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Explain this argument AGAINST using a TV as a computer monitor


E-66

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My current widescreen monitor is somewhere between 20-23" with 1980 x 1080 native resolution.  My parents' monitor just died so they're currently using a 17" CRT (fun!!!).  I can order them a new monitor, but I've also been considering giving them mine and getting a 40-43" LCD/LED TV to use as a monitor.  Who knows, maybe even a little bigger than that since they can be had for under $350.

I Googled about using an TV as a computer monitor, and all the info I read basically said the same thing.  That is, if you go from a typical size PC monitor to a large LCD/LED TV with the same resolution, you'll have the same number of pixels, but they'll be much less densely concentrated, so things will look pixilated when you're sitting the same distance away from it.  [emphasis mine]

I understand that, but I'm not interested in sitting the same distance away.  My reason for considering getting a bigger monitor in the first place is so I can get further away from it and have things look the same, not so I can get more stuff on the screen at one time.  I'm fine with 1980 x 1080.  Screen real estate was at a premium back when I was using a 640 x 480 14" CRT.  That monitor practically had noseprints on it because I was so close to it.  That's not the case anymore.

It just seems strange to me that none of the info I read mentioned being able to sit further away from the screen when using a large screen TV as a monitor.  It all specifically mentioned how things would look pixilated when you're sitting the same distance from it as you would a smaller PC monitor.

Am I missing something here?  Is there any reason I shouldn't consider doing this?

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Your choice, I guess. 720p/1080p TV's are the #of pixels (AFAIK) and a bit furthe away would be just fine (AFAICT).

 

BTW, siad thsi before and say it again. The WWW is rif with misinfomation. Only suckers believe everything that's out there. The smart consumer (whoever) tries to get facts, not opinion. Now what's that old canard about opinions? Hmmm...

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I use a TV as a monitor, it's a 32 inch Toshiba LCD and I've never noticed that problem. Although I would recommend sitting a bit further away because it'll hurt your eyes after a while if you're too close. But I've never noticed any pixelation or other strange occurrences. The only thing is, you can't have a small resolution on it. So for example, you can crank up a 20inch monitor to 1680x1050 or whatever it is...but with such a big TV, like mine, it only goes up to 1360x768. So that's a bit of a drawback if you're looking for using a higher resolution.

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A, Just be reasonable. Hook your display to your parents computer, Ask them how it looks. Ask them what are there routine tasks. Remember the display is going to be HD and is going to look sharper with higher resolutions. However certain programs/apps will look tiny and out of focus. Why is this important? because you do not want to buy a display that is blurred at the resolution your parents look at. Unless they like using pixel imagery.

B. Buy a better display and give them that display

C. Keep your original display.

D. Do not be cheap with parents.

E. If you have to purchase a TV display get a SONY 20". At least it is top dollar ( in my opinion ).

1. Your parents should just get the same kind of display they had before. In fact I looking for my old DELL Display ( it was petite but big ) and had to throw it out due to infestation issues. Of course I have my old monitors, that recently died ( but could still power up ). Again those things give off heat like crazy. So again in my opinion I would just save money and rebuy the same monitor.

2. WHY NOT A TV DISPLAY AS MONITOR? Because

1. It has a tuner inside which can give off high frequency noise. I have one of these piece rubbish/garbage displays ( not by choice but by force ) and it hurts my head and gives me headaches. However while I still hear the noise, because it is always on, I slowly lose the ability to hear these sounds. So I do not know if I have a headache or if the display is giving off sounds. Again high frequency noise ( usually from the tuner portion of the display/tv.

3. Why not flatscreens? Well while resolutions are really nice the problem is the finess of the display image. Meaning how sharp it is. With HD and 4K displays the image also needs to be HD or 4k for it to display sharp. On regular CRT/Monitors they can displayed a blurred image and make it look sharp.

I have an Apple Display right now ( in fact I have two variants of the same display ). The Apple display makes my high end imagery looks great but only when it is on the highest setting otherwise everything looks like crap. Apple computer monitors from the G4 era had regular CRT ( which I would push you to get one day ).

In my opinion if you had everything at HD resolution or looking to use photo-shop you would need one of these displays.

4. After experiencing high frequency garbage I would order all my flat panels from some company in Europe or Asia and lie to them and say it is for presentations and Photoshop work. If Zenith made displays only I would go to them. It is impossible to find a good display without having tuner crap or smart crap.

Displays that are not tvs are the best option no matter what. If you want to get a 40" for 17.50 cents then by all means do so, but it will suck. Especially if it has automatic log-off bs.

I NEED A MONITOR THAT WORKS LIKE A MONITOR

Edited by ROTS
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Well E-66, this is what I can say.

3 Months back I wanted 4k and thus I bought a 500 USD 4k TV. I was using a 23" Dell IPS and so I was a bit picky on the new 4k screen. The new screen is VA and thus it won't show the colors as nice as the IPS under every angle, however, black is black and the VA does a better job than the IPS I had. The new screen is made by Samsung, its 40" and thus comparable with a 27" "2.5k" screen. I play games on it as well, windowed at "2.5k". Downside is that I need to get my display port to HDMI to have the 60Hz refresh rate, but that aside.

The TV has a PC setting, this disables all the smart and tuner stuff when it's activated. Color I have calibrated with my AMD video card settings as gray was a bit pink. Fonts are set at 150% and I'm sitting 2.5' / 76cm from the screen. The top of the screen I have a bit above eye-sight but this will change when I make my VESA stand that I can put behind my desk. With the stand I can lower the top of my screen to eye-sight height.

If you go this way, make sure your PC has the video output for 4k, I would not recommend 1080p at a 4k screen. Get not the cheapest 4k TV. I could only get Samsung here at 40" and the housing isn't that great compared with the Sony´s that have mostly aluminium bezels (I wanted those, but there were no 40"). I would also stay with a 40" and forget larger screens unless you are sitting at least 3-4' / 92-123cm from them.

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Why would the PC need a 4k output to run on a TV with 1920 x 1080 resolution???

 

My whole point in considering this is so I can sit further away from the screen.  I don't have a timetable for doing this, so I don't mind spending some time researching things.

 

I'm currently sitting 43" away from my 27" monitor (which I mistakenly identified as 20-23" in the first post in this thread).

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This is why I said "if you go this way", like I did, as I wrote above. You don't need 2160p output to use your 1080p. I was only trying to explain my experiences, sorry if it wasn’t useful for you but someone else might see it different.

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