LCD Monitor vs LCD TV

smcclaw

I'm looking at getting a new monitor which will be used solely with my pc. I'm looking for something between 24" to 32" (probably at the lower end of this as ideally I'd like to stay under 800 euro). It will be used for watching movies and also spreadsheets and other applications but rarely for gaming.

My question is is there a difference between an LCD monitor and and LCD TV used as a PC monitor? Large LCD TVs seem to be better value than LCD monitors.

Anyone got any specific recommendations? I was looking at the following:

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=326556&view=detailed

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=323270&view=detailed

http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ie&l=en&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1&sku=59234

Any advice most welcome

8T8

The primary difference is in the resolution all those TV's max out at 1366x768 which is perfectly fine but pales in comparison to displays which have 1920x1200 resolution capabilities.

Of course actually using 1920x1200 is another matter as XP requires some tweaking in order for text/icons to be legible.

If you don't mind the lower resolution I'd probably go with the TV you can always use it as a TV

I have a Samsung HDTV so are some of my experiences;
VGA port & PC audio in allow easy setup
Puts TV into standby like computer monitor when PC's turns off (only over VGA connection)
Image quality is very good in general but not great from looking at certain angles
Desktop will not fill out the screen, computer resolution will be 1360x768 you can compensate for this but be prepared for tiny black bars at either side. You can of course force a custom res of 1366x768 to completely rectify this.

K.O.Kiki

Don't forget that you'd need a really high-end setup to play games at 1920x1200! (Yeah you can downgrade quality but who does that nowadays? :rolleyes: )
TV FTW

smcclaw

Thanks for the help all. Think will take the advice and go for the LCD TV so. Hopefully my x1300 card will give a decent pic. Cant wait to get it hooked up!