[Angus66]

I'm getting ready to replace my 4 year-old 42" 720p DLP TV with either a 1080p Plasma or 1080p LCD, and I'd like some opinions on which 42" - 46" Plasma functions best as a PC monitor.


I did a search on the subject but all of the useful threads are over a year old.


This will be my main TV (DLP is being moved to the bedroom) & will mainly be used for watching HD cable & Blue Ray movies but it will also be used for Xbox/PC games/some web surfing.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[Angus66]

Anyone???

 

[chrisherbert]

Pretty much any one will work. Panasonics and Pioneers are more IR resistant than Samsungs and LGs. The PZ80 isn't a good choice if your PC doesn't have a DVI output.

 

[paris_tn]

I have a pioneer fhd1 50" plasma and i really like it. To watch as my tv and sometimes i use it as a puter monitor. It produces very good for me. I would think any of the 1080p plasmas would work good for a puter monitor.


I think i'll get another wide screen monitor as mine is not widescreen to clone to my plasma. That will probably be a 32" Sony lcd tv. I would be careful if i was using the plasma for the computer monitor for long periods of time and stuck on internet explorer or etc. For a computer monitor you might look at lcd or be careful with your new plasma. If you go plasma and want 42 to 46", maybe Panasonic. LCD, i would go with a Sony xbr6.

 

[RYAXIN]

no issues with IR on my set. In fact, we rarely use our 20" LCD....

 

[tqn]

I would recommend staying away from Pioneer plasmas for use as a PC monitor. I had a 5010 in my house, so I have personal experience. The major issue is that to get clear text, you have to tell the TV that you're inputting a PC signal; however, this disables all color adjustments and so you're stuck with the TV's default colors (no, they're not accurate). If you don't tell the TV that you're inputting a PC signal, you will still get a picture, and color controls are available; however, now video processing is enabled, so the result is that all fine text will be barely legible as the video processing applies its various sharpening/filtering algorithms.


I ended up with a Samsung plasma (650) and it works quite well for movies, games, and web browsing (although text is quite small given my seating distance from the 1080p screen).


One thing to be wary of is plasma dithering. If your resolution will be 1080, and you want to be able to read text on a 42" - 46" screen at that resolution, you'll have to sit fairly close. At such a close distance, you may notice the dithering that plasma technology uses to produce shades of gray.

 

[Angus66]

Thanks for the replies folks.


Anyone else with suggestions or input?

 

[Patrick.]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus66 /forum/post/15523345


I'm getting ready to replace my 4 year-old 42" 720p DLP TV with either a 1080p Plasma or 1080p LCD, and I'd like some opinions on which 42" - 46" Plasma functions best as a PC monitor.


I did a search on the subject but all of the useful threads are over a year old.


This will be my main TV (DLP is being moved to the bedroom) & will mainly be used for watching HD cable & Blue Ray movies but it will also be used for Xbox/PC games/some web surfing.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Buy an LCD, plasmas are terrible PC monitors.

 

[Patrick.]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tqn /forum/post/15530563


I would recommend staying away from Pioneer plasmas for use as a PC monitor. I had a 5010 in my house, so I have personal experience. The major issue is that to get clear text, you have to tell the TV that you're inputting a PC signal; however, this disables all color adjustments and so you're stuck with the TV's default colors (no, they're not accurate). If you don't tell the TV that you're inputting a PC signal, you will still get a picture, and color controls are available; however, now video processing is enabled, so the result is that all fine text will be barely legible as the video processing applies its various sharpening/filtering algorithms.


I ended up with a Samsung plasma (650) and it works quite well for movies, games, and web browsing (although text is quite small given my seating distance from the 1080p screen).


One thing to be wary of is plasma dithering. If your resolution will be 1080, and you want to be able to read text on a 42" - 46" screen at that resolution, you'll have to sit fairly close. At such a close distance, you may notice the dithering that plasma technology uses to produce shades of gray.

Wow! Seems the 8gs are the same as the 9gs, terrible with PCs unless they're in that nasty PC mode.

 

[RYAXIN]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick. /forum/post/15531029


Buy an LCD, plasmas are terrible PC monitors.

IMO....this holds true if only using the TV as a PC monitor.

If the OP wants to use the plasma for TV viewing/movies/gaming/PC, then I would stick with the plasma, no questions asked.

 

[Patrick.]

Yeah they are good for games and movies but desktop action is less than satisfying. The new Panasonic models might be worth it, they are supposedly going to be cheap and super bright. As long as they've got dithering under control.


Today's TVs? Whether Pioneer, Panasonic or Samsung they all stink.

 

[dark1x]



Quote:
One thing to be wary of is plasma dithering. If your resolution will be 1080, and you want to be able to read text on a 42" - 46" screen at that resolution, you'll have to sit fairly close. At such a close distance, you may notice the dithering that plasma technology uses to produce shades of gray.

Plasma dithering is most severe with Samsung plasmas, however. The same problem isn't present on the Pioneer plasmas and is much reduced on Panasonic.

 

[chrisherbert]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dark1x /forum/post/15531465


Plasma dithering is most severe with Samsung plasmas, however. The same problem isn't present on the Pioneer plasmas and is much reduced on Panasonic.

Pioneer dithering is very noticeable when not in pc mode. Panasonics are very clear and almost completely free of dithering unless you are very very close to the screen.

 

[Patrick.]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dark1x /forum/post/15531465


Plasma dithering is most severe with Samsung plasmas, however. The same problem isn't present on the Pioneer plasmas and is much reduced on Panasonic.

View a simple gradient my friend and you will see that dithering is indeed present in Pioneer plasmas. They just hide it better than Panasonic or Samsung with video content.

 

[Patrick.]



Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisherbert /forum/post/15531527


Pioneer dithering is very noticeable when not in pc mode. Panasonics are very clear and almost completely free of dithering unless you are very very close to the screen.

You're confusing video processing with dithering.

 

[RichGuy]

Panasonic's professional models work excellent with computers.

http://www.panasonic.com/business/plasma/plasmas.asp

 

[mkoesel]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus66 /forum/post/15530869


Thanks for the replies folks.


Anyone else with suggestions or input?

You might want to give the Panasonic commercial monitors a look too. They are specifically designed as monitors, so they have nice things like an optional DVI input board, and size/position controls right on the remote. There are disadvantages too though - no tuners, no stand, no speakers. But you can add these things. Or if you are wall-mounting, have cable/satelite, and have a home theatre setup, none of that will matter.

 

[chrisherbert]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick. /forum/post/15531544


You're confusing video processing with dithering.

Dithering is a type of video processing. I have an 8G Pioneer and it's quite noticeable and it looks a lot like dithering to me.

 

[dark1x]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick. /forum/post/15531537


View a simple gradient my friend and you will see that dithering is indeed present in Pioneer plasmas. They just hide it better than Panasonic or Samsung with video content.

I'm actually referring to the "sparkling pixel" effect that was common with older plasmas. The Pioneer panels do indeed exhibit actual color dithering as well as some PWM noise, but it is nothing like the effect you see on those Samsung plasmas.


What exactly would you refer to this as, by the way? It basically results in a very noisy/grainy image in darker regions of the picture.

 

[Patrick.]

What I'm trying to say is no plasma doesn't use dithering, they are *all* 6 bit displays. You will never see a smooth transition on let's say this pattern http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gradient.php as you would on CRTs and some LCDs.