Stereodude
Not really a
Did you ever get one? I'm thinking I want more pixels than 1920x1200.
Televisions as monitors: What are you using, and why?
- Thread starter Santilli
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Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
No, and the newer 30" Dell model with scaler suffers from shocking input lag:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4070/dell-u3011-review-dells-new-30-inch-flagship/7
If money weren't an object the NEC PA301w looks like a winner, too much for me at $2300:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4196/nec-pa301w-review-the-baddest-30-inch-display
Though at this point in time I won't be buying anything that doesn't support 120Hz input via HDMI for 3D support.
time
Storage? I am Storage!
I ogled a Dell U2711 just the other day; it was pretty impressive. The U2410 next to it paled in comparison. Locally, you can get one for as little as $700. I really, really, really doubt that you can buy anything else anywhere near that good for that kind of money.
time
Storage? I am Storage!
BTW, it manages okay without LED backlighting.
Stereodude
Not really a
3D is a total gimmick. Hollywood can cram it where the sun doesn't shine.
Stereodude
Not really a
Well I don't know about him. I had no interest in the Star Wars or Raider of Lost Arks or whatever series. I hope my surgeons don't go half blind or nauseous from watching the 3D. :lol:
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Ordered a 50" Panasonic ST30 plasma, 3D here I come!
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
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I don't see it. It's one thing to be go to a movie, and watch a 3D movie, it's another to sit in front of a monitor, or TV, and fool your brains concept of depth perception, with no knowledge of the long term effects.
I've tried the various setups at Costco, and, been seriously underwhelmed. Some of the Blu-rays I've got are pretty close to 3D in depth on the Vizio 37" already.
I'm not real convinced that 120MHZ is much more then a marketing gimic.
Even if you have 120MHZ, you need drivers and Nvidia testing to work with their 3D, and, that means Mitsubishi.
I've tried the various setups at Costco, and, been seriously underwhelmed. Some of the Blu-rays I've got are pretty close to 3D in depth on the Vizio 37" already.
I'm not real convinced that 120MHZ is much more then a marketing gimic.
Even if you have 120MHZ, you need drivers and Nvidia testing to work with their 3D, and, that means Mitsubishi.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
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This looks like a great deal:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
500 bucks, 37" these have been the TV's with the 10 bit screens.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
500 bucks, 37" these have been the TV's with the 10 bit screens.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
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Good. I'll stay with mine till they get the stuff sorted out...
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
3D can harm developing eyes. It's not recommended for under 2s and watch them till 5 and older. Mine are 10+ so no issues there.
ddrueding
Fixture
Then just watch your regular TV cross-eyed and pretend 
Honestly, I don't feel 3D contributes significantly yet. Give me some real VR goggles and some decent content and we'll talk.
Honestly, I don't feel 3D contributes significantly yet. Give me some real VR goggles and some decent content and we'll talk.
Most content sucks in any format.
But hey, I added 3 new LCD TVs in less than two months. That's as modern as I get.
I have not tried to use one as a monitor. I would not have a place to put one that is not too close.
But hey, I added 3 new LCD TVs in less than two months. That's as modern as I get.
I have not tried to use one as a monitor. I would not have a place to put one that is not too close.
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
At 60+ my brain doesn't work fast enough to process two seperate fuzzy images into one. :-D
Stereodude
Not really a
So, I'm on the fence about purchasing a Dell U2711. There is coupon right now that takes it down to $825 w/ free shipping (but 6% sales tax ). It's been cheaper before, but not in the past 6 months or so. The forthcoming Samsung SA850 sounds interesting with PLS, but I think it's a glossy monitor and I don't do glossy.
). It's been cheaper before, but not in the past 6 months or so. The forthcoming Samsung SA850 sounds interesting with PLS, but I think it's a glossy monitor and I don't do glossy.Stereodude
Not really a
So, apparently the SA850 is not glossy. But, it's LED edgelit which wouldn't be my first choice. Of course it's not out yet, so it's all still sort of nebulous.
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
Just purchased a Samsung SyncMaster P2770. It's great.
time
Storage? I am Storage!
The specs say that's a TN panel with a claimed 160° vertical viewing angle.
I don't think I could live with the color inversion crap on such a large screen - my head would almost never be in the right place.
I don't think I could live with the color inversion crap on such a large screen - my head would almost never be in the right place.
ddrueding
Fixture
So, I'm on the fence about purchasing a Dell U2711. There is coupon right now that takes it down to $825 w/ free shipping (but 6% sales tax
That is a great looking screen, I've been happy with all my Dell UltraSharp monitors. I want one of those for home, but don't think I could justify it at the moment.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
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I was at Costco today and learned a bit. The lady was thrilled to death with the Panasonic 50 inch Plasma for about 649., and the 52 inch with 3D support for about 800.00
She argued the refresh rate was so very fast, faster then 120hz,
and the screen was pretty much unbreakable.
Also, she mentioned Toshiba is making LCD/LED tvs with 14 bit
screens, versus Vizios 10 bit screens for 120Hz panels.
The saving grace I have for the P2770 is the dynamic setting, which takes it to black when not in use, and adjusts very well to whatever I'm doing on it. Important for a second monitor.
I wonder how two P2770's would work flanking the 37" Vizio,
using a 3 TV setup? What video card would one use to drive three screens these days?
She argued the refresh rate was so very fast, faster then 120hz,
and the screen was pretty much unbreakable.
Also, she mentioned Toshiba is making LCD/LED tvs with 14 bit
screens, versus Vizios 10 bit screens for 120Hz panels.
The saving grace I have for the P2770 is the dynamic setting, which takes it to black when not in use, and adjusts very well to whatever I'm doing on it. Important for a second monitor.
I wonder how two P2770's would work flanking the 37" Vizio,
using a 3 TV setup? What video card would one use to drive three screens these days?
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
52" plasma with 3d for $800? Watch out, they might be 720p panels. Pony up for 1080p.
time
Storage? I am Storage!
8 bits per color channel is adequate for photographs and more than enough for video. 10 bits allows smoother rendering where one color predominates, eg sky. Most people aren't going to notice.
14 bits is for scanners, where they process the image before you even get to see it. Also helps with grayscales. No idea what the point is with display monitors or TVs, although HDMI has a 16-bits per channel mode. I've read that it can help meet gamma profiles, but that would only be an issue if your panel was intrinsically poor in this regard to start with.
14 bits is for scanners, where they process the image before you even get to see it. Also helps with grayscales. No idea what the point is with display monitors or TVs, although HDMI has a 16-bits per channel mode. I've read that it can help meet gamma profiles, but that would only be an issue if your panel was intrinsically poor in this regard to start with.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I don't have very much to add, but at this point every monitor I have that is not a TV is a Dell Ultrasharp. My particular 27" Ultrasharp has been out of production for a while though.
Stereodude
Not really a
I think I will hold off on buying the Dell for now. It's not a spectacular deal, and the Samsung SA850 is close enough to market that it's probably worth waiting to see how it stacks up.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
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"52" plasma with 3d for $800? Watch out, they might be 720p panels. Pony up for 1080p. "
They are 1080, but out of stock. LCD/LED are dropping the prices big time on the plasmas. They are cool, use little energy, and weigh a ton.
I'm not really convinced LED edgelit is really that great yet. LCD's seem very good. I'm going to keep watching prices...Our costco manager will take a return,
drop the price a couple hundred dollars, and put it back on the floor, and sell it as open box, with the same warranty.
Waiting to see if I can find one of those...
They are 1080, but out of stock. LCD/LED are dropping the prices big time on the plasmas. They are cool, use little energy, and weigh a ton.
I'm not really convinced LED edgelit is really that great yet. LCD's seem very good. I'm going to keep watching prices...Our costco manager will take a return,
drop the price a couple hundred dollars, and put it back on the floor, and sell it as open box, with the same warranty.
Waiting to see if I can find one of those...
ddrueding
Fixture
Also make sure it is 1080p. 1080i is no better than 720p.
ddrueding
Fixture
Samsung Series 6 6000 32" = piece of crap.
I have it side-by-side with my cheap ASUS VW246 24", and the Samsung is unusable.
1. Doesn't have 1920x1080 pixels. If you set the screen to "16x9" and give it 1920x1080 it runs way over on the sides. According to the nVidia scaling program, it is closer to 1850x975. If you set the TV to "fit" mode the scaling is obvious, and makes even large text painful to look at.
2. Nasty pixel pitch. Not really pitch per se, but the pixels are tiny, and the space between them massive. Almost as bad as plasma screens, like tiny lightbulbs evenly spaced on a black background. Your eyes can easily distinguish the grid, and it is distracting.
3. Terrible color quality. I don't have my X-Rite i1 with me, but it is clearly massively wrong. There is no vignetting, it is evenly wrong all across the screen.
More complaints are coming, I'm sure, but this will do for now.
I have it side-by-side with my cheap ASUS VW246 24", and the Samsung is unusable.
1. Doesn't have 1920x1080 pixels. If you set the screen to "16x9" and give it 1920x1080 it runs way over on the sides. According to the nVidia scaling program, it is closer to 1850x975. If you set the TV to "fit" mode the scaling is obvious, and makes even large text painful to look at.
2. Nasty pixel pitch. Not really pitch per se, but the pixels are tiny, and the space between them massive. Almost as bad as plasma screens, like tiny lightbulbs evenly spaced on a black background. Your eyes can easily distinguish the grid, and it is distracting.
3. Terrible color quality. I don't have my X-Rite i1 with me, but it is clearly massively wrong. There is no vignetting, it is evenly wrong all across the screen.
More complaints are coming, I'm sure, but this will do for now.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
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I'm on my 4th or 5th 27" Samsung Monitor.
So far, at Costco the Price has dropped from 320 to 259.00. This last one P2770 with 1ms
is fine for a second monitor.
Had a scare at Costco today. The entire shelf was filled with generation 3 A350 27" monitors, except for one. The A350 had no price, but, it appears the 350 is supposed to indicate the price, since that's what they charged me.
I went back and got the last one at 259.00.
The starline "buttons" are better on this one then others.
Dynamic contrast nearly turns the monitor black, making it so dark you can't read the folders, if they are only a couple on that screen. That is perfect for me, since I don't want it on when watching a movie or TV show on the Vizio.
Getting tempted by Plasmas. The LG 50" is 550, 1080P, and the Panasonic 50" 720 is 600. 600mhz refresh, I wonder if it's stand alone if you can notice the difference from LED, and, if you can brighten up the settings
on the plasmas to make them appear brighter, since the default, at least at costco, is a bit less bright then the LED or LCD tvs?
So far, at Costco the Price has dropped from 320 to 259.00. This last one P2770 with 1ms
is fine for a second monitor.
Had a scare at Costco today. The entire shelf was filled with generation 3 A350 27" monitors, except for one. The A350 had no price, but, it appears the 350 is supposed to indicate the price, since that's what they charged me.
I went back and got the last one at 259.00.
The starline "buttons" are better on this one then others.
Dynamic contrast nearly turns the monitor black, making it so dark you can't read the folders, if they are only a couple on that screen. That is perfect for me, since I don't want it on when watching a movie or TV show on the Vizio.
Getting tempted by Plasmas. The LG 50" is 550, 1080P, and the Panasonic 50" 720 is 600. 600mhz refresh, I wonder if it's stand alone if you can notice the difference from LED, and, if you can brighten up the settings
on the plasmas to make them appear brighter, since the default, at least at costco, is a bit less bright then the LED or LCD tvs?
ddrueding
Fixture
Besides the image quality issues with plasma is the massive power consumption.
I'm currently torn between these for my main home computer. I do actually want HDMI to the monitor and a headphone jack on the screen itself, but I should wait until I've sobered up before I actually buy anything.
I'm currently torn between these for my main home computer. I do actually want HDMI to the monitor and a headphone jack on the screen itself, but I should wait until I've sobered up before I actually buy anything.
Stereodude
Not really a
It has 1920x1080 pixels. You need to find the mode on the TV that gives 1:1 pixel mapping instead of overscan.
ddrueding
Fixture
there isn't one. believe me, I'm familiar with that setting. the options are:
16x9
4x3
fit
dynamic 1
dynamic 2
i tried them all.
Bleh, they are 16:9 with very small pixel pitch. Why not get a proper 30" monitor?
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
My gut feeling is that:
1. The EDID information from the TV is fubar, hence the card can't set the right mode.
2. The gfx card, doesn't understand the latest version of EDID, which the TV may be giving out.
To confirm 1, can you dump the EDID information and see if 1920x1080 modes are present? For the 2nd, update the video drivers and/or video BIOS.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
The fact that they cost five times more than a 30" TV might have something to do with it.
My Sharp TV takes a 1920x1200 input and apparently squishes it a little to display on 1920x1080 pixels. But the TV definitely accepts the video mode.