External Monitor for TV

Does anyone know of any monitors that can take cable input? I know Gateway had one afew years back but I can't find it now. If not, at least one that has composite/component hookups, I can feed the cable through my dvd player or something.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

Well lots of them do but, instead of looking for a monitor thats like a TV.... maybe you should look for a TV thats like a monitor.

Meaning just about any good quality HD TV will fit the bill perfect for you. In the case of cable, you will have a tuner built in too for most of them so you can eliminate the need for an external tuner box.

I mean HD TVs are great computer monitors, its what I use and it was without a doubt the single best purchase I ever made for my computer period and it can carry over from one upgrade to the next instead of becoming obsolete hardware like most computers do after a year or two has passed.

Also what good is having the best/fastest computer around if everything you do on it is viewed via the monitor, crappy monitor = crappy experience.

So my advice is to splurge abit and go BIG!

Here is what I have and use I did a review on it and took alot of pictures/test to show its performance, and just look at all the inputs!

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10105

 

I would NOT suggest using HDTVs as a monitor. There is a reason most monitors are more expensive than HDTVs at the same diagonal size. Pixel density is usually much much higher on monitors than TVs. Higher pixel density=higher native resolution=sharper picture. For instance, HDTVs in the ~20" range usually have 1366X768 resolution. By comparison, the common resolution on monitors in that range is 1680X1050.

In order to qualify as an HDTV, a device must have at least 1280X720. Since most companies are cheap and rely on having uninformed consumers, most HDTVs stick down around that res.

Now, on to whether you can use a monitor as a TV. There should be no problem with that, as long as your monitor supports 640X480, 1280X720, and 1920X1080 resolution. You will have to get an external tuner, but trust me, the payoff of the higher res when working on the computer will be well worth it.

 

Yeah I thought about that and the first thing I noticed is that same size LCD TVs vs Monitors, the TVs have lower resolution capabilities.

I thought I would like a large size but I got a 22 inch last night to try it out....doesn't have TV hookups or anything. And its just too big. I need some big enough to fit everything on the screen and be able to see it from my bed when I watch TV on it, but not big to the point where when I'm working on something my eyes have to look outward from each other to see everything lol......give me a headache.

I think I'll go with a 19" and find a tuner box because the next thing I thought of is that it would also need speakers, a remote blah blah blah.......so a tuner box that I can hook up my logitech speakers to would work better so I can adjust the volume and turn channels without having to get up.

Thanks for the advice, still looking for more input if anyone knows of a monitor that does all those things.

 

All of this can be remedied by sitting further away, and this means you have the option to sit further away, I can watch a movie while laying in bed, on my old 19" that was not a good option.

Plus they make 1080p sets in TV in the ~20" size you just have to do your research.

I sit about 4ft away from my 37" and its perfect (no screen door effect) I can see the whole screen but while gaming it takes enough perifial vision to make you feel in the game, while watching a movie its like a movie theater (and meets TXH standards for view angles) and while web browsing or word ect, it makes things much easier to read. I cant see one reason to get a higher pixel pitch for a computer monitor, only for my laptop would I think thats a good thing since its right infront of you while you work with it.

I also have read about 30 reviews of people using the same monitor as me and not a single one of us has regretted it or ever looked back.

 

Err? We are talking about true 1080p HDTV in the 32" to 42" range that supports full 1920x1080 that includes ATSC, NTSC. QAM tuners and all the input under the sun. You can get a Sharp 32" $850, 37" $1000 with the following specs, Brightness:450 cd/m2, Response Time:6 ms, Contrast Ratio:10000:1.

As for viewing distance, I currently use a 24" at home at a distance of about 30". I'm think about getting a 32" in it's place and place it a bit further back at about 40"

 

They make plenty of 20" sets that ACCEPT 1080p resolution, but most of them downscale, as the physical resolution (layout of actual physical pixels) is not 1920X1080. Plenty of people may be happy at those res too. Me personally though, every time I get a higher res monitor, I like it more than my older one. More screen realestate just can't be beat.

And yes Wiz, you can get a 32" sharp with 1080p native res. However, as you'll note, I said "TVs in the ~20" range". I just checked, and it is the same with Sony. 1080p native res starts at 32". Your also talking about TVs up around $1000, starting. By comparison, you can find 24" monitors with 1900X1200 native res for under 500 bucks.

 

Yea it all depends on your budget. A Dell 27" will set you back close to $1000 while you can have a 32" for just a bit less and it double nicely as a HDTV when watch Blu-ray disc.

 

The Dell would play Blu-ray just fine too though.

 

I was just being honest I am a hardware fanatic, building a new computer every year so I could keep ontop of the newest games at the best settings. It was worlds difference when I got rid of that 17" CRT and updated to a 19" LCD about 5 years ago or so. It made the whole use of the computer better and more enjoyable.

Then like 2 years ago or what ever it was when time came for me to build a new computer again being a wiki admin at widescreengamingforum.com and seeing the great deal on the westy 37" and all the great reviews I decided to get a new monitor instead of a new computer.

I tell you this 100% honestly, I had to use my old P4 computer with my new monitor for about another year since I only set aside so much fund for my computer stuff and it was 10x more enjoyable to use my old slow computer with the nice new huge screen and it felt much more like having a new computer than updating the hardware ever did. I have said it before your display is the key piece in interacting with your computer, no matter how good your hardware is, or how many FPS you have, you cant enjoy it without a good display and having a huge screen was without a doubt the best thing I ever did for my computer.

Now it doubles as my video game monitor too, I have my Wii hooked up to it and its great for super smash bros brawl, and today or tomarrow I get mario kart wii. It was just a really good investment it works for everything.

Your smaller higher resolution monitor means nothing to me because I could care less about the higher resolution when its all about perception and a bigger screen has a larger impact on percetion, and many of us have video game consoles too, they are 1080p at max and work great with HD TV,s but try to hook it to your 24" monitor (or like this guy on another thread that got the 30" monitor and he cant hook his video games up at all and had to take the monitor back) and you will find that the higher resolution is useless, and tell me how much fun it is to huddle 4 people around a 20-24" PC monitor to play Wii, or cuddle with your wife or girl friend to watch a movie.

 

Yea, I have one actually. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001238
Works amazing for my pc, tv, xbox 360

 

Well, I only have a 26" TV, and given the size of my room, it works ok for me. Would a bigger one be nice? Yes. Necessary? No. And I have actually cuddled with my gf while watching a movie on a 22" monitor. Suprisingly enough, some people have TVs that are smaller than 20" in their living roooms, and are perfectly happy with them.

Ultimately, it all depends on preference. Me, I like high res on a decent size monitor. A sharper image and more pixels on the screen make non-gaming better, and make games look better as well.