TV Tuner/Video Card or LCD with built in Tuner

[ZiKi]

Hey guys I'm curious which is a better idea, a regular lcd paired with a high def tv tuner or a lcd tv that supports PC in.

If I go the TV tuner route it has to be compatible with OS X. I can buy a 20" lcd tv thats about $250 or I could get a 24" lcd and a tuner card for about the same price

 

[ther00kie16]

If you want to record tv or use pc and watch tv at same time, you'll want a tuner card. Otherwise, what 24" + tuner card are you thinking? Obviously 24" offers more viewing area so many people would prefer it. The Samsung t2_0hd series is the only monitor I know of but 24" model runs near $400. I would recommend a 24" + tuner. I love my P-MVA Soyo 24" and S-PVA Dell 2407wfp-hc. There's an auction on ebay for a new Soyo with the P-MVA panel (I know because box shows 6ms as opposed to 5, 3 or 2ms which are newer TN panels). Search for new 24" soyo lcd. It's only at $150 right now so that'd be a great deal. Only downside to the Soyo is that it doesn't support HDCP but there are ways around it.

 

[ZiKi]

I was thinking about the T200HD 20" for $250 after MIR on newegg.

 

[ZiKi]

I forgot to mention I want to play xbox360 on the lcd as well. Would I need a tuner card for that or would a component cable work somehow

 

[ther00kie16]

Samsung's T2_0HD series has all the inputs you need and a remote for the TV as well.
I have 2 dislikes about it though: it's a TN panel so anyone sitting at an angle would see shifted colors which looks terrible and you lose the ability to record shows, which you would with a tuner card.
You can see what I mean by the shifted colors in the video review attigerdirect.
So unless having the ease of picking up the remote and watching tv in seconds is very important to you, I would recommend getting a tuner and a 24". Your 360 can output to hdmi or dvi via hdmi->dvi converter for a few bucks if the 24" you are looking at doesn't have hdmi.

 

[ZiKi]

Okay now I have to find tuners for os x?

 

[ZiKi]

I found this
http://www.amazon.com/ATI-Wond...&qid=1230534455&sr=8-1

 

[ther00kie16]

I don't know too much about tuner compatibility with OS X. google it and you may find that there are mac drivers out there for more common tuners even if their websites don't indicate os x compatibility. Then you can get a much cheaper tuner. Otherwise, if a tuner is going to cost $100, it may be better to just get a T200HD if you don't need recording capabilities. I considered the t240hd when ebay had the 30% cashback, could've snagged one for $300 after cashback but ended up going for a 2407wfp-hc because of the panel for the same price (will have to get a tuner later for it).