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help me find a good tv for dual screens.

R

rust.puppet

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2008
233
0
Ashtabula, OH
I just decided I may just buy a monitor / stand and blue tooth keyboard and mighty mouse instead of both a macbook AND a imac. [[not 100% yet]]

but im not 100% sure on what tv's are compatable (anything up to 24"?)

well i have 200 stuck in my head as a budget for the tv itself. i would like to get between a 20 and 22 but maybe willing to settle with a widescreen 19".

the reason i specified i need a tv is because i'd like to use the second screen as a tv when i feel like watching something in my office. [must have vga or dvi connections] ((which is better? vga or dvi? for macbook connecting))

i hope this makes sense, i have not much knowledge when it comes to finding a cheap tv.... they're all like 400$ for a 19 inch :(

thanks for any help guys!! :) also recommend stands if you want, all im familiar with is the griffin elevator.
 
good news and bad news.

good news, yes, you can get a widescreen LCD for $200 or so.
Bad news, that lcd is likely NOT to be a tv, too.

think about it this way.....
how are you going to watch tv? via cable?
in that case, you have to get an LCD tv with a built-in tuner.

you can't use a regular cheap LCD monitor because there's no input to get the TV signals in. The best LCD monitors have hdmi inputs, but you'd have to have an HD tivo or something to convert the signal into an HDMI output

i got really lucky and got this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889112020

for $210 shipped.

if you're looking from an LCD TV perspective, in general, LCD TV have low resolution. 720p is 1280x720 (roughly), which is close to a 13 macbook. you won't get the high resolution 1080p (1920x1200, roughly) until you get into the 32" LCD and higher, especially with your price target.

Overall, if you're wanting to use it as a TV, better look at an LCD TV but be prepared for (relatively) low resolution, and you'll have to be patient to find what you're looking for in your price range.

If you're fine with not using it as a TV, you can "easily" find an LCD monitor with higher resolution (1440x900 or higher) in your price range

=======

i use(d) the griffin elevator and I'm happy with it because it is collapsible and easily to transport.
 
rust.puppet said:
I just decided I may just buy a monitor / stand and blue tooth keyboard and mighty mouse instead of both a macbook AND a imac. [[not 100% yet]]

but im not 100% sure on what tv's are compatable (anything up to 24"?)

well i have 200 stuck in my head as a budget for the tv itself. i would like to get between a 20 and 22 but maybe willing to settle with a widescreen 19".

the reason i specified i need a tv is because i'd like to use the second screen as a tv when i feel like watching something in my office. [must have vga or dvi connections] ((which is better? vga or dvi? for macbook connecting))

i hope this makes sense, i have not much knowledge when it comes to finding a cheap tv.... they're all like 400$ for a 19 inch :(

thanks for any help guys!! :) also recommend stands if you want, all im familiar with is the griffin elevator.
Click to expand...

In the realm of LCD TV's, I've found it hard to beat Amazon's deals on Samsung models, in terms of price:performance ratio. http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN22A...2?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1233195573&sr=1-2 That would be a nice model for what you're looking for. 22", HDMI input (which you could use for your macbook, just go DVI output, then use a DVI-->HDMI cable) It looks like there's a VGA input as well.

That particular model is $389, with free shipping, and depending where you live, no sales tax as well. I've had them ship a few 26" models, and they've all arrived in perfect, working condition.

Edit: I just saw this one: http://www.amazon.com/Viewsonic-NX2...?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1233195573&sr=1-16 Its a TV/LCD monitor by Viewsonic. It's cheaper, higher resolution, but has quite a few more not-so-hot reviews on it. ($298 with free shipping, and no tax*)
 
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ok guys, scratch the tv part, it can be a monitor, there's no way its worth 100 or more extra for just the cable connection.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4150171&sku=S197-2204

i found this... after adding a 1 year extended warrenty and the cost of shipping it came out to 195$ it supports up to 1080i

im still looking but what is the actual resolution i can get out of the macbook on this monitor? [[i think im going to hook my xbox 360 to vga and macbook to dvi]]
 
rust.puppet said:
ok guys, scratch the tv part, it can be a monitor, there's no way its worth 100 or more extra for just the cable connection.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4150171&sku=S197-2204

i found this... after adding a 1 year extended warrenty and the cost of shipping it came out to 195$ it supports up to 1080i

im still looking but what is the actual resolution i can get out of the macbook on this monitor? [[i think im going to hook my xbox 360 to vga and macbook to dvi]]
Click to expand...

The macbook (Unibody and plastic ones) can drive upto 1920x1080 resolution, so 1650x1080 wouldn't be a problem.
 
thanks guys, right now im figuring out the cost of things with all the "must have accessories" that i'm planning on obtaining over time.

320gb internal hd [[the faster ones]]
4gb ram
that spectre lcd
griffin elevator
bluetooth keyboard and mouse
320gb external [[looking for a cheap one ATM]]
dvi adapter
logitech z4's [[last]]


[[and waaaaaaay down the road come this summer when i start college i'll need to buy a sleeve and messenger back]]
 
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