Windows on a TV

I was just looking through the SFF gallery and noticed a lot of HTPCs hooked up to TVs - nothing unusual - but then I wandered what it would be like to run something like a 32" LED as a monitor for general usage.

I figured the response time would be very good, but wasn't sure about whether the pixel density at 1920x1080 on a screen that size would be too low, and what the colour accuracy was like on TVs. The price also compares favorably to comparably sized monitors.

I am not going to do this anytime soon, but am starting to think of replacing the monitor with at least a 27" and then though of exploring the TV option as an alternative.

Thanks in advance and please share your thoughts!

it would depend on what TV you get and in a way how fussy you are and what you want to do with it. i use my 50" plasma connected to my pc in the living room and it's great. i also have a 19" LCD i can connect it to when i want to watch tv and use the pc at the same time

if you were doing artwork or playing games then you might be more discerning, in which case you might be able to get some software and colour cards for matching the colour accuracy, but of course TVs are made for watching the telly primarily and not computing. it might be a bit too big for regular use of word and excel and emails, unless you are visually impaired, which i presume you aren't

getting a cheapo crappy lcd will probably look pretty crap, but a half decent brand may be okay, but do your research online for reviews before you buy

27" computer monitor = 2560x1440

27" TV = 1920x1080

And there's why I wouldn't want one.

I've got a 32" TV hooked up to my HTPC, at 1280x720, and it looks pretty awful. I would hate to have to use it as a computer, but thankfully everything's done through the remote control and mediaportal so it's not an issue.

I have my HTPC hooked up to a 26" 1280 x 768 TV and it's just about passable for casual PC gaming from a couple of metres away (by casual I mean hidden object puzzles, farm frenzy, occasional bouts of Neverwinter Nights or Starcraft). Similarly, it's manageable for a little bit of web browsing or email checking, but no more than half an hour at a time. What it is good for is (obviously) watching video content, and playing consoles or simple console ports (I have a complete sonic collection which looks great in 26" widescreen :D) - basically the stuff you'd want a TV to do right.

But if you're looking at monitors or TVs at similar price points, and it's just for plugging a computer into, then it's got to be a monitor every time.

There is an inherent compromise in linking computers up to TVs. Most of us who do are looking for specific functionality... HTPC/gaming etc. I think if you were to try and edit a Word document though, you'd be begging for a monitor in no time. I tried briefly (just for kicks) on my 42" Sony and it was awful. Static images and text reproduction never seem to work as well as on a monitor. I'm sure the middle-ground will narrow with time though.

I'd hate to use a TV as my primary monitor - assuming it'd be usable at all given the resolution of most TVs, it'd probably blind me after a while. TVs are really just supposed to be used for long-distance viewing (i.e. as the primary output for a HTPC).

My son has a 22" 1080p Digimate TV as the monitor on his PC. He uses the VGA and sound inputs to give him a monitor with integrated speakers (which is great as desk space is limited), but it also has freeview, integrated DVD player and can handle a games console being plugged into it. Works really well, but then as a TV it isn't that big and is basically the same size as the monitors I was looking at and not that much more expensive.

Have played World of Warcraft on the wall mounted 46" Samsung LED downstairs, and it is fun for a bit but despite being a superb image quality the fact that you are forced to view from such a long way away ultimately makes it harder work than having a screen on a desk in front of you. I think that is just the viewing angle vs typing angle setup though, after all I can use it with a console for hours on end with no problems.

Some TVs can't cope with a PC on their HDMI inputs (my son's included, hence the VGA input is used). The Samsung requires some pretty obscure setup to make it map HDMI to 1:1 pixels and not get horrible looking image due to scaling issues.

So, a monitor is easy and you know it will do the job. A TV might do the job, and can be more flexible but you need a pretty big desk for a 32" TV. A cheap panel is a cheap panel, be it a TV or monitor. I have an expensive panel in my TV and cheap panels in my monitors, all depends on what you want out of them :)

I'll tell you, you're more than likely to change your mind, after a few hours, it's just too much of an eye strain, well for me personally!

I've a HTPC with a HD5850 in it for gaming, bluray etc but not for your usual daily tasks of web usage/word processing, tried it, didn't like it but hey you might get on with it.

I tried my Sony 32' as a monitor for a while..couldn't take that size on my desk for too long..and also the resolution made all my games looks worse.