swissy_fit Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Prompted by the SDD thread as there are plainly many tech lovers on here - I am spending quite a few nights away from home at the moment and am looking to get a big monitor to connect to the work PC. This monitor would in an ideal world be able to act as :- 1. a good PC monitor, I'll be doing some online learning and programming development on it. 2. a TV screen, I'll be watching things like cricket highlights on it and I might even try streamng onto it. Anyone have any monitor recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Prompted by the SDD thread as there are plainly many tech lovers on here - I am spending quite a few nights away from home at the moment and am looking to get a big monitor to connect to the work PC. This monitor would in an ideal world be able to act as :- 1. a good PC monitor, I'll be doing some online learning and programming development on it. 2. a TV screen, I'll be watching things like cricket highlights on it and I might even try streamng onto it. Anyone have any monitor recommendations? BenQ GL2450HM 24 inch Just got one of these. I find that the widescreen works well with Eclipse - I was motivated to get a new widescreen monitor after we got them in the office. Has a HDMI input as well so it could fairly easily turn into a HDTV using an external box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Prompted by the SDD thread as there are plainly many tech lovers on here - I am spending quite a few nights away from home at the moment and am looking to get a big monitor to connect to the work PC. This monitor would in an ideal world be able to act as :- 1. a good PC monitor, I'll be doing some online learning and programming development on it. 2. a TV screen, I'll be watching things like cricket highlights on it and I might even try streamng onto it. Anyone have any monitor recommendations? I have a 26" Dell monitor (1920 x 1200) that we use as a PC/TV; however, it is not very usable as a desktop monitor because it is too big. It would be great for CAD and such, but at that screen size one would need more resolution to make it an acceptable PC monitor. The snag is, that if you want to watch TV in 1080HD, then going to a higher resolution monitor causes awkward subsampling of the TV picture, and you may well lose any advantage of the high definition in the first place. Don't current TV's have interfaces to use as PC monitors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionTerror Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I have a 26" Dell monitor (1920 x 1200) that we use as a PC/TV; however, it is not very usable as a desktop monitor because it is too big. It would be great for CAD and such, but at that screen size one would need more resolution to make it an acceptable PC monitor. The snag is, that if you want to watch TV in 1080HD, then going to a higher resolution monitor causes awkward subsampling of the TV picture, and you may well lose any advantage of the high definition in the first place. Don't current TV's have interfaces to use as PC monitors? It would be interesting to see the difference between 1080i & 1080p on a monitor... There are a still a fair number of people who still use CRT monitors when using things like CAD, as they provide a sharper image than flat panels... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 It would be interesting to see the difference between 1080i & 1080p on a monitor... There are a still a fair number of people who still use CRT monitors when using things like CAD, as they provide a sharper image than flat panels... I thought it was more that CRT had better colour fidelity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Friend of mine bought a Samsung 24 inch flat screen TV which doubles up as a PC monitor - very effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I thought it was more that CRT had better colour fidelity? Not quite, the CRT monitor has almost infinite bandwidth in the horizontal direction - whereas a LCD pixel can only be on or off thus the smallest object is one pixel, a vertical edge on a monitor can transition smoothly as the beam current is adjusted (analog), so the smallest object can be sub-pixel (as in three colour dot pixel on the screen face). The vertical resolution is the same for both, as the CRT scans discrete lines, and the LCD does the same with rows of pixels. The eye is more sensitive to transitions in the vertical plane, i.e. we see tree trunks more clearly than the horizon, which is why the scan direction was chosen to be horizontal at the outset of TV. Picture geometry is a nightmare problem for CRT designers, whereas it's very precise on an LCD. The colour fidelity is another matter, it depends entirely on the phosphors used in the CRT, and the backlighting/screen tech in the LCD. CRT's also have problems with colour registration at the edges of the scan, causing hue shifts, and variable colour due to environmental magnetic effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I just bought a monitor recently, for a very similar reason - watching TV streamed on my little laptop. Very pleased with the picture quality. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005QVZ79C/ref=pe_385721_37038051_pe_217191_31005151_M3T1_dp_1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 My Samsung doesn't have a monitor interface for a pc / laptop. And its fairly new. It has a few usb and hdmi though. Obviously not meant to be used as a monitor. My old Lcd does however. Also has an audio input - so i hear the tv speakers instead of the poor quality ones on the laptop. Would definitely recommend you get one with this. So this one is clearly meant to be used as a tv and a monitor. It is made by Hannspree though and they are mainly a monitor manufacturer iirc ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionTerror Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 My Samsung doesn't have a monitor interface for a pc / laptop. And its fairly new. It has a few usb and hdmi though. Obviously not meant to be used as a monitor. My old Lcd does however. Also has an audio input - so i hear the tv speakers instead of the poor quality ones on the laptop. Would definitely recommend you get one with this. So this one is clearly meant to be used as a tv and a monitor. It is made by Hannspree though and they are mainly a monitor manufacturer iirc ? AFAIK, most portable TVs (under 32") still have SVGA ports on them - as well as HDMI... Some higher end smaller TVs (and above) also come with ARC HDMI ports, which means you can either add a soundbar or a proper 5.1 to them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I just bought a monitor recently, for a very similar reason - watching TV streamed on my little laptop. Very pleased with the picture quality. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005QVZ79C/ref=pe_385721_37038051_pe_217191_31005151_M3T1_dp_1 Yes I have something similar, for the same reason. Has VGA, DVI and HDMI inputs (Iiyama). Crap thing is the base won't tilt! Good HD picture thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 AFAIK, most portable TVs (under 32") still have SVGA ports on them - as well as HDMI... Some higher end smaller TVs (and above) also come with ARC HDMI ports, which means you can either add a soundbar or a proper 5.1 to them.. I see - the size thing makes sense with the two i have. Is that because the picture doesn't work very well on a larger one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turned Out Nice Again Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 My work monitors are 2 hanns-g 28" hz281 lcds. This model is amazing value if you can still find one: VGA, dvi, and HDMI inputs, audio(albeit tinny), and most important 16:10 rather than the cramped 16:9 aspect ratio, (1920x1200 vs the ubiquitous 1920x1080). Great if like me you are require reading glasses yet prefer not to wear them while working. http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/monitors-and-projectors/monitors/hanns-g-hz281-908745/review#articleContent I also use an lg 42" LED 3d TV as a monitor, which is excellent in either capacity. Super crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 My Samsung doesn't have a monitor interface for a pc / laptop. And its fairly new. It has a few usb and hdmi though. Obviously not meant to be used as a monitor. My old Lcd does however. Also has an audio input - so i hear the tv speakers instead of the poor quality ones on the laptop. Would definitely recommend you get one with this. So this one is clearly meant to be used as a tv and a monitor. It is made by Hannspree though and they are mainly a monitor manufacturer iirc ? Do you not have a HDMI out on your laptop/PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Do you not have a HDMI out on your laptop/PC? Nope - laptop is about 5 years old though. Standard these days to have one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Nope - laptop is about 5 years old though. Standard these days to have one ? Yeah very. Also, my assumption was correct: http://www.amazon.co.uk/1-5M-HDMI-Male-Converter-Cable/dp/B003X97FLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385027680&sr=8-1&keywords=svga+hdmi+converter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Yeah very. Also, my assumption was correct: http://www.amazon.co.uk/1-5M-HDMI-Male-Converter-Cable/dp/B003X97FLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385027680&sr=8-1&keywords=svga+hdmi+converter Looks like i would need that cable and a converter. All very complicated !! Don't really use it much through my tv anyway. I suppose when i get a new laptop it will all become easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Looks like i would need that cable and a converter. All very complicated !! Don't really use it much through my tv anyway. I suppose when i get a new laptop it will all become easy. For sure - plug and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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