I could use some advice from those of you who are using your XBR970 as your PC monitor. First some info about my computer. It's an AMD X2 3600MHz, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD, and a Nvidia eGeForce 7600GT video card hooked to my tv with a DVI to HDMI cable. I can get HD video to look very nice on it, but other than that, it does not look nice. The best resolution I could get so that the OS looked "ok" was some weird 1162X624 (that's not it, but it was along those lines) resolution through Nvidia's control panel software. How do I get it to look normal on my tv, what does everyone here do?

I wouldn't be using my 34XBR970, nor any other "tv", as a computer monitor. The grill pitch isn't even close to being sharp/tight enough to run at typical computer screen resolutions that are commonly used today without text appearing unclear and fuzzy looking.

However, CRTs designed to be computer monitors are another thing altogether. A lot of people still use computer CRT screens for every day computing needs. But those CRTs have a grill/dot pitch tight enough so that text appears sharp, not fuzzy looking.

"TV" CRTs are designed with the intent of watching video with, either SD or HD. And of course, they make great displays for video game consoles as well.

But that's just my opinion.


nx211

Another thing, I just saw an add yesterday for a 19" LCD for only $159.

The price of computer LCD screens have really been dropping these last couple of years. I would suggest you check into something like that instead, or at very least, go to the CE stores and look into it. That's not a lot of money and you'll probably be happier with something that was designed to be a computer display to begin with.

The 34XBR970 is a nice "TV", but it's a far cry from being a "be-all and end-all" display device.


nx211

Yea man. I haven't even thought about using my xbr970 as a PC monitor. Blurry text is not fun to read at all.

what does everyone here do?
The only PC I have connected to it is an HTPC running SageTV.

I have a PC hooked up to mine via component (XBR960 BTW) and it looks alright. I use the Beyond Media UI which is made for TVs, though. I primarily use it for DVD storage and playback. The HTPC thread has some great info on what you're trying to do.