Issues with TV as Monitor

[valrath21]

I recently got a 43 inch Magnavox 1080p LED tv on black friday. I'm having a lot of issues with the quality of picture though when connected through HDMI to my PC. It says the native resolution is 1920x1080, but it looks terrible. It looks really edgy and grainy, text looks funny and on World of Warcraft it looks blurry/chopped up. It almost looks like the sharpness is too high, but it's only on 6 ( it goes between -30 and 30, weirdest thing ever). If I lower the sharpness, it looks a little better, but gets reeeeally blurry.

This is it: http://www.magnavox.com/product/product.php?id=211

Before I used a 32 inch Philips TV and it looked fantastic on 1920x1080.

Could the issue be its too big and not enough pixels?
Would this be fixed if I just used VGA? or will I have the same problems? (It says on the manual and computer to use VGA for PC, but I've heard VGA isn't very good).

I can share whatever else needed to help fix the issue. I really want a TV, but this terrible picture quality is killing me lol. I dont think I can screenshot it and I don't have a camera or good phone to upload it.

 

[affinitydesigns]

How far are you sitting from it? You want to be minimum 6 feet from a 42+ inch tv. You increased your screen size by about 33% but kept the same pixel count so the clarity isn't going to be anywhere near the same. I doubt it's the cable. It's probably that you're just too close to it. Even at 4K a 43 inch tv at a monitor depth is going to be calling it close.

 

[valrath21]

How far are you sitting from it? You want to be minimum 6 feet from a 42+ inch tv. You increased your screen size by about 33% but kept the same pixel count so the clarity isn't going to be anywhere near the same. I doubt it's the cable. It's probably that you're just too close to it. Even at 4K a 43 inch tv at a monitor depth is going to be calling it close.

This could be it lol. I feel really dumb for not just backing up to look at it. I really only have it connected to my computer so Either way I'm thinking of returning it to get a real Monitor for around the same price. Would you have any suggestions around ~300 usd?

 

[affinitydesigns]

What do you use your computer for normally? There's a lot of nice ones out there for that price range.

 

[TbsToy]

Don't feel dumb. You are not!
The only dumb question is one ya didn't ask. Keep askin and learnin til ya get it.
TVs really don't make good monitors. Not goin into all that. Study stuffs.
The price ratio to size is better though.
Sincerely,
Walt Prill
Size?
Ya can't correct the pixel count as that is what the panel is and is unchangeable hardware Higher pixel count means a different panel. Unfortunately, more pixels means more money and a different panel.

 

[valrath21]

@TbsToy I really appreciate that lol. It helps me feel better to get answers from nice people. I do feel a little silly for not thinking about the pixels and size of the TV though.

@affinitydesigns I play lots of games, but I also like watching netflix and what not while laying down which is why I wanted a TV. Besides netflix though, really I just play games. MMOs and FPS

 

[lodders]

I have 2 panasonic plasma TVs and a Samsung LED TV all of which work really well as a monitor on HDMI.

Never heard of Magnavox... are they any good, or did you buy a black friday "bargain" which wasn't worth it?

 

[TbsToy]

I have 2 panasonic plasma TVs and a Samsung LED TV all of which work really well as a monitor on HDMI.

Never heard of Magnavox... are they any good, or did you buy a black friday "bargain" which wasn't worth it?

Magnavox is a U.S. brand that used to have a large presence in appliances. Not so much anymore.
W.P.

 

[valrath21]

I have 2 panasonic plasma TVs and a Samsung LED TV all of which work really well as a monitor on HDMI.

Never heard of Magnavox... are they any good, or did you buy a black friday "bargain" which wasn't worth it?

What size are they? It was a pretty good deal, but I checked the ratings online and it had 4 stars and higher. Probably not ratings for gaming at all, but good ratings for the TV. Like I said, my 32 inch Philips looked great.

 

[affinitydesigns]

Sexy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2F83426113
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6ZP3K21831

Large and Decent Multi-purpose:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G1XA5118
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1G53H31595

Gaming:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G1XA5128
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6ZP3K24713

 

[lodders]

I have 2 panasonic plasma TVs and a Samsung LED TV all of which work really well as a monitor on HDMI.

Never heard of Magnavox... are they any good, or did you buy a black friday "bargain" which wasn't worth it?

What size are they? It was a pretty good deal, but I checked the ratings online and it had 4 stars and higher. Probably not ratings for gaming at all, but good ratings for the TV. Like I said, my 32 inch Philips looked great.

48 inch, 42 inch and 27 inch.
The 48 inch plasma is perfect if you sit about 5 feet away from it

 

[TbsToy]

I have 2 panasonic plasma TVs and a Samsung LED TV all of which work really well as a monitor on HDMI.

Never heard of Magnavox... are they any good, or did you buy a black friday "bargain" which wasn't worth it?

What size are they? It was a pretty good deal, but I checked the ratings online and it had 4 stars and higher. Probably not ratings for gaming at all, but good ratings for the TV. Like I said, my 32 inch Philips looked great.

Maybe go back to a Phillips.
W.P.

 

[affinitydesigns]

Stick with a monitor, better pixel density, faster response rate, and better panels in general. It'll strain your eyes less and you'll get a better picture for normal usage and gaming.

 

[TbsToy]

Stick with a monitor, better pixel density, faster response rate, and better panels in general. It'll strain your eyes less and you'll get a better picture for normal usage and gaming.

Go and look at TVs and monitors and let your eyes and wallet decide what to get.
Walt Prill

 

[g-unit1111]

Don't feel dumb. You are not!
The only dumb question is one ya didn't ask. Keep askin and learnin til ya get it.
TVs really don't make good monitors. Not goin into all that. Study stuffs.
The price ratio to size is better though.
Sincerely,
Walt Prill
Size?
Ya can't correct the pixel count as that is what the panel is and is unchangeable hardware Higher pixel count means a different panel. Unfortunately, more pixels means more money and a different panel.

I've been using my 42" Vizio as a PC gaming monitor for over 3 years now. I don't know where this is coming from.

 

[affinitydesigns]

Don't feel dumb. You are not!
The only dumb question is one ya didn't ask. Keep askin and learnin til ya get it.
TVs really don't make good monitors. Not goin into all that. Study stuffs.
The price ratio to size is better though.
Sincerely,
Walt Prill
Size?
Ya can't correct the pixel count as that is what the panel is and is unchangeable hardware Higher pixel count means a different panel. Unfortunately, more pixels means more money and a different panel.

I've been using my 42" Vizio as a PC gaming monitor for over 3 years now. I don't know where this is coming from.

If that's a 1080p panel I don't know how you're doing it. You have the exact number of pixels as a 1080p 24" monitor but in an area more than triple the size. As I mentioned before, the optimal viewing distance for a 42" tv is 6 feet. There are numerous benchmarks and resources to verify that claim for example:
http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/size-to-distance-relationship
Your eye is going to be able to see those pixels and as the OP found, will cause the image to look distorted, unsharp, and gritty. TVs were not intended for the 1'-3' distances most computers are used for. 4K can help bridge that gap, but for the cost of a TV you can get a couple 4K monitors in most instances. Take note that 4K has literally 4 times the amount of pixels 1080p does and thus is 4 times as dense. This, in theory, would allow for closer viewing distances on any content that was true 4K.

 

[g-unit1111]

If that's a 1080p panel I don't know how you're doing it. You have the exact number of pixels as a 1080p 24" monitor but in an area more than triple the size. As I mentioned before, the optimal viewing distance for a 42" tv is 6 feet. There are numerous benchmarks and resources to verify that claim for example:
http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/size-to-distance-relationship
Your eye is going to be able to see those pixels and as the OP found, will cause the image to look distorted, unsharp, and gritty. TVs were not intended for the 1'-3' distances most computers are used for. 4K can help bridge that gap, but for the cost of a TV you can get a couple 4K monitors in most instances. Take note that 4K has literally 4 times the amount of pixels 1080p does and thus is 4 times as dense. This, in theory, would allow for closer viewing distances on any content that was true 4K.

Well I don't sit directly in front of it for one thing. It's mounted on my wall and I sit on a couch when I play games. I do plan on upgrading to 4K but that is going to be a while.

 

[affinitydesigns]

Then you're using the TV as intended so that makes sense.

 

[accountswu]

How far are you sitting from it? You want to be minimum 6 feet from a 42+ inch tv. You increased your screen size by about 33% but kept the same pixel count so the clarity isn't going to be anywhere near the same. I doubt it's the cable. It's probably that you're just too close to it. Even at 4K a 43 inch tv at a monitor depth is going to be calling it close.

This could be it lol. I feel really dumb for not just backing up to look at it. I really only have it connected to my computer so Either way I'm thinking of returning it to get a real Monitor for around the same price. Would you have any suggestions around ~300 usd?

I just ordered a Sceptre 43" 4k and a 49" 4k from Walmart after searching through a bunch of slickdeals postings. The prices are amazingly low; $250 and $350 respectively. If you read this in time you might be able to order it. It is probably the Thanksgiving pricing because the same TV is selling for $550 on Amazon right now. I saw some YouTube videos about the overscan problem but I can live with it. The hardware is raelly good but the firmware is not as good. Walmart does allow 90 day return so I'll try both out and maybe even keep both.