LCD TV HDTV Compatibility w/ PCs

[Smuggs]

I wonder how well the LCD TV will perform when primarily used as a PC Display. I know about the strech that you would see as noted by the jagged lines in the review though I wonder about support for non-native resolutions. I have also read about ATI's new catalyst drivers that give support for HDTV res. through DVI.

Is there a way to make the LCD TV appear at 1280x768 even though the native resolution is 1366x768 with limited loss in quality/performance?

Samsung LT-P266W
native res - 1366x768
tv scan lines - 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i

would i be best off just purchasing an lcd tv with native resolution 1280x768? i want to use this as primarily a pc display alongwith hdtv [1280x768 true hdtv?]

 

[Bruxbox]

I've been using a Syntax Olevia 30" LCD TV as my primary pc monitor for more than four months now, and it serves greatly as a computer monitor.

Of necessity, you must use a wireless keyboard and mouse, or a USB connected keyboard and mouse with a long cable, as being too close to this screen ain't too cool. Text onscreen and websites present better on this LCD TV than on my 17" CRT monitor. On the 17" CRT, I often have to increase the text size in websites to read the print.

If you read the reviews of these large screen LCD TVs like the one that Tomhardware did of 26" LCD TV's, you will know that the response rates for the LCD TVs under review were re better than in pc specific LCDs. For instance, in Tom's review of 26" LCD TVs, the response rate/latency of the LCD TVs model were better than that of the best pc LCD monitor that Tomshardware has reviewed.

I'm coming to the conclusion that my LCD TV is the central component of my system because of its performance and flexibility.

This is what I have connected to my Olevia 30" LCD TV: (1) my Windows XP Media Center Editon 2005 box via DVI on LCD TV; (2) XBox via special HD cable to component input on LCD TV; (3) DirecTV stb via svideo input on LCD TV; (4) Sony VCR via composite input on LCD TV; and (5) roof antenna cable to builtin RF dual analogue tuner in LCD TV.

Inside my Windows XP Media Center Edtion 2005 box, I have an analogue TV tuner and two HD tuners with which I can pickup local standard and HD broadcasts. The two HD tuners permit recording one program while watching another live, or recording two HD programs simultaneously.

While recording live TV on each of the three tuners, I could watch a DVD movie using the DVD disk drive in the box. Or copy the DVD movie to the hard drive, and add it to "My Movies" playlist in WMCE.

The XBox is an alternative DVD movie player. I could add a progressive scan stand-alone DVD player, but I think it would be superfluous.

I have a Panasonic 3CCD miniDV camcorder that I am using to convert some VHS tapes to digital and then burn to DVD disks with any one of several apps. For instance, InterVideo's WinDVD Creator can burn TV programs recorded by WMCE to DVD disks or the digital video recorded from the miniDV.

I think it my turn out that a LCD TV may repace the computer box as the most important component of a personal communications and entertainment system. Or, depending on where in the home the LCD TV is deployed, it could it be a family communications and entertainment system.

So, I don't think you should have concerned about using a LCD TV for a computer monitor provided it support the minimum HD resolutions and has a DVI connection. It may be irrelevent that it has a builtin HD tuner if you use a HD tuner card or two.

However, before purchasing I'd recommend that you find a store where you can actually see the LCD TV in action. For instance, my local Micro Center has a pc hooked up to an Olevia 27" and runs the HalfLife2 demo on it. Brilliant.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by BruxBox on 04/19/05 00:20 AM.</EM></FONT></P>