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HDTV or computer monitor for this scenario?

U

uspcommuter

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 23, 2004
133
0
Hey y'all,

Long story short, my place was broken into, lost my stuff and my precious iMac and I am in the midst of rebuilding my life. I am getting a mbp unibody, but I kinda miss the BIG screen functionality that I had with the iMac (20 inches) because I do alot of multi-tasking. Excel, adium, firefox, mail, itunes and eyetv or VLC (yes at the minimum).

I also have a Wii and PS3 but no tv. So at this point, I am thinking what should I go with, a HDTV or a regular exertnal display (dell, apple etc.)? I have about 800 bucks.

So please answer this...which one would you go with? pros and cons? and any suggestions on what model I should buy?

Thanks much.
 
Since you don't have a TV I would go for a HDTV. I think you would appreciate all the extra connections, especially if you hook your MBP, Wii, and PS3 all up at once. It sounds like you don't have TV service right now so I would go for the HDTV in case you get satellite, cable, etc. in the future.

You can get a decent 32 inch LCD for $600-$700. That's a little larger than I would personally want for a computer monitor but it would be great for the other game systems.
 
I'd personally recommend one of the non-apple displays (E.g. Dell or HP), with HDMI (PS3) and Component (Wii) inputs.

If you do decide to go down the HDTV route and use it as a monitor, I'd try to make sure it's a full 1920 x 1080 pixel display, and it supports 1:1 Pixel Mapping.
 
Hello, sorry about you stuff :(

I've looked around, and i think im going to buy this:
Samsung SyncMaster T240HD
1011729840.jpg


It has a ton of inputs. Its also comes with a nice remote.
samsung-t240hd.567227.jpg

edit: Did i mention its 1080p

oooh la la

edit again: Its around $400 but you can find for $300-400, maybe.
 
Get HDTV

I agree that you ought to get an HDTV. There are a ton of great 720p TVs for amazingly low prices, as all the stores go to 1080p sets.

In particular, Best Buy has a Panasonic 50 inch 720p plasma TV for an outrageously low price: $899. I just picked one up this weekend and LOVE it.:D (BTW, don't believe the Best Buy website. This is not a 1024X 768 set; it is a 1366 X 768 set.)
 
TV, your laptop already has a screen. You probably wont like using your TV as a monitor but you also probably wont mind using just your laptop screen. You cant watch tv on a monitor without an expensive tuner and youre stuck watching it on a small screen sitting at a desk, that sucks.
 
stainlessliquid said:
TV, your laptop already has a screen. You probably wont like using your TV as a monitor but you also probably wont mind using just your laptop screen. You cant watch tv on a monitor without an expensive tuner and youre stuck watching it on a small screen sitting at a desk, that sucks.
Click to expand...

The monitor i posted has a built in HDTV tuner.
 
Depends on what you're used to and what you'd be using the TV/monitor for. I have a 20 inch flat screen hooked up to my macbook. It works nicely since I'm in a smaller dorm room, so I put the TV/monitor on my desk and can use it as an extra monitor (for reading PDFs, outlines, etc) or as a TV and sit on my bed or chair, you know? It works for me since my room is small, but depending on your setup, it might not work.

Idea: consider getting a mac-mini instead of the macbook, and thus you can put your TV in a more prime location than your work area?
 
I was also debating between a HDTV and a Computer Monitor. In fact I bought a Sharp 26" HDTV and a Samsung TOC260 computer monitor to do some side by side testing.

Things computer monitor did better than HDTV:
The HDTV is 720p compared to the 1080p Samsung display
The HDTV was bulky and heavier than monitor
Samsung also has a HDTV tuner
Monitor had more inputs than HDTV
Monitor generated less heat than the HDTV

Things HDTV did better than computer monitor:
Watching TV was a pleasure
Comes with lot of features like picture in picture, etc.

I am sure you can find a full 1080p HDTV with better features than the Sharp that I was testing. For my price range ($450) the monitor was a better choice.
 
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