Sony Bravia XBR 32" 1080P 120hz TV as PC Monitor?

C

Caswyn

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Title pretty much says it all.

As it stands right now, after I get off work I am going to go purchase this TV:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9222502&type=product& id=1218062424675KDL-32XBR9

My intent is to use it as my PC monitor as well as the monitor for my PS3/360.

I have been looking into monitors like the HP LP2475W & Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP as a replacement to my computer's Samsung 226BW (I want something bigger with HDMI).

Is anyone using one of these? My searches have not been very fruitful.

Thanks guys!
 
This is my experience with a recently purchased 32" XBR6 which I posted on these forums where one thread had people vote on the best 30" monitor and/or HDTV:



"I think brumwald summed it up well and made very good points. His statement of "Either you wan't a 30" monitor with 2560x1600 or you don't" is a little harsh but he's right. That being said I respectfully disagree that HDTV's are the "worst option ever". Since you asked, here are my 2 cents (which in the end shouldn't mean much unless someone is in a similiar boat as me)...

I, surprisingly, have thought things through for about 1/2 year and decided on the 32in Sony XBR6 which I am using right now. It certainly lacks resolution and quite frankly isn't a superb monitor for dedicated PC use. Nevertheless, here's why I chose it over a true monitor of similar size (in somewhat relevant order of importance for me):

1. Use - No professional use here at all. I just play games, browse and watch movies. My rig is a few years old and for the games I play (like CS:S, BF2) I'm fine with the native rez. One day I'll build a new rig which can support game playability at the impressive resolutions, but for now I'm content. Another thing are my eyes. Of course with less than half the resolution of a 30" PC monitor, it kind of doesn't make sense to have a large workspace that basically "blows things up" and in the end doesn't really give you that much more workspace. But for me my eyes appreciate the bigger appearance of everything. My Viewsonic LCD serves as more desktop workspace and is convenient to have, neat to look at, but honestly I don't really need it.

2. Performance - Suprisingly satisfied. If you look into getting an HDTV, make sure it does 1:1 pixel mapping AND (in my XBR's case) allows you to change settings which basically lets you optimize static visual settings and turn off all the unnecessary motion processing things that fancier HDTV's do. Next, you must tweak the heck out of the typical settings (mostly brightness, contrast, etc.). Finally, "screen door" effect is noticeable, but can be reduced a little by lowering sharpness (however, pixels sizes are what they are so I've placed my HDTV about 3 1/2 feet away). After about 2 weeks of researching and fiddling, text, colors and games look very impressive for my purposes.

3. Flexibility - In my case, if I wasn't happy with the XBR's performance, I had someone lined up to buy it to use as a TV. That relieved a lot of my worries and pressure in making the choice. One day it will probably be used only to watch TV/movies in another room if/when I build a good gaming rig and get an uber rez 30" monitor.

4. Price - It's almost a waste of bandwidth to type this, but for what it's worth a big store had a ridiculous sale at the time I was ready to pull the trigger. To some, sales are a great thing...other don't give a rat's ass. For me, it just made it easier to sell to another person if I didn't like what I saw when I hooked it up to my pc.


Hope this post gave you a little insight coming from someone who's always had true PC monitors and is in a kind of an odd place regarding age of PC equipment/current use/future needs. Since HDTV's are what they are...TV's, I suggest visiting a cool local retailer who will let you plug up your PC to it or try hooking up to HDTV's that your friends or family have.

In the end I followed Brumwald's logic to the T - get what's best that fits your needs. Good luck!"
 
Caswyn,

Follow the manual for setting up the HDTV to use as a monitor. After I did that I still wasn't happy as text looked blurry everywhere [Im using DVI - HDMI connection]

I did a search [on a different website] on our exact model TV and learned that you MUST set the picture mode to "Photo Optimizer" rather than "Video Optimizer" (which the manual fails to tells you to do). Now everything is crystal clear! Don't worry about taking Video Optimizer off. You don't want the TV to do any video processing anyway...any more than it has to that is. You want your PC's vid card and your consoles to do the video processing. The XBR performs great. You'll enjoy it.
 
You do understand that the TV won't actually accept 120Hz from the video card, right? The "120Hz" it advertises is just the TV processor (which you will be turning off) inserting duplicate or interpolated frames, which is intended for movies and does not (and cannot) work for gaming.
 
Well I bought it, the PQ is fantastic for my PS3, text looks horrific on my PC, but I have yet to even find the setting to change to photo instead of video optimization.

My 2 major gripes are the dynamic contrast and our inability to turn it off, and the same thing with edge enhancement.

I am more than likely going to return it from the new LG 32LH40 which has the ability to turn these off, and more.

The dimming (dynamic contrast) that happens constantly and is very noticeable when I am playing games is the deal breaker for me. I will report back with how the LG does.
 
Take a look at the Samsung LN32A550 or 650. They are not 120Hz in the 32 in size, but I do not think that any of them are. The Samsungs have a PC mode that turns off all of the processingand you can turn of edge enhancement. Search this Forum, there is a thread on them with pics and reviews.

Good luck with what ever you choose.

Dave
 
Thats a shame caswyn. You really should have taken more time to read the manual. It took me about 2 weeks to get everything perfect and I was trying to save you about 2 weeks of tweaking/research time.;)

Setting the TV to "Photo optimization" is the same thing as turning off "edge enhancement".

Photo optimization is Menu---->Picture---->Video/Photo Optimizer


What you call "dynamic contrast" I presume is the TV's automatic ability to change brightness depending on the light in the room. You turn that off by going here:

Menu---->General Setup------>Light Sensor

I presume you already followed the manual that gives instructions how to set the TV up for a PC monitor (which makes sure it is doing 1:1 pixel mapping).

Also, backlight needs to be set to around 2, turn brightness DOWN, and color temp from "Vivid" to "Warm 2".

I told you the txt was crappy with the TV's default settings. The text is perfect now. So clear, in fact, that I can see the "screen door effect" if I sit too close the monitor.

Good luck with your LG. I'm sure it will be fine for you (maybe set up better out of the box), but it's too bad you didn't take the time tweak the XBR more because it is a better TV for similar price.
 
Actually, my model doesn't have the light sensor. Dynamic contrast is the TV trying to make blacks darker and whites brighter. I had the XBR9. I spent a few hours with Sony Tech Support last night. Here is the link to the manual. It is the KDL-32XBR9, the 32 inch panel. The manual is here: http://www.docs.sony.com/release/KDL40V5100.pdf

Not one mention of a light sensor, no mention of photo or video optimization, nothing regarding 1:1 pixel mapping, although I assume "Full Pixel" might mean pixel mapping.

I prefer Sony over LG, but if LG will let me change the settings I want I will go with it. If someone can find the settings on the monitor that Sony Tech Support couldn't, I will take the LG back and get the Sony again.
 
So far the LG has all the settings I want. I haven't begun testing yet. Test Bluray movie will be Wall E and I will test the PC to see how text looks. Wish me luck.

*side not, I liked the case of the Sony much better, but I like that all the inputs on the LG are on the back, why Sony stuck the PC in and 2 of the HDMI ports on the side is beyond me, I want all cables hidden, not sticking out the side of my TV.
 
Posting this from the LG. Text looks pretty good considering its a TV and not a monitor. Have not tried any games on the PC yet. Thought it was worth mentioning that I am using an DVI to HDMI adapter and not the PC In because on both the Sony and the LG the PC in is the 15 pin RGB.
 
As far as I know, beyond dynamic contrast, Sony forces an additional "auto-dimming" that cannot be defeated...

My memory is vague, but last I recall, someone wrote that they thought they had defeated it, but they realized later that they hadn't...

And if I recall, speculation was that auto-dim was introduced by Sony to reduce service calls regarding uniformity issues most revealed in dark scenes...
 
Caswyn said:
Posting this from the LG. Text looks pretty good considering its a TV and not a monitor. Have not tried any games on the PC yet. Thought it was worth mentioning that I am using an DVI to HDMI adapter and not the PC In because on both the Sony and the LG the PC in is the 15 pin RGB.
Click to expand...

Manufacturers do a disservice by suggesting that PCs should be connected to any LCD via analog. But they all still do it...

Don't let the LG off the hook regarding text. TV or not, it should still look perfectly sharp...
 
SH1 said:
As far as I know, beyond dynamic contrast, Sony forces an additional "auto-dimming" that cannot be defeated...

My memory is vague, but last I recall, someone wrote that they thought they had defeated it, but they realized later that they hadn't...

And if I recall, speculation was that auto-dim was introduced by Sony to reduce service calls regarding uniformity issues most revealed in dark scenes...
Click to expand...

Yes; you are correct. I read the same thing over at AVS.

Dave
 
I still have some calibration to do(haven't done any yet, really). But so far I am very happy with my LG.

Not sure what else I can do for text, it looks OK, not great.
 
Try turning ClearType on or off in Windows. It is in the appearance tab of display properties under the effects button.

Dave
 
Well, clear type on does look better, I am in Vista, it is on by default. It looks pretty good, no major complaints. Which would be better to show the quality of the text, a screenshot or a picture from a camera?
 
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