Please Don't Laugh at This Question

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da5id403

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Okay, I have a 28" "class" (27.5") monitor that is going out. I would like to get a 28" or even a 30" IPS panel monitor. Prices have come down for 27" budget IPS panels – $307 at Dell. It is hard to find 30 inch HDTV's now, but 32" are plentiful. Both the monitor and an HDTV have HDMI in and my Zotac Nvidia 250 GTS has an HDMI and DVI out.

If I were to purchase a 32" IPS LED LCD HDTV for general computing, would that work? I know the pixels might be slightly larger, but the price will probably be one-third of a 30" IPS LED LCD PC monitor.

Would this work? Any comments? Would big blobby pixels be the main downside? BTW, I know a lot of that these high price points are partly because the monitor's resolutions are 2550 x 1440. But almost every monitor vendor now sells a 27" 1920 by 1080 LED LCD for under $300 now that the antitrust lawsuits have had a chance to affect prices. And now quite a few vendors offer 27" LED IPS panels.


PS: the main reason I'm looking at a new monitor is my existing Hans G 27.5" non-LED LCD never did go to sleep after I bought my new computer a couple years ago with an MSI 7666 "Big Bang" X 58 mainboard and an Nvidia 250 display adapter. I move it over to my little Shuttle on a d-sub analog input and a sleeps just fine. However, it won't sleep under either the HDMI or the DVI output of my video card. The only two inputs the monitor has is HDMI and analog. I turn off every night. When I turn it on in the morning, sometimes absolutely nothing happens until I unplug the HDMI input on the monitor and put it back in while everything is running. (This is a brand-new DVI-D - HDMI cable.) I am loath to even try analog to analog on my i7 box.
 
I've used a 32", 37" and 52" HDTV as a PC monitor with the 32" and 37" actually on my desk when I used each.

Of course, as you already mentioned, the pixel pitch is the biggest downside. Having said that, it doesn't mean it will be a "big" deal to you. Some people have a problem with while others couldn't care less. While it may not look as nice as a 30" dedicated PC panel, being able to run at very high FPS on a large screen is quite nice. Immersion is definitely there.

Because the HDTV will only be 1080P than HDMI would work just fine.

What will you be using it for predominantly, gaming or other?
 
Look up 4:4:4 chroma sampling.

Short answer: yes it can work, as long as you do your research and pick a TV suited to the task.
 
The two main points of consideration are 4:4:4 chroma subsampling and input lag. You will notice half chroma resolution during desktop use and there basically isn't an HDTV out there with less than a frame of lag. Probably room for potential levels problems (16-235 vs 0-255) somewhere in there too.

Other than those, it's pretty much as you see it. Personally, the low DPI wouldn't bother me, but the necessary input lag would.
 
Arklight said:
I've used a 32", 37" and 52" HDTV as a PC monitor with the 32" and 37" actually on my desk when I used each.

Of course, as you already mentioned, the pixel pitch is the biggest downside. Having said that, it doesn't mean it will be a "big" deal to you. Some people have a problem with while others couldn't care less. While it may not look as nice as a 30" dedicated PC panel, being able to run at very high FPS on a large screen is quite nice. Immersion is definitely there.

Because the HDTV will only be 1080P than HDMI would work just fine.

What will you be using it for predominantly, gaming or other?
Click to expand...

Alas, other. Lots of text.
 
wabbitseason said:
Look up 4:4:4 chroma sampling.

Short answer: yes it can work, as long as you do your research and pick a TV suited to the task.
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroma_subsampling

Well, about the only thing I got out of that was a finally understand what a comb filter is. Well, at least what it is supposed to accomplish.

I may have to rely on a generous return policy and just try one out. Thanks for your input, everyone. It seems like the answers may be, depends which you need out of a monitor, or what you think you need.
 
Nihilanth99 said:
The two main points of consideration are 4:4:4 chroma subsampling and input lag. You will notice half chroma resolution during desktop use and there basically isn't an HDTV out there with less than a frame of lag. Probably room for potential levels problems (16-235 vs 0-255) somewhere in there too.

Other than those, it's pretty much as you see it. Personally, the low DPI wouldn't bother me, but the necessary input lag would.
Click to expand...

I am trying to trade up. Poor resolution is really noticeable when text is very small. On the other hand, I use some browser extensions and OS settings to avoid both small text and my computer spectacles – reading glasses for about 2 feet distances.

This input lag stuff sounds ominous. I'll definitely have to look into that, maybe even find out what it means. :)
 
da5id403 said:
I am trying to trade up. Poor resolution is really noticeable when text is very small. On the other hand, I use some browser extensions and OS settings to avoid both small text and my computer spectacles – reading glasses for about 2 feet distances.

This input lag stuff sounds ominous. I'll definitely have to look into that, maybe even find out what it means. :)
Click to expand...

Fast explanation of input lag:

The time between the moment when an image is send to the monitor and the moment the monitor actually starts to display it. Mainly due to scalers/osd and other artifacts, an image is processed inside the monitor before it actually being displayed. This amount of time, despite the fact that manufacturers don't bother to make an option to disable input lag completely by using a dedicated button that would disable osd/scaler/etc, it will cause problems especially in fps games, as the general feeling would be that the image follows your movement after an amount of time. When you will shake your mouse left-right for 3 4 times, the input lag will become obvious, as you will still see the image going left by the time your hand already moves right. That is the best way to notice it and to make the difference between poor fps and input lag, as the most common mistake is that people that get used to poor fps in a game, will perceive the input lag as poor fps.

Hope I helped a bit.
 
When it comes to input lag I think one thing people don't realize is that an IPS panel with 20ms input lag vs. a TN panel with 5ms are still going to feel roughly the same for most end-users. While some can't handle 27" 1440p screens due to input lag, I find it feels non-existent. It's usually up to the person to decide what they can/cannot handle when it comes to the latency.

Also, monitors with more connectors/upscaling/etc. will have higher input lagg, and TV's are known for having some of the worst lag of all. If I were you, and I were looking for something in the $300 range, I'd look at one of the korean 27" 1440p monitors on ebay. You get a great IPS panel, cheap price, and usually the input lag is pretty low/average for what you get so there isn't too much to worry about.
 
27" 1440p IPS koreans are excellent value, but are not for low tech level users- they need dual link dvi connections and have a very high failure rate. these are a deal breaker for most regular users.:(
27" 1080p AMVA panels from benq and philips are a great option if the user do not intend to play first person shooting games, offering deeper blacks and far less input lag than most tv sets.
But for watching movies and casual gaming a 32" TV can and will work good enough for most users.
But dont be mistaken- 30" 1600 is worth every penny in size, resolution and image quality- once you go big you never go back:D
 
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