Having a 42" Plasma as a monitor

[Spec_R]

hey, I am thinking about buying a 42" plasma TV to watch TV & also connect it to my computer to use. But I was wondering if any of you guys have done this before? How does it look like? Well I'm not sure but the resolution is 852 x 480 on this plasma that I want to get. Will that really make it hard to see even if I get a really good graphic card? You guys think that I shouldn't waste my money and buy like a 24" dell monitor? Well those are my only 2 choices and I don't know what to do. I really like that plasma because it's big, but I also like to use it for gaming & internet surfing but if it's going to suck because it have such low resolution then forget it. What do you guys think?
here is the link for the TV that I wanted
http://www.sanyo.com/entertainment/televisions/plasma/index.cfm?productID=1108

 

[luminaris]

Gee, those are the ONLY two choices you have?? LOL .. on a serious note, we use Mitsubishi 42 inch plasma screens here at work for monitoring our network and I can tell you they are absolutely sweet! My company uses stock Dell machines with what they call upscale graphics cards (Geforce 5200's) using the DVI connection and they work well. I'm not a real technical guru with screens but going with an LCD such as the dell may be better in the long run vs. going with plasma. I believe the life expentecy is longer with an LCD if that really matters to you. I use two Samsung 19inch LCD's at home tied together on a 7800GT. If I would have waited, I could've got one big screen for less but i'm too impatient

 

[Pico_w]

Em... I heard that plasma if an image stays there for a long period of time and if you change another image there will be an faded image of the previous one. (I just found out that's called Burn-in). Why don't you consider a LCD TV if you need it to watch tv.


Plasma Advantages:
Newer models have much better contrast ratios than many direct view TVs
Excellent color reproduction
Excellent life expectancy
Excellent viewing angle

Plasma Disadvantages:
Although thin, plasma TVs are fairly heavy (professional installation recommended for on-wall use)
Very susceptible to screen burn-in
Cannot produce deep black levels accurately
Fragile
Use a lot of power

LCD Display Advantages:
Good color reproduction
Very thin
Lightweight
Perfect sharpness at native resolution
Excellent longevity
No screen burn-in effect

LCD Display Disadvantages
Fixed resolution
Notorious “screen door” effect on lesser models
Very difficult to produce deep blacks
Weak and “stuck” pixels are common
Viewing angle on older models may be narrow
Potential for slower refresh rates than plasma (some newer models are getting better)

 

[hashv2f16]

Can you get an RGB/DVI signal through a standard plasma tv? i am not sure.

 

[mr_fnord]

We use 42" plasma screens at work for different displays and the one big problem is burn in. We have screens displaying a video feed 24 hours a day and after 1 year they had significant burn in. If you use your screen a moderate amount and you don't leave it on displaying a set image like the desktop for weeks on end you might not have this problem

You won't need a high end video card to push out 852x480 or whatever. Here, the displays are usually driven by a Dell Optiplex with onboard video. The resolution might be a drawback though. Your thumb will only cover about 10 pixels, so if you're sitting directly in front of it like a monitor, you might go blind. On the other hand, a 24" LCD would be tiny viewed across the room.

All that said, I'd prefer a plasma screen. We use them here in conference rooms and they're bright, wide angle, and huge. You might need to take steps to avoid burn in though: don't leave the PC on displaying one thing for too long, use power save if it will support it and turn it off when you're not using it.

 

[piasabird]

Some Plasma TV's Support even DUAL Monitor. They can often do split screen and have TV on one side and a monitor plug on the other side. You need to look for plasmas designed to be hooked up to a monitor cable.

Go to Best Buy and look at a few.

They also make LCD TV/Monitors.

If you like to watch DVD's a Plasma is definitely an advantage to have. You can use the power save feature and probably just turn it off when not in use. Personally I like a monitor.