720p or 1080p? Using it as a tv and a computer monitor.

Hi, i'm looking to buy a 32" or 37". I'm kind of settled at a 32", as I have a old 4:3 27" CRT on top of a 33" width wise, so i'm thinking a 37" tv's width is too big (around 36"). I sit about 5 feet away from my tv.

So that's some info.

I'm looking at 1080p or 720p. My dad looked at a 37" vizio 720p and w/ a coupon for the black friday sales, it comes to 550$ before taxes.

I'm thinking it's too big and i want 1080p.

My main concern is the 1080p for use of my screen monitor. I'd rather run at 1920x1080 than 1360x768. Everything else, i don't really need 1080p because my satellite only outputs at 720p, my dvd player is an old xbox. So, tv quality isn't that important, but it's nice to have. I'm just concerned about my screen resolution for use as my pc monitor. My video card up to date can run at a 1920x1080 resolution at its max, but currently, i'm using 1280x1024 (it's my current monitor's max). Can a 720p run a 1920x1080 resolution? I heard it can go to 1080i, so i'm not sure. And, since my video card is not relatively strong, how will running games at bigger resolutions look?

Should I just get a 32" 1080p?

 

I think that they would lag (games), but it really depends SO much on what you have. I connected my netbook to a 25.5" screen that had 1920 x 1200, and it was oh-my-goodness slow. It was suffering from GMA 950 though. I would really go for the 1080p though. You can upgrade your computer later, and it will look great. a video / show / anything playing at 720p will be stretched to fit on the screen if you're worried that it wouldn't. Anyway, any new LCD is nice! I got a 22" Element (random brand = more for your dollar) with WSXGA, 1680 x 1050. It worked perfectly with my 5 year old desktop running an Nvidia GeForce MX 440 with 64MB dedicated.

 

You should definitely get 1080p if you are planning to use it as a monitor. 720p (1280x720 or something close to that) is too low for anything above 22”; text will look too big, and you are wasting screen space by using such a small resolution. Games will perform slower at high resolutions, but you will not notice much of a quality difference by running games and movies on lower non native resolutions as you would notice with text. Therefore you can always run games at lower resolutions (i.e 720) but still have sharp and clear text and images at 1080 when using it as a monitor (for desktop work).

 

Alright, thanks guys, + rep

 

Additional question, on my video card on my desktop, it has a DVI, RGB, and S-video output. If I would still like to have my monitor i'm using right now available, is it possible to do so?

What I mean is, if I want to watch tv and use the computer at the same time, is there a way other than crawling around and messing with connections, to have a choice to have my current monitor on, then just having the tv for tv?

edit: I just realized the tv i want, a vizio 32", does not have a dvi, but does have a RGB input.

 

not sure if it helps/hurts, but I recently hooked my DAd's 37" Samsung HDTV to my Vostro with the 9-pin S-video to component at 720p (I believe) and although there wasn't video card lag, there was noticeable rendering latency b/t what I would be pressing, and what would be playing on the monitor. So no lag per se, but latency b/t my laptop and what was showing on the television screen...VERY bad when playing FPS's

 

LCD TVs generally have a high response time compared to LCD monitors (especially the cheaper ones). That might be the reason. BTW S-Video only supports standard definition 480i (720 x 480)/ 576i (720 x 576).

 

If your computer has two video outputs (VGA and DVI) then you can use two displays (TV and monitor) at once. There are three modes:
1. Display same output on both (clone)
2. Display different outputs (desktops) in each (extended)
3. Use only one display (single)
Once you connect both displays to your graphics card all of this can be done from the display driver (software), no need to crawl under the table to play with the cables.

I highly recommend a digital interface especially if you want to use it as a monitor. Because there is a noticeable quality difference between VGA and DVI/HDMI. Blurry images and ghosting are common problems of VGA due to signal attenuation and D>A / A>D conversion.

 

It;s actually not an -S-video port per se, it's a special port that is capable for full component HD, if I am to understand it correctly.

 

Ahhh, then the single sounds like what I need. My display drivers for my graphics card have quick option for secondary, but the only option is extended desktop... I'll tinker around with it I guess.

The problem about the DVI-> HDMI is about the sound. I'm not exactly sure of the VIZIO VO32LF will have the sound for it? I know the RGB input also has a stereo audio input for it, so, if I use a DVI-> HDMI converter, how will I get sound? It has a analog stereo input for one HDMI input, so will that work?

Thanks for the help.

 

You will more than likely have to use a converter for the sound, or just get a cheapo Home Theatre in a Box for the speakers.
Vizio are great TVs, I bought a 32" last year and my buddy did a week after I got mine, but like all TVs the sound quality sucks. It's okay for regular TV or computer noises, but not for watching movies or playing games...

I can't exactly recall what the connections on my Viz looks like, But I do know there are 2 HDMI Ins, and maby a 3.5mm in also.
Google images for the TV you want and reviews, someone might have taken a picture of the connections for that TV.

 

Bump, can i get more help about swapping between my computer monitor and my hdtv monitor? How do i go about doing this? I'm not sure about the single thing you mentioned phoenixfx.

Can I just resort to cloning and turning off one monitor when another isn't in use? In which case, I still am not sure how to clone with an hdtv as I don't have it right now to test. Will this waste power or deteriorate the monitors?

If I use a dvi-hdmi converter and a mini-audio to analog stereo audio converter, will that work?

edit: Actually, i dont think I can since my tv will run a 1920x1080p and my pc monitor runs at 1280x1024... hmm. Any help experts?

 

Question, say i have my surround sound hooked up to my main tv. How can i get the computer to play audio from the surround sound while also displaying video on the tv.... does the computer need to be connected to both?