is using a tv for a monitor a bad idea?

gabzor

Weaksauce
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Nov 20, 2011
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my g220fb is starting to take a dump.. i was planning on selling my tv (Panasonic TC-L42U25 LCD tv with HDMI ports) can i just use it as a monitor instead? or am i better off selling it and getting a cheapish sub 300ish ips/va panel

i'm worried cause the viewing distance mostly, and the resolutions i'm going to have to push

i run a gigabyte 6850
 
You can do it but text won't be nearly as sharp for web page viewing. I'm not saying its blurry, it really depends on the quality of the TV, but you will notice a difference. I read webpages occasionally on my 67" HDTV using my HTPC, but I can't do it for too long before it starts to fatigue my eyes. Its not bad though for 10-15 minutes here and there.
 
I've used a 42" westinghouse 1080p lcd tv for about 10yrs now

It works great, I sit roughly 5ft from it, run my games in 1080p everything works great

and gnomes are lifesize on it ;)
 
turn on windows 7 cleartype fonts, websites are just as clear as on my notebook
 
my viewing distance is only about 2ft from my current crt haha..

but i mean eyestrain must be better than my crt..
 
Whether you enable cleartype or not, the dot pitch of a larger LCD screen is just going to be much larger at the same resolution as a monitor. While it sounds like some of you don't mind giving up some sharpness of your text, its still not going to be as good as reading text on a monitor.
 
Seconded on depending on quality of the TV. I myself use a Sharp Aquos 32" 1080P set on one of the video settings that doens't dynamic adjust the backlight to 'increase' the contrast. Works great -- I've been using for probably 8 years like that. Never had a problem with it. Text is crystal clear. I work about... oh... 6 to 8 feet away from the monitor?

let me tell you -- working in Fruity Loops is full of win on such a large monitor.
 
not a bad idea at all. im sitting on my couch writing this while using a 42" lcd tv thats about 6ft away.

i had a 37" hooked up to my obutto and it worked well even 3 feet away.
 
I was using a 32" TV as a monitor for about 1.5 years, five years ago, then moved up to a 40" without moving further away from my desk. I highly recommend it.

I'm also moving in two weeks, and will be using a wall-mounted 55" LCD as my only screen, meaning both TV AND computer. For the first time ever, I'll be sitting more than 3' away from my screen.
 
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