New TV to be used as monitor

[*Daedalus]

Hi all,

Looking into a new monitor, but because of the size I'm looking for, it becomes far cheaper to look into a TV instead. Problem: I know virtually nothing about TVs.

Must haves:
32-40" panel
VESA mounting holes

Would be nice:
High-contrast ratio (eg. LED backlight)

Budget:
Cheaper the better, but let's say roughly $500. (I'll be finding an Irish equivalent either way)

I won't be using this as a TV at all, so I don't care about a TV tuner or SCART inputs or anything. I'm just looking for something with a nice picture that'll be good for watching movies and TV. I also don't need 3D or a 120Hz panel or anything.

The problems I'm having are that I don't know what manufacturers generally to look for over others, and within each brand, there are so many TVs to choose from, that I'm really not sure of the differences.


Thanks!

[AlDaja]

It really doesn't matter. I'm using an old RCA 36" analog TV to watch movies and to play video games on when I don't want to be constricted to the monitor. You can check this site (How to Use Your TV As a Computer Monitor - wikiHow) out to give you a few pointers on how to set up your TV. Again, the TV doesn't matter as long as you have an available connection to utilize.

[MrFancypants]

I'm not sure, but if you plan on gaming on a TV screen you might want to get one with 100 or 120hz technology. If you just buy some budget monitor you might otherwise notice lag in fast-paced games.

It might be a good idea to check console magazines and websites for reviews of TVs.

[kow_ciller]

Are you going to be using this like a monitor and sitting up close?
If so, get a monitor. TV's have too large of pixels for the resolution and hurt like hell up close if you use it for prolonged amounts of time.


If you are going to sit far away, there are tons of options out there.
The thing is, you wont notice huge differences until you start spending more than you have noted. For $500 you can get a decent 42" or a higher-end 32".

[*Daedalus]

I'll be sitting far away. It'll be for a TV-at-the-end-of-the-bed type setup (for me that's a lot further away than you might think; bad eyesight must be factored in.

I'd be looking at a decent 42" I think. And actually, you can scrap the VESA mount as a requirement, I'm not in the apartment this is going in at the moment, so I got something mixed up; won't need it.

@Fancypants, I won't be doing any gaming on it. I might, very occasionally, just for the novelty of the bigger screen, but I've got a 24" IPS for that. I'll also have a wander around a few review sites, any good ones in particular? The vast majority of the review sites I visit don't do TVs.

[AlDaja]

Cool, then any TV you are happy with (short of really old coaxial only hook up) should work for you.

[>Omen<]

I've been keeping an eye out for a good HDTV as an all purpose gaming, movie, TV and internet display. The one I've settled on is the Panasonic TC-L32U3. I finally got a chance to sample one in a store that had a high quality video feed, and it looks stunning for it's price. It can be had at Amazon US for $395 with free shipping and free (no return shipping) 30 day any-reason returns. In your area it's called the TX-L32U3B, and Amazon.uk has it for 413 lbs. Geez, I thought it would be lighter than that!

This set has received great reviews. The only slight issue is like many sets, it isn't 4:4:4 color capable, so text in various shades of red look a bit fuzzy unless you use a preset with a lower sharpness setting, and some say turning noise reduction on helps as well. Despite what some have said about it being a poor PC display, some have come forth saying it's great as a PC monitor after minor adjustments, one of which whom says it's also decent for even photo and video work.

The only other set I was considering was the LG 32LK450, but LG has roughly twice the defect rate of Panasonic, and they put their customers through a panel lottery, so you don't know whether you'll get an IPS or PVA panel, despite THEM manufacturing the panels. All the LK450s I've seen locally are PVA, verified by the "CUS###" service code having a D vs Y, something that was discovered via several customers having taken pixel macro shots, whereby the IPS pixels show as chevron shaped.

For anyone interested, the 32U3 also has very low input lag for gaming. It's been measured to be only about 10-16ms. As for sizes, they also make this set in 37 and 42 inch, but Dead, there is no 120 vs 60 Hz in your area. It's 100 vs 50 Hz. Odd that they don't use the appropriate CM conversion in the model numbers of the eastern hemisphere sets though vs the inch designation. They probably do that so as not to confuse equivalent models world wide. Amazon.uk's price on the 42" TX-L42U3B btw is 504 lbs.

[MrFancypants]

Originally Posted by *Daedalus

I'll be sitting far away. It'll be for a TV-at-the-end-of-the-bed type setup (for me that's a lot further away than you might think; bad eyesight must be factored in.

I'd be looking at a decent 42" I think. And actually, you can scrap the VESA mount as a requirement, I'm not in the apartment this is going in at the moment, so I got something mixed up; won't need it.

@Fancypants, I won't be doing any gaming on it. I might, very occasionally, just for the novelty of the bigger screen, but I've got a 24" IPS for that. I'll also have a wander around a few review sites, any good ones in particular? The vast majority of the review sites I visit don't do TVs.

I don't know any good English-language review sites for TVs, but if you won't use it for gaming then you don't have to worry as much. Buy a good brand though.
Also, if you're sitting at a distance of approximately 2 meters a 42" might be a rather large and/or appear grainy, but that is rather subjective.

edit: actually, I do know one site, just forgot about it: http://shop.retrevo.com/m/tv/c1041
They usually have some nice graphics which show important features of gadgets for different types of buyers. Probably a good place to start your research.

[*Daedalus]

Originally Posted by MrFancypants

I don't know any good English-language review sites for TVs, but if you won't use it for gaming then you don't have to worry as much. Buy a good brand though.
Also, if you're sitting at a distance of approximately 2 meters a 42" might be a rather large and/or appear grainy, but that is rather subjective.

As I said, bad eyesight. That won't be a problem.

Generally speaking, a rough order of brand preference?

[MrFancypants]

Personally I like Samsung when it comes to TVs or monitors (not because they necessarily get the best reviews but because I like the high price/performance ratio coupled with good design). Panasonic and Phillips are good companies as well. The tricky part is to see through the maze of different models that are often sold by the same company and which don't seem to differ a whole lot in specifications. To figure this out you'd need to spend quite a bit of time reading forums, magazines and websites though and I haven't done this for a while when it comes to TVs.