Best HDTV to be Used as a Monitor (choice of a few)...

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ZenOne

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Hi, I'm currently looking for a 32" HDTV to be used as a computer monitor STRICTLY for gaming. I have a 24" ASUS for everything else, however, after reading through the posts in the 4:4:4 topic I am left confused (mostly because there were no 2012 models listed).

I am trying to choose between the following (listed in order of price--cheapest to most expensive):

Insignia 32" 720p 60Hz LCD HDTV (NS-32L120A13)
Toshiba 32" 720p 60Hz LCD HDTV (32C120U)
Panasonic VIERA 32" 720p 60Hz LCD HDTV (TCL32C5)
Insignia 32" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (NS-32E440A13)
LG 32” CS460 720p LCD HDTV (32CS460)
Samsung 32" 720p LCD TV LN32D403
Sony 32" 720p 60Hz LCD HDTV (KDL32BX330)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Don't get a 720p, the resolution shit, and you'll be trying to max out AA in every game you play in an effort to get rid of the jaggies. I'm currently using a Toshiba 37" 1080p as my sole monitor, it's pretty fun, but even still I'm yearning for a resolution higher than 1920x1080.
 
I don't want to go much bigger but it seems like if I want a full HD 1080p TV I will need to.
 
Price wise it seems like it would be better to get a larger 1080p TV. Most 1080p 32" TV's in my area run about $400-450--a 42" 1080p runs about $450-500.
 
I'm using this one right now, and I can honestly say it's great. Text is a little funky before you tune or turn off cleartype, and there is some IPS glow on the right side more than the left (seems to be common now days). But at about 30 inches from the screen, the glow becomes almost inperceptable.

I have had it for a week now, got into the service menu and got color that I am happy with, and will keep it. But Amazon is great, and you can just return or exchange with them (if you buy from their warehouse) and they wil pay return shipping as well.

It is a glossy screen, no bleed, and blacks can be as dark as you want, too dark with some settings. But it's not a computer monitor, so you will have to work to get good color and text, which is the case with most HDTVs over HDMI.

It really suprised me for an LED screen.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIE...TF8&colid=33CIZHRNR2T9F&coliid=I3A4FHEI6P1MXS

EDIT: Oh wow, it seems I got one of the last new ones, maybe they will come back in stock, they are a 2012 model I believe.
 
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Don't buy a 720p TV for use as a computer monitor. If you want to stick to 32", then get something like the Samsung UN32EH5000 or LG 32CS560. In the US, you can get that LG for $320.
 
Sadly I'm in Canada--that LG is around $430 here. I think I will buy a 42" for my living room and put my 40" Toshiba in my office (it is full 1080p). Like I said, it's strictly for gaming; I would never attempt to use one to read text--I have 2 other monitors for that (set up in Eyefinity).

I have a 32" 720p right now and I must admit it is underwhelming--it's also pretty old and glitches out on me thus the new TV.

Thanks though.
 
Would a Plasma be better for a living room (to watch movies and play a few games on my 360/PS3)? I sit roughly 10 feet away.
 
ZenOne said:
Would a Plasma be better for a living room (to watch movies and play a few games on my 360/PS3)? I sit roughly 10 feet away.
Click to expand...
IMO, unequivocally yes... at least if the room is dark. Plasmas aren't capable of high luminance like LCDs, and the cheapest models don't have anti-glare filters. So they aren't well-suited for a bright room. I'd stay away from the LG plasmas. Panasonic and Samsung plasmas are both excellent, but Samsung's seem more prone to problems and reliability issues (like excessive buzzing). FWIW, 10' is a very far viewing distance for a 42" display. It's far even for a 50", so I'd recommend getting at least that if you have the space and money for it. Good 50" 1080p plasmas start at about $650 - $700 in the US. It looks like the prices in Canada are more like $750 - $800. If that's too much, you may want to consider a 720p model. Personally, if I was sitting 10' away in a light-controlled room, I would rather have a good 50" 720p plasma than a 42" 1080p LCD. If you decide that an LCD is better for you, the 5000-series Samsung LCDs seem to be good for the money. I looked at one in a store, and the black level seemed surprisingly good.
 
Thanks a lot--my budget just became about $700-750 (talked the wife into it). I was looking at either of these 3 plasmas:

Samsung 51" 720p 600Hz Plasma HDTV (PN51E450A1FXZC)
Panasonic VIERA 50" 720p 600Hz Plasma HDTV (TCP50X5)
Samsung 51" 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV (PN51E530A3FXZC)

Would the above-mentioned TV's affect my gaming at all? I don't actually watch Blu-Ray's (I stream everything so I usually have the choice of 1080p or 720p) and I game mostly on the 360 (my PS3 has been relegated to Media Server via TVersity). Thanks again.
 
I haven't seen pro reviews for any 2012 720p plasma models, and haven't even looked at them in a store, so I don't know how they compare to their 1080p counterparts. In the past, Panasonic's 720p models had blacks levels that were higher than their 1080p models, but that may not be true in 2012. Also in the past, Samung's smaller (50/51") plasmas had higher black levels than their larger plasmas, but I don't know if that is still true either. Really, I don't know enough about those specific models to make a recommendation, but the PN51E530 is probably the safest bet. I'm biased towards Panasonic, but not to the point that I would feel comfortable recommending a 720p Panasonic over a 1080p Samsung. If the Panasonic TC-P50U50 was in the mix, I'd probably feel more comfortable recommending that, but I still wouldn't be able to say with authority that it is a better TV than the Samsung 530. You might want to ask this question in one of the home theater forums, like highdefjunkies or avsforum, although I don't think you'll find many people recommending 720p models over a 1080p model. A more natural comparison would be the 51" 530 and 6500 vs. the 50" U50 and UT50.
 
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