First of all, Mods, please feel free to move this if it's in the wrong place. Wasn't sure where to put it. Hi all, I'm in the market for a new main monitor for my PC, but i'd also like to be able to play my PS3 on it too. I know that a lot of monitors floating around these days have HDMI and DVI inputs but as I understand it PC's and PS3 resolutions general aren't great together. If possible, i'd also like it to have TV as there is an aerial socket in my study (I guess freeview HD or something similar then). Preferably i'd like it to be in the size range of 24" to 32" and wouldn't want to spend a lot over £200. I know it's probably quite a big ask, but i haven't had a foray into the monitor market for a long time. Thanks for any advice or abuse in advance
I think for this kind of thing, you're probably looking at a TV with a DVI input rather than a monitor with the described features...
Julian has a point in that this way it should be compatible with the PS3 and you get your required AV ports like the DVB-T/T2, however, that may bump the price up a bit if you do find a set with the tuner built in.
I would just go buy a TV from Richer Sounds or whoever your preferred retailer is. They'll all have HDMI sockets, so you just whack your PC into there. If you want, you could to run audio over HDMI from your PC, or buy a TV with a 3.5mm audio-in jack and do it that way. Bear in mind, though, that a PC doing 1080p over more than 24" can start to look a bit Fisher Price with big logos and text etc. It all depends how far away you intend to be when you use the PC. Certainly if you're sitting right in front of it I think 1080p across 32" would look a bit garish.
That's my concern to be honest. I don't want my PC suddenly looking really poor just to allow for the PS3 option. That's why I considered a smaller size. I don't want too lose too much quality on either front really, but it appears it's effectively a see-saw. Add to one, take from the other etc.
as said it will depend on how close you sit to your TV id say if its like a normal desk setup than 26" or less otherwise it will look grainy. If you are sitting in more of a living room style distance i.e. 1.5-2m away then 32" would be better. Also just make sure when you get the TV you set the input correctly. Most TVs will put the HDMI signal through its picture processing engine and make it look crap. On my samsung you have to manually switch the input type/label as PC which then produces 1:1 pixel mapping and gives a nice sharp image.
That's very interesting and duly noted, thank you! For reference i'll be sitting at a normal desk so I guess 26/27 is the max resolution I should be looking at.
The other option is putting a TV tuner card in your PC. That will allow you to get a better quality monitor.
