LCD TV Question

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:42 pm

Ok.. Sometime before September we're going to be purchasing an LCD TV. This will be going in the living room and hooked up to the HTPC. There will be some gaming and web browsing done on this as well. I'm looking at 32" (as they're under $900) and am wondering..

1.) If the TV has a VGA or DVI connector, does this mean it will work as a monitor?

2.) Any brands that you would recommend staying away from?

3.) How does regular text appear on them?

4.) Would an extended service plan (3 years ~$80) be wise? or do these have a longer shelf life than plasma?

5.) If I can find a Plasma with said hook ups and the option for the 3 year plan would that be a better way to go?

FP, I know you can probably answer most of these lol.. But input from everybody would be appreciated!

eGo

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:58 am

"1.) If the TV has a VGA or DVI connector, does this mean it will work as a monitor?"

If it has a VGA connector definately. If it has a DVI maybe. Most modern TVs with DVI use PC compatible DVI but some don't, or you may find it only supports a lower resolution. Read reviews if possible. Bring a laptop and VGA cable to test it if you have one. Also bring a VGA to DVI adapter if you have one lying around. Some TVs allow you to use a simple adapter (like the kind that comes with video cards) in reverse to connect the VGA from your computer to the DVI on the TV (my bedroom HDTV allows this).

"3.) How does regular text appear on them?"
Never as sharp as a real computer monitor, but very close, especially if you can use the native resolution of the TV (which is somtimes non-standard). I can comfortably read text on my 45" rear projection LCD that has a Media Center PC connected to it using a Radeon 9550.

"4.) Would an extended service plan (3 years ~$80) be wise? or do these have a longer shelf life than plasma?"
IMO anything you pay that much money for is worth paying for an extended plan. If that set dies, it's probably not going to be something cheap that a mom & pop TV shop can fix.

"5.) If I can find a Plasma with said hook ups and the option for the 3 year plan would that be a better way to go?"
I'm not sold on plasma. They're very price (usually) for what you get, and there's still questions on the life span of the display. However plasma may look better to you than LCD. Come people don't like the way some LCDs look. Definately watch a LOT of video on the TVs you're considerijng. Spend a couple of hours at the store (with no wife or kids). Make sure to watch something DARK on it. LCDs tend to look worse with dark images.

Hope this helps...

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 5:27 am

plasma displays are much better than a few years ago, but burn-in will still occur if you leave a pc image on it for too long. some of the better models have built-in "pixel orbiters" that keep the images moving (hidden to the naked eye), or you can buy one separately and put it in-line with the signal...but that is expensive and obviously not worth it.

i'd go LCD over plasma if you want pc use out of it.

also, the panel life on plasmas have gone from 10-30,000 up to 60,000+ hours now...if you do the math, that is a loooooooong time. i bought a plasma three years ago...it's life is expected to be 13+ years if i use it 8 hours a day. the new ones are double that.

.02

smb · Post by **smb** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 7:30 am

Try visiting High Def Forums. Someone there might have bought what you are looking at getting. I looked thru there reviews when I purchased my 55" HD JVC HD-ILA set.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:48 pm

Thanx for the input. I'll keep all of this in mind when purchasing. The funnest part for me will be putting up with the salesperson for that length of time while I'm "experimenting" with the different ones. I have found a 32" RCA that I like the look of (astetically) and it had the best picture of the other 6 32" that were there. The image was much more crisp and clear than the others. It looked good when viewing light on mostly dark background and vice versa. Jaden isn't crazy about RCA, her family has had nothing but problems with them.. I on the other hand have no problems with them. The set in our bedroom is 23 year old 19" and it works great.