white_shadow Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I'm getting a new PC monitor most likely the Samsung 243t (23" widescreen LCD) and was wondering does anyone use something like a 42" LCD or plasma as their PC monitor. The reason why I'm asking is because for the price of the Samsung 243t ($1700) I could get a 3o" LCD TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurencekarl Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I have never tried this but I have thought about it. All you will need is a minimum of 1280x1024 resolution. Obviously the higher the resolution the better. Also you will need the VGA or DVI input on the LCD monitor (whichever your video card supports although you can get an adapter from one to the other). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I have a computer hooked up to my Rear Projection LCD, which is a bit different than what you are doing. I use 1920x1080 resolution for movies and such, and 1280x720 for web browsing. I'm not really sure what my TV does with these resolutions, but they work. In your case, I'm sure the PC monitor has higher resolution than the LCD TV. Is the 30" a widescreen, too? Seems like a good price if so, but I haven't looked at LCDs in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 The problem with using a TV is that it's harder on your graphics card (unless of course the TV has VGA inputs). Depending on what you use the computer for, this may or may not be a mute issue. I would not recommend a TV display if you're going to be playing games or doing any kind of photo or video work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 ---------------- On 1/21/2005 9:10:11 PM DrWho wrote: The problem with using a TV is that it's harder on your graphics card (unless of course the TV has VGA inputs). Depending on what you use the computer for, this may or may not be a mute issue. I would not recommend a TV display if you're going to be playing games or doing any kind of photo or video work. ---------------- True enough, although most forward projection systems have 15-pin WXGA inputs, and the vast majority of LCD and plasma TV's also employ them. As long as you get a card that can drive the widescreen-XGA, it's not much of an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 i brought the smasung 26 inch lcd monitor from bhphoto for a relative for about 1650. I dunno why you are getting a 23 for 1700? goto the website www.bhphotovideo.com and look for it, On quality, it is rather nice though I never saw it hooked up to a computer. the resolution i believe is 1024X1280 though which is pretty good. Edit: i just realized the samsung your talking about is a computer monitor, what I was talking about is a lcd tv that has a pc monitor adapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Why would it be hard on the video card to drive a TV or other device? Doesn't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 ---------------- On 1/22/2005 8:30:57 PM kenratboy wrote: Why would it be hard on the video card to drive a TV or other device? Doesn't make sense. ---------------- Because graphic cards are designed to drive the 15-pin XGA/WXGA. The additional outputs require a second processing stage that puts more strain on the card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 "Because graphic cards are designed to drive the 15-pin XGA/WXGA. The additional outputs require a second processing stage that puts more strain on the card." Sorry but that seems irrelevant to me. If the video card has been designed to deal with that mode there should be no problem. If the card has not been designed to deal with that situation it will simply not work in that mode or will default to the highest level mode which is designed to handle. In either event the video card will continue to chuff merrily along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNat Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 i install interactive displays at museums across the country. i have hooked up many different types of displays to computers. plasma/fp/rp/lcd. you have several options for connection if the display does not have a VGA or DVI input. there are vga to componant transcoders, VGA to RGBHV breakout cables... even ATI makes a DVI to componant adapter specifically for its radeon series cards. it may take some resolution tweaking, but i have never run across a HD display that i could not get to run well with a computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurencekarl Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 I will add one thing to what I said. The computer displays are as good as you are going to get and that is why they are more expensive. So if you want ultimate quality you are much better off paying for a computer LCD or TV equivalent even though you will sacrifice size. The size of the pixels, color, response time, etc. of the LCD make a difference. To get equal performance from a large LCD you would have to spend probably over $20K and need several processors to run it. What I would suggest is have a store hook a laptop or something to the TV that you are considering and see what you think. Pay special attention to text, try several sizes and types of fonts, also view images that you have seen on your pc monitor to see if you can stand the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 ---------------- On 1/23/2005 12:19:32 AM lynnm wrote: "Because graphic cards are designed to drive the 15-pin XGA/WXGA. The additional outputs require a second processing stage that puts more strain on the card." Sorry but that seems irrelevant to me. If the video card has been designed to deal with that mode there should be no problem. If the card has not been designed to deal with that situation it will simply not work in that mode or will default to the highest level mode which is designed to handle. In either event the video card will continue to chuff merrily along. ---------------- Video cards are designed to deal with many different modes and with many different software encodings and they do not perform at all equally for each one. Depending on the kind of software you're using, you may or may not experience the limitations of the hardware. However, when you're involved with applications that are pushing the limits (like gaming and photo/video editing), then you will become very annoyed with any drop in performace. Personal experience has made this very evident to me in all sorts of varied situations in the past. Btw, have you looked at the 23-inch Cinema HD Display from Apple ($1,800)? It has one of the best pictures I've ever seen...and it's big (especially sitting on the desk right in front of you): http://www.apple.com/displays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_shadow Posted January 23, 2005 Author Share Posted January 23, 2005 The reason why I brought this up is because I just moved to a smaller place and got rid of my 27" TV, and some other bulky items. I've had my eye on the Samsung 243T, Sony Premero?, and the Apple. I'm kind of waiting for the price to drop a bit around $1000-1200. Dell has awesome LCD monitors 19/20's for around $500. They will introduce a 24" soon with a MSRP of $1200 or so. This will make other manufacturers drop their prices. I don't know if any of you have visited the Dell site before X-mas but they were giving away LCD discounts like they were infected with the HIV. I think this was some sort of manuever to rid themselves of old stock, when the new wave of 24" LCD hits us (when 21's become standard). Regarding the Apple Cinema Display, I've only seen the older mocel that is fixed (non-adjustable) so I kicked it to the curb. But the new ones are adjustable (with optional kit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.