HDTV?

[NutmegCT]

I've found 30" (diagonal) LCD computer displays with 1080 resolution, for sale around $250. Has RGB and s-video inputs (for instance).

My cable TV box provides coax, digital, and s-video outputs. (I currently don't have HDTV or HDTV service).

If someone has room only for a 30" display, why not just get the hi-res flat panel computer display for $250? Is there some innate problem with computer displays that would make them undesireable for video display?

Frugal zealot me can't see why I should pay close to $1000 for an HDTV when (1) who really uses the "tuner" on a TV anymore, and (2) the 1080 resolution is native to most computer displays nowadays.

thanks.
Tom

 

[tomshobby]

Tom, I agree. Would be nice to get a plain monitor without any built-in speakers or tuners. That would save space and eliminate redundant features.

 

[Stewart]

It should work. Is it a normal or widescreen monitor? Where did you find a 30" for that price?

 

[aerog]

Look at the speed of the display before deciding it would be great for TV. Some of the cheaper ones are great for text and imaging, but for moving pictures they ghost beyond being annoying.

 

[Steve_S]

LCD screens have a native resolution, and unlike CRT monitors they cannot display anything different. A screen optimized for TV viewing will be far lower resolution than a computer LCD monitor. Therefore, watching TV on a computer monitor will result in the picture being very small. You can force the image to go full screen of course, but it looks bad. It's the same as taking a web video and forcing it full screen. You get terrible artifacting.

It can be done, but you're always best viewing an image at its native resolution. This is also why standard (non-hi-def) TV looks fine on a CRT television but terrible on a plasma or LCD television screen.

 

[Guest]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I've found 30" (diagonal) LCD computer displays with 1080 resolution, for sale around $250[/QUOTE]

Where?