Plasma Screen for Computer Monitor

[Murf]

Hey,

I was thinking of just getting a small 42' Plasma screen to use as a monitor? Has any one ever done this before or used one? What would the quality be like and will the res be high? And what did you think about it when u used it or have one.

Thanks

[SilentDeath]

42' small? I think that redefines the word small... maybe BIG would be better word

unless its designed for HDTV (I dont know if any are.. dont know much about plasma screens) the res will be standard PAL-I which is 720*576 which is not that high

Quality would most likely be bad unless it has dvi or vga input.

[jsterling]

ive seen them used as pc monitors in a desk gallery on other forums. Most run at 1024*768, which i would find is a bit small for that size of screen. The easiest thing would be to take a laptop down to your local richer sounds / plasma dealer and ask to check out the resolution.

[Murf]

Yes Small :-p Well the 63" Plasma options are still available

Yeah should be interesting... Do u rekon they would be ok to sit fairly close to? like a normal monitor just like bigger lol...

[këö¬t]

don't plasma screens suffer from serious burn-in issues though? ten hours of web browsing and you'd have the firefox logo and your start button permanently burnt into the screen... :s
nice comparison between plasma screens and lcd screens here.

[Dorza]

don't plasma screens suffer from serious burn-in issues though? ten hours of web browsing and you'd have the firefox logo and your start button permanently burnt into the screen... :s
nice comparison between plasma screens and lcd screens here.

Yes from what ive read. They have problems with those little channel logo things in the top right or left corner of the screen. If you stay on a chanel that has such a logo (ITV2 for example) for too long the logo may burn its self into the screen. They also get very very hot aswell iirc. From what i know, which isnt much about this stuff id look more towards TFT/LCD screens, but im not sure if their more expensive.

In relation to what Murf asked i think the further you r away from them the sharper they are. At least when i was down comet last time the screens they had wern't that impressive, tho this could have been down to the signal to them.

[Proplus]

1024x768 on a 42" screen is a right pain. And sitting up close to it is only going to make things even more blurrier.

For the money involved in getting one, I'd go for a projector!

[TheMunky]

I would stick to TFT because plasma screens have a shorter life span than a TFT and will burn out well before a TFT or a CRT will.

[Lead_Head]

I'd got for a projector if you have the room. For the money you'd spend on a plasma, you could have a cracking bigger projecter on your wall!

[unrealrocks]

I know Samsung do some Huge (28") SyncMaster monitors, they look pritty good as there designed for computer and gaming rather than Video. Burning in shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Don't forget with a projector with a decent amount of use (even quicker with PC use) your going to need to change your bulb at least once a year, thats £250/yr (normally around that) maintanance cost

[SilentDeath]

£250 for one bulb?!?!? why do they cost so much? Are they calibrated to give perfect white light, or just uber high wattage? (or uber long life?) or something?
Couldnt one be replaced with a high wattage ordinary bulb?
Ive read about DIY projectors, using LCD screens, special lenses etc... I would build my own if I was going to get one - as lcd's usually have resonably high res, whereas for a high res projector I think you pay a lot?

[unrealrocks]

£250 for one bulb?!?!? why do they cost so much? Are they calibrated to give perfect white light, or just uber high wattage? (or uber long life?) or something?
Couldnt one be replaced with a high wattage ordinary bulb?
Ive read about DIY projectors, using LCD screens, special lenses etc... I would build my own if I was going to get one - as lcd's usually have resonably high res, whereas for a high res projector I think you pay a lot?

Mainly because of there smallness and high power output, they run at extreme temperatures (hence why they have huge fans cooling them and you must never just switch one off - allways let it run down with the fan ).

Yeah - I've seen a few pictures of those frensel lenses running with normal TVs etc. From what I can tell it does work although no where near as good as a real projector.