Thinking about going to an HDTV as a monitor

[allthatisman]

My current monitor is in my signature, and after almost 2 years, has been flawless. Alas, I am building my wife her own "pink" computer, and she has a list of hardware demands, two of which are nice monitor, and wall mounted monitor... Well I figure this is a golden opportunity for me to upgrade my display, while satisfying her demands. My display is already wall mounted, and won't fit anything larger. So I figure for under $600 I can get a nice 32"-37" HDTV and use it as a monitor. I have seen how a 42" looks as one, which would be to large for me, but if I had the space I would go that route... but ultimately I would like to get a PS3 and turn my computer room into more of a man cave.

Question: Has anyone used a TV in the size range mentioned above as a computer monitor(gaming, internet, etc)? Any issues, complaints, or praise? I am thinking about the 37" Insignia that Best Buy sells right now for $499. It comes with a 2 year warranty, and if your tv has to go in the shop they give you a 37" loaner... There is also a Toshiba, that is $549, but only has the manufacturer warranty, but is likely a bit nicer. I am not super picky about calibration and using a magnifying glass over my TV like the home theater guys do... Gimme some opinions!

Thanks

 

[Syntax Error]

Just make absolutely certain that any such LCD HD TV wouldn't have significant amounts of input lag.

 

[allthatisman]

Originally posted by: Syntax Error
Just make absolutely certain that any such LCD HD TV wouldn't have significant amounts of input lag.

I have heard about this... my buddy just bought a 42" Dynex at BestBuy for $499. I mentioned this to him while we were testing it and didn't see anything that we would call "lag". Overall the TV worked perfectly as both monitor and HDTV. If I could fit it, I would just buy one of those, but it's just too large. BestBuy has a 30 day return policy without any restock fee on TV's, so even if I get it home and it does, I can always return it.

 

[Dadofamunky]

A display that size is going to be hard to physically adjust to. Plopping that on your desk is a recipe for a strained neck (I have enough problems with a 24" monitor!) My guess is you'll be wall-mounting that too, and you'll probably want to be physically further away from it than is normal for a working computer monitor. 37" is simply too big for up-close work. If you're not doing productivity or creative work with it, then this doesn't matter as much.

Also, like anything else, paying less for something is often an exercise in futility if you're looking for quality. If it were me, I'd go for the toshiba.

 

[Ayah]

You're going to need 1080P or suffer from terrible resolution. Text and icons are going to be the size of tennis balls. You're going to need to be pretty damn far away to not have your eyes burned out (IMO).
A 37" will also probably be out of focus if you try to focus on it as a whole while sitting too close.

 

[SSChevy2001]

I've been using my westinghouse 37" for a couple years now, and I'm very happy with it. IMO 37" is just right for sitting distance and the picture quality on this display is really nice. Even right now I have PIP running a window for my HD TV show while I'm using my PC.

I also got my 360 connected for some console gaming.

 

[happy medium]

I use this 37inch Vizio (1080p) TV from Walmart for 550.00$. Works great for me. Has 3 hdmi inputs and a vga input and the picture is nice.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog...93795&findingMethod=rr

 

[Sentry2]

I went from a Westy 37w3(1080p) to a 40" Samsung LNT-4081F(LED-backlit). Both are great. I've still got the w3. I retired it to bedroom duty. Like others have said...just make sure you get a decent quality 1080p set. I think a 37" 1080p is probably the sweet spot. I actually wanted another 37 but the 40 was the smallest size in the Samsung LED series at the time. :beer:

 

[LCD123]

Originally posted by: allthatisman

Originally posted by: Syntax Error
Just make absolutely certain that any such LCD HD TV wouldn't have significant amounts of input lag.

I have heard about this... my buddy just bought a 42" Dynex at BestBuy for $499. I mentioned this to him while we were testing it and didn't see anything that we would call "lag". Overall the TV worked perfectly as both monitor and HDTV. If I could fit it, I would just buy one of those, but it's just too large. BestBuy has a 30 day return policy without any restock fee on TV's, so even if I get it home and it does, I can always return it.

Haven't seen any 42" this cheap except for used 720p plasmas. I paid $399 for my 32" 1360x768 Dynex(can be had for $350 today) it makes a wonderful monitor and text is large enough to easily read without going blind.