Monitors: Stick to a monitor or get an HDTV?

I'm currently shopping around for a monitor to pair up to my Envy 17 Notebook. Pricing things around it occurred to me that the size vs price ratio are pretty insane when it comes to monitors. Yet similarly and even larger sized HDTVs retail for cheaper... not to mention they have more input choices, higher refresh rates and more real estate...

Which begs the question... why should I spend upwards $300 on a designated LCD monitor with a 60mhz refresh rate, one HDMI input and one DVI input when I could spend less on a larger LCD HDTV with 120mhz, multiple inputs that I can also use watch TV if I want?

Am I missing something?

Sorry if this has been discussed before, I couldn't really find much about it.

 

It depends on what you are going to most with the screen. if your going to do mostly gaming then get a monitor, if you think you will be doing a little of everything get a HDTV. If you can find a reasonably priced Tv with the Inputs you want then get it.

 

I like both, they both have merits. Though if I could only have one I think I would actually be leaning to the side of a 37" HDTV because the size just makes everything awesome.

 

Makes sense to me. That is exactly what I did... bought a 32" Sharp Aquos 1080p 60Hz screen for my desktop PC. See this thread:
New Toy: Sharp 32" 1080p LCD HDTV as monitor - Sharky Forums

One disadvantage is that the screen might be TOO big. I'm sitting about 4 feet away from my monitor, as I have a large desk. Any closer than that would be too close for me.

The other disadvantage is that the resolution may be too much for your video card to handle. I bought my monitor about 2 years ago, when I was running an nVidia 8800GT on a 1680x1050 monitor. 2 months after getting my new monitor, I had to upgrade to an nVidia GTX260 to handle the higher 1920x1080 resolution in games. I don't know what kind of GPU you have in your laptop, but you might want to note that you'll likely have to lower detail image detail levels if you're planning on gaming at native res on that screen.

Otherwise, day-to-day computer use is fine. Text looks great, gaming looks great, browsing documents looks great, writing code looks great. Just be sure to get a high-quality panel with good contrast ratios, color accuracy, and a matte finish.

The benefits of using an HDTV in this way is that you actually get an HDTV, and not just a dumb display monitor. That means:

• Multiple HD inputs - HDMI and Component Video. Easily connect multiple devices (computers, laptops, game consoles) and switch between them.
• Built-in speakers
• Built-in HD tuner
• Remote Control
• Looks AWESOME. People WILL notice when they see it.
• 32" 1080p HDTV is easily repurposed in the future as a bedroom TV, dorm room TV, can be resold, etc. Much harder to do this with a dumb monitor.

Hope this helps.

 

The main differences I personally see between a LCD monitor and a LCD HDTV is the refresh rates and the pixel size on the screen.

I've noticed some lag/stuttering in computer games on my 42" Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV with a refresh rate of 120Hz at 1920x1080. However, computer gameplay seems much smoother on my Samsung 27" LCD monitor with only a refresh rate of 75Hz at 1920x1080. Console games play perfectly fine on the Sharp Aquos LCD TV though. I have no idea why computer gameplay on my LCD monitor would seem smoother than my LCD HDTV. I'm using HDMI on the LCD HDTV and DVI on the LCD monitor.

Also, the pixels seem to blend on my Samsung 27" LCD monitor and are not that visible unless I look really closely on the screen. While the pixels are quite visible on my 42" Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV from the same distance. I'm guessing, the pixels are much larger on the LCD HDTV due to the larger screen size.

If you are not facing these 2 problems on your LCD HDTV for computer use then you should stick with it.

 

It's the video scaler. If the manufacturer of the HDTV used a cheap video scaler, it can add some delay. If you're using a monitor at native res, then this isn't a problem. The monitor either uses a low-latency video scaler, or it relies on the video card to do the scaling for it and just displays raw pixel info.

To get around this, just do your research and buy an HDTV that other people have successfully used as computer monitors or video gaming displays.

You are correct. If you make a larger screen, but keep resolution the same, then the individual pixels will need to be larger. This is measured as PPI (Pixels Per Inch).

A 32" 1080p (1920x1080) display has about 67 PPI. A 42" 1080p (1920x1080) display has about 52 PPI. For comparison, a 13.3" 1280x800 notebook screen has about 115 PPI, and a 27" 1920x1200 monitor has about 84 PPI.

The closer you are to the screen, the more PPI matters, which is why smartphones have REALLY high PPI screens (200+ PPI). At a distance of about 3 - 4 feet, the 67 PPI on a 32" 1080p screen becomes irrelevant.

 

Thanks for everyone's input.

For reference, the laptop will be outputting video via HDMI from a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon 5850. The laptop's native res is 1920 x 1080. I'm currently using an older Samsung 24" 245BW LCD that runs natively at 1920 x 1200. The laptop outputs just fine to it. However, 1920 x 1200 16:10 monitors are becoming either too rare or too expensive, hence my idea of going HDTV.

Sounds like a small HDTV that outputs 1080P would probably be a good alternative... Still weighing options.

 

Main contender at this time is HP 2509m 25" Diagonal Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor | HP® Official Store for $250 tax included, free shipping. Tempting.

 

If you are going to buy monitor, I would look into a PVA or IPS panel. Once you use one you will never go back to TN. Dell has had good deals lately. You can get a 22 or 23 inch for less than $250

 

The only thing is that it has to be 24" or larger.

One of the Dell screens I looked at is this one Dell UltraSharp? U2410 Monitor with PremierColor technology but the pricetag is too high, unfortunately.

The other two contenders are: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...nf=177~0~174493&s=dhs&prods=320-9327,320-9334

Which I don't quite understand. They both have the same specs, yet the one with HDMI is cheaper...

 

The Dell U2410 is a IPS Panel. The other ones are TN panels...If you already have 1920x1200, I do not think you will like 1080p.

Another monitor to look at is the HP z24w. Although over your budget, it's cheaper than the Dell.

Another option is a refurbished HP LP2465 from geeks.com for $179.99. You can read reviews here. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176144

Unless you need the speakers on the monitor, HDMI doesn't matter. Any monitor with DVI will work with a HDMI to DVI cable.

 

Not much, since the line between HDTV and computer monitors are beginning to blur. Nevertheless, there are still a few distinct differences which have already been mentioned.

Another to consider are resolution. You can't typically find a 1080p display in an HDTV under 37". In addition, TVs all come with tuners and speakers and generally offer wider viewing angles.

Since they are designed as TVs first, there are also a gamut of built-in features like cinema display and other programmable features that make the TV experience more enjoyable.

The list of features can vary, but it's up to you to decide which ones are important, and which ones you can live without. Should you choose to go with the more basic computer monitor, you should have a more satisfactory visual experience since it's display is more adaptable to varying ambient lighting.

When it comes to ports, there not a lot of difference, but the ones you need for a computer monitor will be in greater abundance with a bona fide computer monitor than they would from a TV monitor particularity with one under 40".