TV as a monitor

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1 Nov 2011
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Hi Guys,

My son used a 19" TV as a monitor for his pc and for his XBOX. I was working on his PC the other day and sitting 1.5 metres from the screen I really strained my eyes to use it.

I now have a dileamma, get a bigger TV? or a monitor?

Monitor would have to have sound and be able to support XBOX also.

What size do you think? any recommendations?

Thanks
 
Cheers mate, This is what I thought, but then read a bit about response times and that there is likely a lot of lag on tv's, whats your experience on that?
 
Size depends on the room 40" for 1.5m. I'll be watching this thread I'm looking for a monitor for a new build and a tv to replace a crt for bedroom looking at the £ 200 combo on here but tv's at that price have poor picture quality
 
I think the problem with televisions is that I think they process the image when it enters, where as computer monitors are dumb, and thus do no processing, reducing lag.
 
Yeah this is what I'm worried about, on one hand I dont want my sons eyes being strained, on the other I dont want to get a nice expensive TV and have him complain his games lag lol...
 
I sometimes use my 37" 1080p HDTV as a screen to output my laptop onto, and it's fine at 1.5m. 2m and beyond text is too small to read comfortably. Obviously with a smaller screen those distances will drop. If he's gonna sit 1.5m from the screen whatever you buy then go with a HDTV.

I doubt he'll notice the lag, remember everyone using a 360 or PS3 on a HDTV has that same input lag and the vast majority of people never notice it. You said he's using a TV already, so he already has that input lag (assuming it's a HDTV and not an old CRT tv).

The other thing to consider - the speakers on LCD monitors are usually awful, much worse than you get on a decent TV. Of course the TV will cost more.

Couldn't you get him a new comfy PC chair and pursade him to sit at the desk closer to the screen?
 
Some people have been using the LG 32" HDTV (model 32LK450U) as a monitor as it has very low input lag for a HDTV. But, you have to get the correct panel as LG have used, i think, 3 different panels and it is the IPS panel you need. If you do a little searching you may find a retailer that has the IPS version in stock. You will have to do a little homework on how to find out if the retailer has IPS stock as i am not sure. If you ggogle 32LK450U you will probably see most of the big stores will stock it and some have it for around £280.
 
Hmmm sounds good but searching on the net seems like a lottery if you get the IPS, and the normal one isnt so good... maybe I will go in store and see if I can see something on the label?
 
Hmmm sounds good but searching on the net seems like a lottery if you get the IPS, and the normal one isnt so good... maybe I will go in store and see if I can see something on the label?
You need to look at the product code on the back of the casing - it will be on the silver label close to the power plug, along with various other info, and will look something like "32LK450-ZB.BEKYLGJ".

The character you're interested in is the fourth letter in the final series of seven, after the decimal point - a "Y" indicates an LG S-IPS panel, a "D" indicates an AU Optronics A-MVA, and a "J" indicates a Chi Mei Innolux S-MVA. To make doubly sure, if you take along a magnifying glass and examine the screen closely (ignoring the funny looks from the sales staff), the pixels in the IPS panel will have a distinctive chevron shape, whereas those in the *MVA panels wil be rectangular.

From what I can gather, the big river place are mostly shipping Ds and Js nowadays, but Richard Nixons and Edwina Curries still seem to have Ys instore and online (presumably they don't turn over as many units and so still have some older inventory). No guarantees for online purchases though, if you absolutely must have an IPS panel and you don't want to risk getting into the repeated order/return cycle, your best bet is to buy from a bricks & mortar store where you can actually see what you're getting beforehand.

The good news is that the product code is also printed on a label on the TV's cardboard packaging, so you won't have to dig it out of the box to make sure before taking it home. :)
 
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