30" PC Monitor or a 40"+ LCD/Plasma TV

[X-Nemesis]

What would you/do you use for a HTPC setup and why?

[YARDofSTUF]

Personally, 24" monitor, anything more and I'd switch it over to the LCD TV.

[downhill]

Yep, Plasmas have great pictures but not up close. LCD's are a lot better for close up stuff.

[morbidpete]

Yep, Plasmas have great pictures but not up close. LCD's are a lot better for close up stuff.

love my 42" plasma. would not trade for an lcd ever (the weight does suck as far as tv stands and mounting options go)

but i would go 40" tv. they all have hdmi/vga input. the only real difference between that and the monitor is lack of a tuner built in

[X-Nemesis]

I've been going so far to various sites like AVSForums and all this info regearding TV for htpc's seems very...emmm...daunting? Maybe it's just the fact that the people at AVS Forums are very VERY picky but it seems that getting a tv and hooking it up then using it isn't as simple as that.

Can an x800xt aiw drive a big LCD/Plasma tv as a main pc monitor? I have dvi so until I upgrade my system I'd go dvi-->hdmi.

It would be nice to see an ongoing list of preferred htpc tv's with pro's and con's.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Think about how you're going to use it also. Sitting up close, at a desk? Or sitting across the room on a couch? If the latter..how big is the room?

[YoshiMon]

Yep, Plasmas have great pictures but not up close. LCD's are a lot better for close up stuff.

Agreed. My big TV is a 42" HD plasma that is great for watching TV. However I would not want to use it as a monitor for any extended period of time.

In the office here I use a 19" HD LCD that doubles as my monitor. When being used as a TV the images are not as 'warm' as the plasma but it makes up for that by being much more comfortable to use close up.

[David]

Can an x800xt aiw drive a big LCD/Plasma tv as a main pc monitor? I have dvi so until I upgrade my system I'd go dvi-->hdmi.

Yes, but you would have to verify than the tv would accept the signal and to its native resolution.

Your decision should be based on purpose. If it is for video, you should consider the big tv option. For general, computer work, the 30" monitor for its great resolution. For gaming, the big tv, however, you might need a better graphics card.

[X-Nemesis]

Truth is I would be using it for everything and sitting about 5-6 ft away on my couch. But of course I want to make sure that browsing will have legible text and not be blurry. But mostly it will be browsing and watching 720p/1080p tv encodes, movies.

[YoshiMon]

At 1080p text, provided it's of an appropriate font, should look very sharp. I'm still always giggling like a little kid whenever I notice I can actually make out what football players faces look like now behind their face masks when watching HD sports.

[X-Nemesis]

I guess I'm wondering if any of the top brand tv's lcd or plasma will do me just fine cause honestly...reading the forums at AVSForums one get's the impression that no tv is good enough!!!

[YoshiMon]

Lol...yeah. Audio/videophiles have throughly convinced themselves that nothing is ever good. Save for maybe what they own. (And admittedly I've been guilty of that in the past too. Thankfully I've mostly grown out of it. :P)

Do your own research and see what you like. Your the one who is going to be using it after all.

[loop2kil]

Recently upgraded my tv to an LG 50" plasma...I actually find myself sitting in my lazboy and surfing for short periods of time without feeling like I'm going blind.

Tough call on picking for your particular use...I would only want my Plasma for watching movies/tv stuff...I actually took an LCD I purchased back to the store b/c it looked like ass hooked up to my DishHD. It's like night and day for me when I hooked up my plasma set. If you will only be surfing from the couch I think the Plasma route is the way to go, I would not however want to work all day on it.

[Rivas]

LCD TV for bright room and clone display using hdmi cable.


And I would pick up Samsung or Sharp TV.