Need help choosing an HDTV

sudo · October 2010

Hello, I just bought a rumblepad 2 to play FFXIV and while playing from the bed my Samsung SyncMaster T260HD just doesn't feel big enough. I can hardly see the text, even when I lower it's resolution from 1920x1200 to 1680x1050.

I've been reading about people playing on HDTV and have heard of others using a 32" HDTV as a PC monitor for everything, browsing, work, games and movies. I mostly play games (FFXIV currently and most probably only in near future). Would love to hear users opinions about using HDTV as the only monitor for a PC. I love my current 26" one a lot and it's great for pretty much everything, but it feels like everybody are moving towards 16:9 and not 16:10 and I feel like I could really use all that extra size for better experience while playing from the bed (it's right at my pc table).

I'm open for any price ranges at the moment, since I don't know much about HDTVs just yet. I don't even know how much of a difference it's gonna be compared to my current 26"... Planning to drive to a closest store to give some random models a look.

Thanks in advance for all the feedback!

swing848 · October 2010

Samsung makes a very good LCD HDTVs as a computer screen. I have had a 32 inch HDTV for a few years and a friend of mine finally took the plunge and purchased a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV.

I am not sure how good your eyes are and you did not say how many feet you are a way from the screen when trying to read text when playing FFXIV. A 32" HDTV with a resolution of 1366 x 768 may be better from a distance. HDTVs are crisp when run at their native resolution but look bad at other resolutions.

If you live near a Wal-Mart superstore check out their LCD HDTVs. Wal-Mart employees do not care if you purchase or not, so, they will not bother you with sales pressure. It is often difficult to gauge how a screen will actually perform. When there is a very bright [white] area, look closely at it and compare how large the lines are to other screens.

If you have bright back lighting do not purchase a screen that reflects a lot of light. Do not get caught up in features, most of them are worthless hype from the manufacture, nothing more than "wow" lists. When you go to the store to look at HDTVs compare what you see to how far your bed is from your screen away, you may decide on a slightly larger screen. And, cost is most likely less than what you expect.

For me, 32" is fine because the screen is only 2 feet or less from my face, and I use my screen for everything, including games.

sudo · October 2010

Originally posted by swing848
Samsung makes a very good LCD HDTVs as a computer screen.

First of all thank you for answering

I thought about samsung first too and did a lot of research on their models good for pc use. I had problems finding a store that had the model I wanted to buy on the stand (either C530 or C550), because, sadly, I don't really live close to a wall-mart, since we don't have any of those in Israel.

Anyways! I found an official Samsung store that has all the possible products Samsung sells in our country and was finally able to see with my own eyes the C530 model. I loved it a lot and bought it on the spot.

Got back home yesterday and installed it. Took me about half an hour to set everything up, find the GPU Oversaling option in my ATI Catalyst drivers and realize that I actually have to "name" my HDMI out as PC in the TV settings.

Now the screen looks great, the text (my biggest worry) looks absolutely the same as it did on a 26 lcd, only larger (still no pixels can be seen at VERY close range). Movies and games look superb, I'm able to play Final Fantasy XIV from my bed with a gamepad and see all the text without any problems. The ammount of detail that can be seen and the overall quality of image is superb as well.

Summing this up, I could never believe that an actual television could work so flawlessly as a big PC monitor without any drawbacks at all. I am extremley happy with this purchase and would recommend this solution to whoever is looking for a bigger screen.

swing848 · October 2010

I am glad that you have found what you want, and I am glad to be of help to you.

swing848 · October 2010

As often happens with me, I forgot to ask what size screen you purchased in my previous post. Was it 32 inch or larger?

sudo · October 2010

Originally posted by swing848
As often happens with me, I forgot to ask what size screen you purchased in my previous post. Was it 32 inch or larger?

32"

I don't think anything above 32" is doable for a pc screen. 32" seems to be hitting the spot just right, though.

I'm loving every minute of it!

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Need help choosing an HDTV

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