Hi all

Have been thinking about buying a 32" HD LCD tv -Goodmans £550.00.Pc compatible etc.

My question is will this look good or crap as I only want it to use it for LFS.

Are there better deals/tvs on the market for around this kind of money.

Thanks for reading

Cheers Rolly-uk

It'll probably look okay and it'll be big, but you'd get a much higher resolution with a computer monitor. A 24" widescreen LCD monitor has a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 and may cost a little less.

The higher resolution mainly results in a smoother image. In theory, Anti-Aliasing should do a decent job with the lower resolution on the TV, though.

Thanks but a pc monitor of that size would be expensive

What's the refresh rate?

When I bought an LCD screen I was looking a little less on the money front so I went smaller, but I didn't compromise on performance with a Samsung 940BF - although begrudgingly in making this post I now see they are quite a lot cheaper! Grrrr.

I dont know what stats your has for the various attributes such as contrast ratio etc, but this has a 2ms reaction time when most LCD screens on the market seem to be WAY slower, and this is important for gaming. You pay more for 2ms performance, I can't exactly say to this screen was value for money but when you go through the various features of an LCD screen it has one average stat and all the rest excel, it has no weeknesses - and that's another key point. If you get a screen with a low contrast ratio for instance you'll forever be noticing it.

You are looking at a much larger screen so comparing to a 19" isn't going to help much but try to find out the comparable statistics of other screens of the same/similar size to be sure yours isn't going to be a dog, but check out the refresh rate as if it's aimed for television you might find it just isn't up to scratch for gaming and leaves ghosted shadows behind - which isn't so hot for LFS.

Quote from Rolly-uk :

Thanks but a pc monitor of that size would be expensive

I just looked at the prices in the UK and it seems you're right. Here in the US, Dell's 24" monitor is $750 (394 GBP), versus 620 GBP in the UK. Sorry.

i have a 27" LCD HDTV ... resolution is 1280 x 720 and everything runs fine on my computer ... i also use it for xbox 360 my computer TV and DVD's ... cleared up having a tv and a monitor next to each other and wow what a difference with dvd's is HDTV ... i say get it its awsome ... ALSO you can have picture in picture and watch Formula 1 while on the comp and stuff its awsome

Thanks for your replys and advice
The tv is a LCD HD 32" Goodmans £550.00
Specs:Pixel resolution 1366x768
Contrast ratio 800:1 RGB PC in Yes
as yet I do not know the refresh rate...still looking

If you no more about this tv than i do then please tell me more.here is the link

http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbr ... 455&searchStatus=true

Cheers
Rolly

To be honest all i want is a big screen to add more realism plus a better view as I am 40 and my eyesight is not as good as it used to be

Rolly

Becky ...your monitor rocks... I have a Xerox 19" monitor which has an 8ms response ( loverly rich colours by the way). A 2ms ...now thats Nice

I live in the US and am currently running live for speed on a 32 inch Hyundai LCD TV DVI input at 1360 x 768 and it looks awesome. Bigger is better. My video card is a 7900 Gt with AA and AF maxed out. Steve P

I agree that bigger is better, but with the caveat that you need good resolution. I don't know what the specs are on the TV that the OP mentioned, but I'm running a ~50" projection screen myself. The size is VERY immersive. Probably the best investment I made in my LFS rig other than my DFP. However; unless you're running a pretty high resolution it's going to be distracting. I'm running 1280x720 (720p HDTV resolution) and it looks good, but I can still see the individual pixels because the screen is so large and so close.

For a 30"+ screen I'd want to make sure that it can display at least 720 lines of resolution. More = better, so long as your machine can push the pixels.

Edit: I looked at the specs. It's got a DVI connection, it's a decent resolution, it's got a decent contrast ratio. No mention of the refresh rate, but unless it's horribly slow it sure looks like it'd be a decent gaming monitor.

right a 1280 x 720 is a 720P is a HD resolution ... there is a new tv out that has 1080P but thats some BIG BUCKS

Judging an LCD screen solely by its response time is not wise. There are many other factors that influence how 'nice' the picture will be (colour accuracy, brightness, contrast, etc...). Some manufacturers may even trade some of these things for a fast response time, so you may end up with a 2ms screen that looks completely horrible.

The best way to test a monitor is to actually have a look at it. Pick one that looks good to YOU. Failing that, I'd recommend reading some reviews on the net and see what others think about it.


You can check out this article for a fairly decent explanation of LCD monitor reponse times:

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/ ... on-lcd-response-time.html

A very annoying thing with LCD TVs in general is, that almost all of them have problems with supporting the whole range of common PC video modes. Some of them can not even handle their native resolution, so you would have to use a lower resolution which is upscaled then. Normally the list of compatible modes is not listed in the customer specs, so I would explicitly ask for this before buying one (or better you find the model somewhere tested in a computer magazine).

Quote from lowgoods :

A very annoying thing with LCD TVs in general is, that almost all of them have problems with supporting the whole range of common PC video modes. Some of them can not even handle their native resolution, so you would have to use a lower resolution which is upscaled then. Normally the list of compatible modes is not listed in the customer specs, so I would explicitly ask for this before buying one (or better you find the model somewhere tested in a computer magazine).

The feature your are after for good PC output is 1:1 pixel mapping.

I recommend http://www.avforums.com/ for further info.

I use 1:1 pixelmapping on my Samsung LE40M61. I end up at about 1290x746 or something for no overscan. Looks awesome in LFS at fairly high AA (16x SLI AA). Just remember to turn on v-sync, as tearing is VERY apparent on a TV-set. As long as your PC can churn out 60frames or more you're ok. The immersion is great, and you can run wider FOV on a widescreen set and get better sense of speed. Add in a decent set of speakers and a good amp, and I'm all set!

Once again thankyou for all your suggestions and advice. It's a hard decision to make as it is a lot of money for a tv/monitor and even harder to explain to the wife when it does not perform as predicted.
I know that there are quite a few people out there who use LCD tv's for LFS/gaming. I just want to spend my money wisley and with all your help I am hoping that I will make the right choice.


Thanks Rolly

i have a Syntax Olevia cost me about 1000USD with the extra warranty (all expensive electronics i get it just incase) anyways it has parts from a Panasonic LCD such as the screen and some stuff on the mobo ... i havnt had a problem yet with it and its been over a year ... i dont know about that brand however ...

i was thinking since im building a new room sorta of an apartment of getting 2 smaller like 17 or 19" lcd screens and running it 3 screen ... but im goin away so there goes that money

This place may be worth a try:

http://www.itclear.com/monitors.htm

Got a Dell 17in LCD from them for my folks a couple of years ago and got excellent service. Some of their stuff is new and some is refurbished stock (ex demo and returns etc). The one I got was a refurb, but you wouldn't know. They have lots of great deals on new stuff too. There's a 24in Dell on their for £550. I know it's a fair bit smaller, but it is much higher res, and if say your gonna put the thing on a desk a few feet in front of you, then your really gonna notice the pixels on even an HDTV. If it's going to be wall mounted or something then it's not really an issue and I'd say go for the TV.

Goodmans obviously aren't going to be as good as say a top end Philips, Panasonic, Sony or Pioneer, but I'm sure it'll still be decent quality. Make sure you check out the viewing angles and how reflective the screen is though as it's a real pain when you have to be absolutely level with the screen to see it properly.

Also....just as a note to everyone in the UK especially. MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE THING OFF IN THE SUMMER when you're not using it! I've had the real annoyance of tiny thunder flies getting behind the lcd panel and backlight. One has now died there and is stuck, so I have a 3mm long black speck on the screen! They're attracted by the white and the heat and LCD panels ARE NOT SEALED so they can get in pretty easily. It's not covered under warranty either and IMO it's gonna be a big problem. I've already heard of people with 10 or 15 stuck behind the screen!

Quote from Rolly-uk :

Thanks for your replys and advice
The tv is a LCD HD 32" Goodmans £550.00
Specs:Pixel resolution 1366x768
Contrast ratio 800:1 RGB PC in Yes
as yet I do not know the refresh rate...still looking

If you no more about this tv than i do then please tell me more.here is the link

http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbr ... 455&searchStatus=true

Cheers
Rolly

The refresh rate is quite easy to answer.Its actually 50hz for PAL and 100Hz if its PAL+ because this is the norm for TV in PAL.
If the screen has HDMI or DVI input it can probably do max 60-75hz...no more.

Please dont compare CRT refresh rate with LCD refresh rate.Due to different technologythe LCD rate being even 50Hz doesnt make problem to human eyes as CRT do by flickering to eyes which might result in headache.

Thanks all, this is really helping me decide what I am going to do.

Anyone else out there using a LCD tv as a Pc monitor - Please give me your review.

Even a picture of LFS on a big screen

Also anyone with a Large Lcd tv....has it improved your lap times

I don't know if playing on a big screen has improved my lap times or not. I probably don't drive enough to notice. However; it definitely DOES improve immersion and my sense of what the car is doing. A big screen is the most important thing next to a good steering wheel, IMO.