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Displays why buy a monitor over a TV?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Cleggmeister, 12 Feb 2014.

  1. Cleggmeister

    Cleggmeister Of reasonable knowledge...

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    Greetings chums,

    I'm looking for a bigger display, something around 36" would be grand. I run at 1920*1200 and plan to sit a few feet back as this will be for watching streamed video, Sky Go and the like.

    Is there any point spending more for a monitor when I can get a decent telly for c£250?

    Many thanks.

    Cleggy.
     
  2. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    Monitors *usually* [but not always] have better panels than a similar sized TV, 'better' in this case refers to colour reproduction, contast and in most cases the back-light...

    Also a lot of cheap 'HD' tvs are only 1366x768 opposed to 1920x1080
     
  3. theshadow2001

    theshadow2001 [DELETE] means [DELETE]

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    Well if it's just for media consumption I'm not sure there's any reason not to go with a TV.
     
  4. hamza_tm

    hamza_tm Modder

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    The delay. I personally don't buy the picture quality argument, but then again I haven't exactly tested a host of monitors and TVs side by side so don't listen to me on that score.

    Anyway, the major issue for me was always delay. TV's have monstrousousitiness grade delay as a rule, whereas monitors are usually much snappier for games and such. Resolution used to be a second problem but nowadays 1080p TV's have solved that issue. Just confirm the res of the model you are interested in beforehand.

    If you aren't gaming or aren't bothered about the delay then sure, go for a telly.
     
  5. law99

    law99 Custom User Title

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    Yeah.... for instance, my TV, which was generally well reviewed at the time is perfectly acceptable apparently with 60ms of delay. How do I know it is 60? because I a) had to set my av receiver to match it by delaying the sound and b) it's in the freaking menu. My mate kept saying when I first used it in another flat "but when we watch tv it is in synch. It has to be your receiver that is at fault." I did the usual shrug and maybe... dug around in the sound menu and there it was, staring me in the face... they enable sound delay in the menu so people won't notice. It was set to 60ms.

    If gaming, you basically have to rely on the fact that there might be a game mode to compensate. I think I was playing morrowind on it also and could really tell.
     
  6. Sentinel-R1

    Sentinel-R1 Chaircrew

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    Most decent TVs have a game mode these days. My Panasonic Viera LED panel has an option to apply the game mode to specific inputs and only those inputs - so when you change to HDMI3 for example, it clicks into game mode for that input, changing back when I go back to HDMI1 for TV. I believe modern Samsung panels also have a 'per input' game mode too. Not sure about the rest.

    I've got a little Steambox connected up to the Viera for controller enabled gaming and I can honestly say I don't notice any lag; however, I've got a mate who has a similar setup with an older Sony panel and it's very noticeable - so do your research on the latency of the screen you're looking at. Most manufacturers will provide a latency figure for the game mode setting in milliseconds if it's worth shouting about. If they don't, steer clear for your purposes as you'll be out of pocket and no better off than you are now.
     
  7. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Just to reference the OP, can you get a 36" 1080p Viera with 3 HDMI ports and "game mode" for 250 quid?
     
  8. lysaer

    lysaer Suck my unit! Kirk lazarus (2008)

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    TV panels are designed to be viewed from a distance and pc monitors are designed to be viewed close up, you say you run at 1920*1200 currently, so you must have a fairly decent 24" monitor. If it were me I'd keep the monitor for gaming then get a TV for watching video, hell if you got a blank wall and the space you can pick up some pretty decent 1080 short throw projectors nowadays for 450ish

    I believe the optimum is when the device occupies a 40
    degree viewing angle of the viewer, I can't remember where I read that it was a few years ago when I was installing the projector

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
    Last edited: 12 Feb 2014
  9. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    I used my 42" LG tv for about 2 years. never had any problems with blurring, delays or anything untoward. As long as it's a decent tv then yeh it'll be fine. but you'll be hard pressed to get a decent tv for £250.
     
  10. rollo

    rollo Modder

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    Mostly just cost, decent tvs start at the £400 mark. Decent monitor can be sub £150 if your only after 22-24 inch screen.

    What I would always say with a tv is try before you buy if possible vist currys view some tvs note down there model numbers. Then price check.

    Buying cheap usually results in buying it twice.

    Also depends on what your watching 60ms on a fast action movie is not really great to view.
     
  11. GeorgeStorm

    GeorgeStorm Aggressive PC Builder

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    As others have said, for watching media then a TV is fine, although I'm also with them in wondering where you can get a 'decent' TV for £250 at that size, fullhd etc.
     
  12. Instagib

    Instagib Minimodder

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    Unfortunately all decent TV sets now come with smart functions and wireless connectivity (pushing up the price) which offer absolutely nothing If you're hooking it up to a media pc. You will struggle to find anything worth writing home about at the £250 price point.

    My Samsung looks terrible sitting in Windows. It's all very grainy and looks washed out. Gaming is pretty poor too with ghosting being the norm. But stick up some 1080p content and it looks stunning.

    Also, if you do go for a TV, get it from John Lewis. 5 year warranty is market leading. And they price match bricks 'n' mortar stores.
     
  13. law99

    law99 Custom User Title

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    Is that with the 5year warranty though? I've tried to use their "never knowingly over paid" mantra before and had the 5 year warranty be the reason they've wriggled out of it.
     
  14. Instagib

    Instagib Minimodder

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    Who did you speak to? Someone on the department, a manager or someone in customer support? I'd play them off each other because, as long as it's the same model down to the model number, then the warranty shouldn't come into it. It didn't for me.
     
  15. Cleggmeister

    Cleggmeister Of reasonable knowledge...

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    I get trade prices and have no need for warranties etc.
     
  16. mucgoo

    mucgoo Minimodder

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  17. AlienwareAndy

    AlienwareAndy What's a Dremel?

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    I've always found that TVs do not a proper monitor make. Don't get me wrong, for gaming on a TV is absolutely fine if you sit back enough but sitting with one a few inches from your face just doesn't work. Firstly they tend to have odd resolutions due to overscan/underscan (I forget which now) which means you need to resize the desktop. Easy on Nvidia, not tried on AMD.

    However the quality just isn't the same. They tend to either be a bit gritty or a bit fuzzy on the text.
     

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