Best 32" LCD TVs £300-400 1080p - For use with MBP

[ptjh]

I'm getting a new TV for Christmas It'll probably be used equally for TV, Xbox 360 and as a big screen for audio production work on my MBP.

I figured the best way to ensure max resolution is to run a HDMI out of my MBP into the TV HDMI port - I'm going for 1920 x 1080 (2560x1600 is too steep).

What are you currently using or what would you recommend? Models available in the UK please.

I don't think i'll go for LED TV as they're expensive and I'm not sure there's a great deal of benefit although tell me if I'm wrong.

Thanks & Merry Christmas!

 

[ptjh]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether a 32" 1080p LCD will look good when used as a monitor close up (1-3 feet away)?

 

[pionata]

Hi Ptjh,
While interesting in concept, the TV would have to be a few feet away. Tvs are harder on the eyes when used up close and they also generate more heat and larger magnetic fields. There is a reason why they are cheaper than monitor.

There is currently a 40" sharp in special in Future Shop / Best Buy. That is a very good deal.

Otherwise if you want big, I would recommend you get, while more expensive, a Dell 30 inch monitor. It has inputs for all your consoles, and a better resolution for your mac.

 

[fpnc]

I've never seen an HDTV that looks good enough to be a direct replacement for a true computer display (at something as close as thirty inches). If you sit further away and use a large HDTV then it could be okay, but as a direct replacement at normal computer display distances I'd say no (unless you're not particularly demanding about the quality of the displayed text).

 

[RubbishBBspeed]

Using a TV as a monitor is a one way ticket to a pounding headache everyday. Like the lads have already said here. Tv's aren't designed for close field viewing.

The easiest way to look at the predicament is to divide the the number of horizontal lines a TV at 1080 by the vertical height of the display area (can't remember what it is for a 32' telly might be 540mm???). this gives you the individual line height and kind of gives you an idea of what used to be referred to as the dot pitch of old style CRT monitors. Essentially old school monitors had a dot pitch of between 0.14 (expensive) to 0.28 (cheap). the lower the number the more expensive. Graphics or gaming monitors always recommended a dot pitch below 0.24

With lcd's, The dot pitch is replaced by line thickness

a 32 inch TV if I remember off hand has a line height over 0.5mm. So it's essentially 4 times less definition than a Monitor (because it's height and width to take into account). Off hand I think the Apple 30' display has a line height of 0.25mm. Think of it as pixels per square centimetre

Hope that goes some way to explaining the difference.