50Hz PC Monitor?

cmac

Does anyone know of a decent PC monitor (preferably HDMI) that has an internal frame rate of 50Hz (or 100Hz)? None of the usual etailers make this info obvious.
I have no need for a TV, or a TV license, but I'll be sharing this monitor with someone who want a mythtv system and I'd like it to be capable of the best possible picture quality.
Thanks.

watty

Myth TV needs a TV licence.

One licence covers a whole dwelling.


50Hz PC monitors are like hen's teeth. Most are 60 FPS on 1920 x 1080, which looks rubbish with European TV.

Easier to find 75Hz or 100Hz, but one that does those refresh rates at 1920x1080p are not cheap. But it's a huge load on PC GFX to do 1920x1080 @ 75Hz or 100Hz

The only economical solution is a TV screen with HDMI. Note that many TV screens don't do 1920x1080 @50p on VGA properly but only on HDMI. weird.

cmac

Thanks Watty. I know Myth will need a license, but the Myth box will be at a mates house, whereas I want a PC monitor only for PC work. For extended periods I'll not be using it and would be happy for him to have the use of the monitor rather than leave it mothballed.
Any leads on specific models?
Interesting info about the VGA input, btw. A deliberate attempt to kill off VGA?

watty

No, I think it's just because VGA at 50Hz is very rare. Especially on older VGA only cards. PC graphics is ultimately derived from USA NTSC. CGA, EGA and VGA. Standard 640 x 480 VGA is "square pixel" progressive US Video.

I've only seen 768 x 576 50fps (Progressive square pixel 4:3 Euro video) supported as a standard mode once on a screen.

Most Graphics Cards only properly do 16:9 HD 1920 x 1080 50p and often are 60p by default and need a custom entry. Doing 1920 x 1080 25i 50Hz or 720 x 576i (25 fps 50Hz) on a PC is nearly impossible, whereas every SD DVD player and Setbox is 720 x 576i (25 fps 50Hz).

PC use:
Also usually you want a 17" or 19" screen with ideally 1600x 1200 or 1680 x 1260 4:3 or 1920 x 1200 or better WS (16:9) as larger is too big for good reading distance unless it's higher resolution and A4 documents (DTP, Word, PDFs) need at least 1200 lines. Ideally you want 70Hz to 100Hz refresh.

TV viewing:
Only 1920 x 1080 makes any sense. For best quality it should support 25fps 50Hz interlace and 50fps 50Hz progressive. Note ALL transmissions are 576i (25fps 50Hz) or 1080i (25fps 50Hz) and since all films are shot 24fps progressive, unlike USA there is no advantage to Progressive vs Interlace playback. The quality is identical. In USA the conversion from 24fps to 30fps 60Hz interlace creates comb artefacts that are not there in 60 fps progressive mode (though there are still conversion artefacts).

For TV viewing you want to be at least 2x the PC viewing distance and typically x5. So the screen for HD typically needs to be 36" minimum and for most living rooms about 42". Larger rooms (i.e. 2.5m viewing distance) need > 48", typically more than 56" for HD.

So using the same screen for PC work and TV is horrible compromise unless you only play games on PC and are sole viewer close up in a cramped bed sit on TV viewing as "TV HD" is quite low resolution for PC and PC screens are typically the size of smallest TV screens.

You'd be happier all round and maybe even save money getting a 17" PC screen and a 42" HD TV! The 42" TV will even typically have a Saorview & "Freeview HD" tuner for the price of a decent 17" PC monitor.

I've been using 1600x1200 on PC for more than 10 years. Also TV needs 16:9. For PC the 4:3 is actually more suitable, and you have to "go up" a size ( 15.6" vs 17" on Laptop) to have the same usability of Web browsing, photo editing, Programming, Spreadsheets, PDF and Word Documents etc going from 4:3 to 16:9. The only thing that 16:9 is an advantage for is video, and possibly some kinds of games.