32" 1080p TV under $500?

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450

Fully [H]
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I've now decided that I want to use a 32" 1080p TV as a monitor. However, I only want to spend about $500 (if possible). Obviously, I'd prefer IPS and 8-10 bit panels but I'm not sure what's reasonable to ask for in this price bracket. Do any of you have any suggestions?

So far most of TV's I've seen are $600+.

Thanks!
 
PC Gaming? Sony and Samsung are the worst as far as input lag.

Panasonic/LG/Sharp does better as far as input lag goes depending on the model.
 
Nowadays with all the name brand 32" 1080P TV's on sale you can probably get yourself the perfect 32" TV/monitor for around $500. I'll agree with aZn_plyR about the Panasonic, LG and Sharp ideas, but Samsung has two or three models that work well as monitors also.

Not sure if you remember my recent LG 32LH30 thread, but for today newegg is having 10% cashback if you pay with Paypal (offer ends midnite tonite, PST), that would bring the price of the 32LH30 down to around $460 shipped.

Of course it'd be understandable if you didn't want to rush your purchase, and if that's the case then head over to AVS where they often discuss using TV's as monitors.

I've been debating on getting a 32" 1080P TV to use as a main monitor myself, i've convinced myself about 75% so far ;)
 
aZn_plyR said:
PC Gaming? Sony and Samsung are the worst as far as input lag.

Panasonic/LG/Sharp does better as far as input lag goes depending on the model.
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Are there any particular models you recommend under $500? I will play some PC games, but primary usage is word processing and such. I've used a 1080p 32" for regular work before, and I liked it very much.

SJetski71 said:
Nowadays with all the name brand 32" 1080P TV's on sale you can probably get yourself the perfect 32" TV/monitor for around $500. I'll agree with aZn_plyR about the Panasonic, LG and Sharp ideas, but Samsung has two or three models that work well as monitors also.

Not sure if you remember my recent LG 32LH30 thread, but for today newegg is having 10% cashback if you pay with Paypal (offer ends midnite tonite, PST), that would bring the price of the 32LH30 down to around $460 shipped.

Of course it'd be understandable if you didn't want to rush your purchase, and if that's the case then head over to AVS where they often discuss using TV's as monitors.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation, SJetski71. I've heard of that LG model but I want to learn about that model and others before I commit to anything.

Any other specific models under $500 you recommend?

I've been debating on getting a 32" 1080P TV to use as a main monitor myself, i've convinced myself about 75% so far ;)
Click to expand...

Do it! :)
 
If I were to get a 32" HDTV, I would get the LG32LH30. If I were to get a 37" HDTV, I would get the LG37LH30.

In essence, I would just get an LH30 Series LG. lol
 
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for anyone else that might be in same boat as us. Ive heard good things about the Panny's too.

32" panasonic with bing cash back@5% right now.(Walmart, 90 day return policy on Tv's)
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=13069335 Sorry link not working just go to Tv's filter results for 32" 1080p Panasonic

37" panasonic with bing cash back @8% right now.(Sears, not sure of return policy)http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...sName=View+All Sorry link not working just go to Tv's filter results for 37" 1080p Panasonic
 
dwilson041781: The 32" Panny is $480 on Amazon. Nearly $100 cheaper than Walmart.
 
(bump)

Anyone have any comparisons between the LG and the Panasonics?
 
450 said:
Is there a reason for the strong LG recommendation?
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Proven suitability as a PC monitor (low input lag etc), above average image quality when used as a TV (especially the s-ips, though i'm since read good stuff about the AUO MVA panels also), low price point. Mostly referring to the LH30 and LF11 series.

It is a sort of panel lottery between their s-ips panels and auo mva panels, going by the info on their website it appears you're not guaranteed either panel. Newegg may not take responsibility for misprints either.

Not sure if the auo mva panels are 6, 8 or 10 bit, i would hazard to guess at least 8 but i have no idea really, i've never heard anything about dithering if that's any consolation.

If i bump into anything interesting in the next few days on a suitable TV i'll post it here for ya.

Btw, i confused the LF11 and LH30 series a couple of times in my previous posts :eek:
 
mindspin said:
Just to toss my 2 cents in. Last week I bought this Vizio from Walmart.
http://www.walmart.com/Vizio-32-1080p-LCD-Java/ip/10778775

I almost didn't buy it because of the"java" color, but honestly you can really tell. It looks more like a dull black. I plan on using it for PC Gaming and some Xbox play.
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There are two or three 32" 1080P Vizio models. I recall people returning one model for another and liking it better as a monitor. Just can't remember what the better model(s) were. They are all discussed on AVS and other forums of course.

Costco usually has them on sale for a great price though, with 90 day returns and a free 2nd year costco warranty to boot.

Just a friendly heads up to the OP to keep up the research.
 
SJetski71 said:
There are two or three 32" 1080P Vizio models. I recall people returning one model for another and liking it better as a monitor. Just can't remember what the better model(s) were. They are all discussed on AVS and other forums of course.

Costco usually has them on sale for a great price though, with 90 day returns and a free 2nd year costco warranty to boot.

Just a friendly heads up to the OP to keep up the research.
Click to expand...

Not sure the differences either, but so far I'm enjoying it.
 
mindspin said:
Just to toss my 2 cents in. Last week I bought this Vizio from Walmart.
http://www.walmart.com/Vizio-32-1080p-LCD-Java/ip/10778775

I almost didn't buy it because of the"java" color, but honestly you can really tell. It looks more like a dull black. I plan on using it for PC Gaming and some Xbox play.
Click to expand...

I actually have this monitor right now too, Its really good on ps3 and seems pretty good on Pc gaming, but I did notice some sort of ghosting/trailing when playing Battlefield 2, but O man its pretty damn sweet for having so much real estate.*note I have not noticed any Input lag from PS3 or PC gaming. (Walmart's 90 day return policy is another reason I got this from them, Im searching for a better monitor cause of the ghosting I got from PC gaming, Im gonna go with a Panny hdtv or plasma, heard and read good things so far.)

x2 on the dull black, I cannot notice the so called Java brown.

103igxw.jpg
 
I'm using a LG 32LH30 as my display (Missed the LG 32 incher on newegg, picked this one up at BeastBuy for $420)

I'm loving it - after I set the input label to PC anyway. Great picture, great colors, no input lag (at least no more then the last TN panel I had). Only problem is when I sit down at my work PC's 20 inch panel.....seems so damn small now.:D
 
strend said:
I'm using a LG 32LH30 as my display (Missed the LG 32 incher on newegg, picked this one up at BeastBuy for $420)

I'm loving it - after I set the input label to PC anyway. Great picture, great colors, no input lag (at least no more then the last TN panel I had). Only problem is when I sit down at my work PC's 20 inch panel.....seems so damn small now.:D
Click to expand...

I am thinking of picking one of the 32" LGLH30s up after work today at Best Buy.

Trying to decide between the 32LH30 or 32LH40. I really like the LG37LH30 so the LG32LH30 is the natural choice, I will have to take a look at what they have when I get down there. I am using this for mainly PC games so I am wondering if the LH40 might have too much input lag.
 
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I've been using the Sharp 32 in my sig for 2 weeks now. I didn't get it for under $500, but I suppose you might be able to soon. The blacks are so good on this TV I'd swear it was a plasma. When I'm watching a widescreen bluray movie, I don't notice the bars on top and bottom of the screen because they're pretty much the same color as the black bezel. No backlight bleeding or any of the crap I suffered with the Gateway FPD2485w. Now I ask myself why I took so long to make the transition from a standard 24inch to a 32inch TV. I set mine to game mode and turn off the 120hz and active contrast and I havent noticed any issues with input lag at all.
 
I was lucky enough to get in on the Dell 20% bing cashback deal and picked up a Vizio VL320M for less than $400. That deal is gone, but the monitor/TV is gorgeous for video and games. (I've posted a thread unrelated to the monitor specifically about how to get fonts looking good on such a huge screen.)

Looking at amazon, it's going right now for $479, and I'd happily pay that considering how amazing this thing is performing for me.
 
strend said:
I'm using a LG 32LH30 as my display (Missed the LG 32 incher on newegg, picked this one up at BeastBuy for $420)

I'm loving it - after I set the input label to PC anyway. Great picture, great colors, no input lag (at least no more then the last TN panel I had). Only problem is when I sit down at my work PC's 20 inch panel.....seems so damn small now.:D
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How are the black levels on the LG 32HL30? I played around with it at best buy and was really impressed by the quick calibration tool.
 
I'm still in research mode OP, but the more i read, the more i'm seeing that an IPS panel would likely have the least perception of lag with PC use. There appears to be noticeable differences between the LG 32LH30 IPS and AUO VA panels, I've now seen it mentioned twice where there was a perceptible difference when gaming and on visual quality (some people have had both panels to compare, one guy compared both panels side by side i believe). The LG IPS panel appears to be the preferable one.

Can't seem to find much new info on the 32LF11 model, they seem more likely to have the LG IPS panel, but once again there's no guarantee...

Going to switch my research over to the Panasonic 32" S1/G1 series, they use IPS-alpha panels, and most of them seem to have low input and panel lag. Can't say for sure yet though i'll keep you posted if you're still interested (?)
 
SJetski71 said:
Going to switch my research over to the Panasonic 32" S1/G1 series, they use IPS-alpha panels, and most of them seem to have low input and panel lag. Can't say for sure yet though i'll keep you posted if you're still interested (?)
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I'm still interested. Once I get my Xbox and Apple 23" sold I think I'm going to buy the Panasonic 32" (1080p model). It's $460 on 6ave atm so it fits into my budget.
 
OP it's starting to look like a choice between the famous westinghouse 37" W3 or Panasonic L32S1.

I didn't research the westinghouse since i think we already know it would make a fantastic monitor. But I've researched the Panny S1 and found a little more info and opinions on it. The S1 LCD supposedly uses the same panel as the 120hz models, which means panel response should be fast. Now i've read about 3 times that it supposedly has the same low input lag as it's cousin, the famous LZ800. If it has both the fast panel response and low inut lag then we have a winner on our hands. The L32S1 has the same style of panel and electronics as it's bigger brother the L37S1, so that was another way of me getting more info.

But since most of the evidence i found was pretty subjective i would recommend purchasing it from a place that allows free/hassle free returns. You def want the easy return option in case there's something about the TV you don't like (there's a decent chance of that imho).

I found a local place that sells it for $418 + tax + dirt cheap extended warranties: http://www.electronics-expo.com/index.php?page=item&id=PANTCL32S1

I keep stalling the purchase, but that above local deal with extended warranty may get the best of me (i want it bad!)

If you're going to buy it online be sure to use Bing cashback, i notice most of the electronic stores are listed there: http://www.bing.com/shopping/pages/stores.aspx?scope=cashback&FORM=R5FD1
 
Thanks for the information, SJetski71!

Yeah, I've been eying that Panasonic for a while now. However I'm beginning to get doubts about going to a single 1080p display.

One thing that irritates me about the Panasonic line of TVs is that none of the ones I've tried will transmit 1080p over component or VGA. Before anybody tells me that VGA or component can't handle 1080p, understand that my 52" Sony will do 1080p over both.

I really could use 1080p over VGA since my current laptop - the Dell Vostro 1500, only has one video output with no docking option - VGA. Since I don't really have time to play games anymore I'm getting rid of my desktop so I need to find how to convert VGA to HDMI.

SXGA max for VGA...seriously.
 
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aZn_plyR said:
PC Gaming? Sony and Samsung are the worst as far as input lag.

Panasonic/LG/Sharp does better as far as input lag goes depending on the model.
Click to expand...

I'm currently using my PC connected to a Sony Bravia 40W5500 tv and don't notice any input lag whatsoever. Admittedly is was slightly more than $500 but still... no input lag that I can see.
 
Cobalt35 said:
I'm currently using my PC connected to a Sony Bravia 40W5500 tv and don't notice any input lag whatsoever. Admittedly is was slightly more than $500 but still... no input lag that I can see.
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Do you have it connected via HDMI/DVI or VGA or component?
 
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