#4482616 - 07/13/19 03:04 AM
Does a small flat screen tv make a decent PC monitor?
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,252
Coot
Pilgrim
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Pilgrim
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,252
These United States of America
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This may seem like a silly question but I just don't know. My sister got a new TV and dropped of the one I had gotten for her as she doesn't need it anymore. Its a Magnavox flat screen I bought several years ago. I think its 32", has HDMI ports, says its an LED screen. I was just curious if a modernish tv nowadays would make for a decent PC screen. I'm still using a 27" widescreen monitor, a Sceptre brand that I bought in 2010 originally to use for an XBox360. Its been a good screen, nothing fancy. Is there a significant difference in the way they make computer monitors compared to HDTVs?
I'm tempted to hook it up for a change of pace, a little bigger viewing area and perhaps a brighter image being that its an LED. I remember buying an LED computer monitor from Best Buy once and I eventually discovered that I didn't care for it. It was TOO bright. Also, does vertical sync work the same way on TVs? Again I don't know much about it but I'm assuming that vsync is a function applied by your video card and its software. So would I be able to enable vsync just fine? Being a TV, how do I know its refresh rate? Also, being a tv, I also have no clue about the screen latency and refresh specs or if they are even done the same way as a PC montior.
John 10:1-30 Romans 10:1-13
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#4482636 - 07/13/19 10:21 AM
Re: Does a small flat screen tv make a decent PC monitor?
[Re: Coot]
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Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,854
Allen
Hotshot
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Hotshot
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,854
Ohio USA
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Questions about latency etc, I don't know answers. But, a couple things.
For my eyes, TV are good average monitors in general. I've used led TV monitors (and plasma tv) for PCs for years (along with normal PC monitors) -- we currently have 5 TVs (27"-1K, 43"-4K, 49"-4K. 56"-1K, 60"-1K) attached to PCs in different rooms. My current main system 43" 4K monitor is an LED TV. It replaces an excellent 32" 2K standard monitor. However, over the years a couple TVs have looked oddly pixelated when viewed up close.
I checked the color rendition on my current 43"-4K TV unit using a tool for the purpose. Its excellent (virtually perfect). Most older TVs as monitors are not excellent. But, most PC monitors are not excellent either.
TVs (and many monitors) have poor "black levels". Dark black areas can look dark gray.
Many are 60Hz refresh. My current one says 120Hz. But, the way I game, over 60Hz does not matter.
To my eyes, 27 inch is the maximum size that works for 1080p (1K) on the desktop. Bigger 1080p screens look pixelated from desktop distances -- but are okay at longer distances.
So, you might want to try it and see for yourself. By the way, brightness is variable using PC settings with my setup (I assume that's generally true). Its also variable using the TV controller. I do cut my brightness on my 43" depending on the use. Just opinions FWIW.
Sapphire Pulse RX7900XTX, 3 monitors = 23P (1080p) + SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 1000R curve (4K/2160p) + 23P (1080p), AMD R9-7950X (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420), 64GB RAM@6.0GHz, Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER MB, (4x M.2 SSD + 2xSSD + 2xHD) = ~52TB storage, EVGA 1600W PSU, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower, ASUS RT-AX89X 6000Mbps WiFi router, VKB Gladiator WW2 Stick, Pedals, G.Skill RGB KB, AORUS Thunder M7 Mouse, W11 Pro
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#4482810 - 07/14/19 07:45 PM
Re: Does a small flat screen tv make a decent PC monitor?
[Re: Coot]
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,922
Paradaz
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,922
UK
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vsync will work fine.....the tech is in the gpu and it simply matches (synchronises) with the refresh rate every frame or every second frame......so if it's 60Hz you'll be locked in at 60fps or 30fps. The biggest problem we all have with TVs is that they have much slower response times and therefore input lag becomes a noticeable issue. Good monitors will be 1-4 ms but even the fastest TVs are 15-40ms, this can make fast twitch games like First Person Shooters feel like they are lagging and more often than not it feels like the controls are half a second behind the action. Some TVs have a 'game mode' which attempts to remove as much of the processing as possible to bring down the response time but still, even 15-20ms can be noticeable depending on the type of games you play. With some TVs, it's also difficult to identify what the response time actually is because they often don't include it in the specification. There is a website which publishes some of the best gaming TV response times - link
On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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