are great but not the best for PC usage.

The best 26" LCD TV for PC use is currently the LG 26LX2R. They also do a 32" version.

It's one of the few that offers 1:1 pixel mapping so using it with a PC is quite simply perfect. Add in the fact that is has both an HDMI port and a DVI port and it is an excellent bet for connecting up all the above. I have the 26 incher and couldn't be happier.
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That sounds tempting Gordy!

What kind of Res\Refresh Rates can you get on that baby?
 
0gami said:
That sounds tempting Gordy!

What kind of Res\Refresh Rates can you get on that baby?
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LCD's dont rely on refresh rates in the way that old CRT technology does, the maximum refresh rate is the same as all other LCD's. :)

As for the resolution. It is 1366x768. so it is true HD-Ready.

If you want higher resolution for PC then you need to be looking at LCD monitors rather than LCD TV's like the Dell 2405 you mentioned originally. But bare in mind that the output of the the xbox 360 is 720p in HD mode so 1366x768 is more than enough. Anything higher and the monitor will have to do a lot more scaling and the picture will arguably be worse depending on how well the monitor handles such scaling.

I would personally go the LCD TV route since you plan on hooking up two consoles as well as a PC to it, and as far as I know the LG is one of the best (if not the best) LCD TV for PC use.


I'll explain a bit about the difference between LCD TV's and Monitors...

LCD Monitors are designed primarily for PC's and as such they offer very high resolutions.

LCD TV's (the new HD ready ones) are designed to play back high-definition content from DVD's, consoles and whatever else. 720p HD content is displayed at a resolution of 1280x720. The TV's themselves generally come with either a 1280x720 or 1366x768 native res and slightly scale the image to fit. An LCD monitor will obviously have to scale the image more since it has a higher native resolution.

If you wanted a TV just for Xbox 360 output then any LCD TV offering a res of 1280x720 would be perfect. But some of these TV's are not too good with PC output. Therefore your options are either an LCD Monitor which is designed for PC and should do reasonably well on consoles, or an LCD TV which offers 1:1 pixel mapping (which basically means the output from a PC will look perfect with no need for scaling). By Going the LCD TV route you get the best of both worlds and will get a far larger screen for your money. But you will have a lower resolution for PC usage than an LCD monitor like the Dell 2405.

It all depends on what you plan to be using it for most often. If the display is going to be primarily used as a PC display get an LCD Monitor. If it is mainly for the Consoles get an LCD TV. Or if you want the best of both worlds and dont mind having a slightly lower resolution for your PC usage get a 1:1 Pixel mapping LCD TV like the LG 26LX2R. :)

Hope that helps a little matey!
 
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0gami said:
Is the LE-23R51B True HD Ready ?

Looking at another thread the LE-23R51B doesn't have HDMI or DVI? (Not that I even know what they are)
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I think it's the older LE23R41BX that doesn't have HDMI.

The 26" Greenwich model certainly does have HDMI.
 
0gami said:
One last thing Gordy, does £630 sound about right?
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Yep thats a good price indeed mate.

Before you go place an order I just thought I would let you know that the built in TV tuner on the LG isn't the best around. It's not awful by any means but if you plan on connecting the TV up directly to an old style aerial for TV then it's not quite as good for that as some of it's competitors. If you have sky, cable or a seperate freeview box this isn't an issue however. Remember these new screens are designed to recieve the latest digital signals not the old terrestrial ones. ;)


Mine is hooked up to Sky+, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PC and an upscaling DVD player and the picture quality is outstanding on everything. Also, i'll likely be getting a PS3 and SkyHD when they become available.
 
Thanks for the heads up mate, though I never watch TV so don't really care about that. It is purely going to be used for Consoles\PC so that will do me, Thanks again buddy, hope to see you on Live sometime :)
 
0gami said:
Thanks for the heads up mate, though I never watch TV so don't really care about that. It is purely going to be used for Consoles\PC so that will do me, Thanks again buddy, hope to see you on Live sometime :)
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Anytime dude! :)

One more thing... Connect your PC to the DVI port on the LG to get the 1:1 pixel mapping. In the "input" menu on the TV you can choose between "DVI-TV" and "DVI-PC". Setting it to "DVI-PC" enables the pixel mapping feature for the best picture quality. The HDMI port also supports this incidentally. The TV comes with a DVI to DVI cable so it's very easy to hook straight up to your PC. They also include a DVI to VGA cable incase your video card is older and doesn't have a DVI port.

As far as I know the PS3 is going to be using HDMI so that HDMI port will come in very handy when it's released. You won't need to buy an "HDMI to DVI" adaptor and swap over your PC for the PS3 every time you wish to play it. For the PS3 I assume you would be best to choose "HDMI-TV" mode rather than "HDMI-PC".


Also check out http://www.widescreengamingforum.com to get patches for any older PC games which don't natively support widescreen or the native res of the LCD. Be sure to set the games resolution to 1366x768 and believe me when I say it will look stunning!

You can tell LG went all out on the PC support with this TV. It really shows. Enjoy! :)
 
GordyR said:
LCD's dont rely on refresh rates in the way that old CRT technology does, the maximum refresh rate is the same as all other LCD's. :)

As for the resolution. It is 1366x768. so it is true HD-Ready.

If you want higher resolution for PC then you need to be looking at LCD monitors rather than LCD TV's like the Dell 2405 you mentioned originally. But bare in mind that the output of the the xbox 360 is 720p in HD mode so 1366x768 is more than enough. Anything higher and the monitor will have to do a lot more scaling and the picture will arguably be worse depending on how well the monitor handles such scaling.

I would personally go the LCD TV route since you plan on hooking up two consoles as well as a PC to it, and as far as I know the LG is one of the best (if not the best) LCD TV for PC use.


I'll explain a bit about the difference between LCD TV's and Monitors...

LCD Monitors are designed primarily for PC's and as such they offer very high resolutions.

LCD TV's (the new HD ready ones) are designed to play back high-definition content from DVD's, consoles and whatever else. 720p HD content is displayed at a resolution of 1280x720. The TV's themselves generally come with either a 1280x720 or 1366x768 native res and slightly scale the image to fit. An LCD monitor will obviously have to scale the image more since it has a higher native resolution.

If you wanted a TV just for Xbox 360 output then any LCD TV offering a res of 1280x720 would be perfect. But some of these TV's are not too good with PC output. Therefore your options are either an LCD Monitor which is designed for PC and should do reasonably well on consoles, or an LCD TV which offers 1:1 pixel mapping (which basically means the output from a PC will look perfect with no need for scaling). By Going the LCD TV route you get the best of both worlds and will get a far larger screen for your money. But you will have a lower resolution for PC usage than an LCD monitor like the Dell 2405.

It all depends on what you plan to be using it for most often. If the display is going to be primarily used as a PC display get an LCD Monitor. If it is mainly for the Consoles get an LCD TV. Or if you want the best of both worlds and dont mind having a slightly lower resolution for your PC usage get a 1:1 Pixel mapping LCD TV like the LG 26LX2R. :)

Hope that helps a little matey!
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Not all relevant surely, as the Xbox 360 has its own scaler, I thought the Xbox 360 looked surprisingly good at a non native 640 x 480 on my PC LCD, whereas a PC is a blocky mess at the lower non natives.

My main concern about LCDs is lag, going from a CRT to LCD was very noticeable playing games like Ridge Racer 6, whereas I never noticed it with PC gaming.
I'll be play testing any LCD I get versus a CRT, Im still tempted to get a 24" Sony CRT monitor for the spare room.
 
SC04 said:
Not all relevant surely, as the Xbox 360 has its own scaler, I thought the Xbox 360 looked surprisingly good at a non native 640 x 480 on my PC LCD, whereas a PC is a blocky mess at the lower non natives.
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While i'm sure the 360 does still look good when scaled if your going to be spending upwards of £600 you might as well opt for the best you can get for your money and view the xbox 360 output in true 720p as it was designed. Also, while it may not be that much of a big deal on the 360 it certainly is on other platforms. The difference between an LCD TV displaying PC output with and without 1:1 pixel mapping is huge.

The LCD versus CRT debate is another issue entirely however. I guess there are some Widescreen PC Monitors out there which would fit the bill. But none with the connections that 0gami requires. For both convenience and picture quality a good HD-ready LCD TV is the way to go for next-gen gaming given the choice. The ghosting issue really is minimal with modern panels but of course that kind of thing is subjective.
 
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Oh while i'm here, one more thing I wanted to mention to you 0gami...

You probably know this already but in order to display the Xbox 360 in High-def mode (720p) you need to connect it to the TV via the component cable or VGA cable. There are no DVI or HDMI cables for the 360 available yet and if you use any of the other methods of connection it up (s-video, scart or whatever) you will be limited to standard definition.
 
0gami said:
Cheers again Gordy, Already have a VGA Cable though i'm not sure which would provide the best picture, that or Component?

Just need the money now lol
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I'm using the component cable myself. I'll probably give the VGA cable a try when I get round to grabbing one.

As for component versus VGA, well it seems to be subjective. Many people claim that the colours are a bit better through component, while the picture is clearer through VGA so I guess its personal preference really.

Just go with the VGA cable that you already have mate, it should look fantastic. Experiment with setting the xbox 360 to 1366x768 (the native res of the TV) and let the 360 scale the 720p image itself. Also try setting the 360 to 1280x720 and letting the TV do the scaling. Use whichever mode looks best to you.

EDIT: Having done a quick search many people with the VGA cable are recommending that you use the following mode on your Xbox360/LG 26LX2R:-

Xbox set to 1280x720
LG set to DTV mode (as opposed to PC mode)
And centered picture

Center the picture on the TV as running at 1280x720 will give a very tiny border at the edge of the screen. Apparently running at 1366x768 mode with the VGA cable can make the colours a little less vibrant although you won't have the tiny border. (The border should be unnoticable as it is only around 86 pixels wide)

Doing this apparently will give you the best of both worlds. The picture clarity of the VGA cable combined with the enhanced colours that you would get with the component cable.

I can't verify any of this as I don't have the VGA cable myself. Just play around with the settings and use whatever you like best. Let me know how it goes! :)
 
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