Monitor or TV

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yss

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We would like to buy our son either a monitor or TV for his bedroom for his 15th birthday. He will mainly be using it for his XBox One.


Please could someone advise what features we need it to have and whether we are better getting a monitor or TV?


At the moment he doesn't watch much TV apart from football but I want whatever we get to last long term. So I understand we have the option of getting him a TV or a monitor with a separate box and speakers to enable him to watch TV on it. We have been advised he needs a refresh rate of 144hx and a response time of 1ms but this doesn't mean much to me and I wondered if this is something that is necessary or just a nice to have depending on budget. If we get a TV we feel we are better getting a Smart TV. Also, are particular brands better to buy?


Our budget is about £180 at the most.


I have no idea where to start and have been getting conflicting advice from shops so was looking for neutral options please.
 
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From what i understand consoles (at least last gen, i.,e. Xbox One) do not refresh any quicker than 60Hz, so whomever gave you the advice on the 144Hz probably thought it was a PC, but the lower response time the better.

£180 isn't going to get you much brand new, and you'll rely on older/lower quality brands but you should find something.

A TV will provide adequate sound as well as picture whereas a monitor will likely have a better panel/picture quality but crap speakers.
 
Caporegime
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If he wants a 144hz refresh rate and 1ms pixel response then your only real choice is a gaming monitor, probably 1080P given the price.

You want something like the AOC 24G2U/BK but don't take that as a recommendation as I have no experience with it (it's just the first option I came across), it's 144hz/1ms and has an IPS panel though and it is within budget.

Just look for gaming monitors that advertise 144hz/1ms as their spec, they will typically have different LCD panels.. IPS is better for colour accuracy but will usually have a lower contrast, VA are not as good in terms of colour accuracy but have better blacks and a higher contrast. Ask your son which he prefers if you can without spoiling the surprise.

edit: TN panels are the worst of the lot they generally have poor viewing angles.
 
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yss

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Thank you so much for your replies, this is so helpful. I am sure if it wasn't a surprise for my son he'd be able to help me but as far as he is aware I have point blank said he is not getting a TV in his room so would like to try and keep the surprise.

From your responses, we have settled on getting a TV now rather than a monitor. Now, we just need to decide which TV will fit the bill. We are thinking 24" will probably be big enough for a bedroom.

The TV's that we had been looking at are:
LG 24TN520S
LG 24TL510S
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-24TL510...s&qid=1603113774&sprefix=lg+24,aps,141&sr=8-1
Toshiba 24WK3A63DB
Sharp 1T-C24BC0KR1FB

Does anyone have any opinions please, positive or negative?
Are we losing out on anything major by sticking to this price bracket?
Are there any others that look more suitable?

Many thanks again.
 
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Yep, I'd second that, 24" will be too small, we made the same mistake a while back. Go as big as you can now based on budget, spec etc
 
Caporegime
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Will he be using it with a PC at all? I'm just going by him asking for something very specific (or was it someone else who advised you to get 144hz/1ms?), if he's the one who said it then he's perhaps going to be a bit disappointed with a 60hz/10-20ms TV.
 

yss

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Thank you so much for your help everyone.

We didn't really want to go up as much as £200 but I think we are going to have to but even going up to £200 I think we will need to trade off something. what is the most priority please and what can we afford to lose?

I have been advised that we must get LG and that no other makes will be as good but if we get LG, 32" with at least 1080 resolution is takes up to about £230.

Do you think it is worth paying the extra £30 as we shouldn't really scrimp on any of those things or is there anything we can lose on to keep it up to £200?

For instance, Curry's suggested this one https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-an...2-smart-hd-ready-hdr-led-tv-10207649-pdt.html but it is less than 1080 resolution.

I have seen this one which has the Spec but is not LG https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/32-tvs/philips-32pfs6805.html.

Or there is something like this which I think is less resolution https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9405297?clickSR=slp:term:32 lg tv:1:80:1.

Or are there any others I have not found which are better for the money?

Thank you again in advance.
 

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Will he be using it with a PC at all? I'm just going by him asking for something very specific, if he says he wants 144hz/1ms he's going to be a bit disappointed with a 60hz/10-20ms TV.
Sorry, our messages crossed.

He doesn't have a PC so wouldn't use it with one. He has a macbook but not sure he would connect it to the TV.

He hasn't asked for anything specific apart from the fact he wants a TV or monitor in his room and as far as he is aware I have point blank said no because he will never come out his room so he will be grateful for anything but I don't want to get substandard and waste money.
 
Soldato
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Go for something which is at least 1080P, I wouldn't buy a 720P TV as of now.

One of the 32" models for £150-200 from Richer Sounds would be your best bet I imagine.

Richer Sounds having a six year warranty as standard is a pretty big selling point too tbh.
 
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