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I have an HTPC with an ATI AIW Radeon 7500 card feeding a 27-inch NTSC TV. I use it (a) as a PC, (b) to watch DVDs, and (c) to timeshift NTSC TV. I'm really sick of the small, unclear NTSC TV I'm using as a display device, and I want something bigger and better. For various reasons I've decided on a 34-inch (or larger, but nothing seems available) 16:9 CRT display.
I first looked at HDTVs, and had pretty much chosen the Sony KV-34XBR800, but I am worried about compatibility with my ATI card's DVI output, overscan, and other issues associated with using a TV as a PC monitor that are discussed elsewhere on this forum.
Digging around here revealed to me that there's another alternative: a 16:9 PC monitor. After more research I've pretty much settled on the
CTX MS3600VF
Monivision DM7352SF
Princeton AR3.4FTW
Examining the mfr's Web sites & spec sheets leads me to believe that these three are all the same monitor, made by Chun Yun in Taiwan and rebadged by the various resellers. This unit is a "36-inch" 16:9 CRT PC monitor that has a VGA input and analog component inputs. No DVI.
Has anyone seen this unit in person? Better yet, does anyone own one? I've spent some time looking on the Web and can find no seller in my area (metro Atlanta). I'd really, really rather not have to mail-order this huge item, and have to risk $400 in round-trip shipping charges should I have to return it.
Why would I have to return it? Why wouldn't I like it? Well, for starters, how is the picture quality? Is the picture geometry good and "PC monitor like"? I assume it'll have no overscan and be nicely adjustable like other PC monitors.
How would DVD playback look on this monitor? Compared to the Sony 34XBR800 (which I think looks superb)? (I know there might be limitations caused by my PC's software DVD decoder, so let's assume I have the component output of my Sony DVD player hooked up to its component inputs.) How about contrast range, nice deep blacks, color temperature adjustability?
How will my Windows XP desktop be displayed? I assume the text quality will be much, much better than my 27-inch NTSC TV, and be very readable. But, will Windows "know" that a 16:9 monitor is attached, and will it format the display (not stretch a 4:3 display or present the 4:3 display with black sidebars) for 16:9? If Windows can format the display correctly, one way it could "know" to do so is via the ATI driver if I choose a 16:9 resolution setting. But the ATI Web site implies that my Radeon 7500 can't do 16:9 (even though 16:9 resolutions are in the list) and implies that I need a Radeon 9000 or better (because the specs for these specifically state "16:9" support). Am I confused yet?
Speaking of resolution, this monitor's specs list "RGB" (I assume they're talking about the VGA input here) resolution as "1024x768." But 1024x768 is 4:3! This doesn't make sense to me on a 16:9 monitor. Also, the spec'd scan rates are up to 52 kHz horizontal and 120 Hz vertical (refresh). So I assume I could set my video card's resolution to 1920x1080 (or 1280x768 which is almost 16:9) and this monitor would display it. Am I right?
And yet another thing: What about future Hollywood-mandated copyright protection (HDCP)? I suppose that by viewing DVDs (or future HD DVDs with some future PC hardware and/or software) on a PC, I may have options for viewing HDCP-encrypted DVDs without HDCP-compliant hardware (in other words, some kind of PC crack). Or someone may make an HDCP-compliant DVI-to-VGA converter? I don't know. Do you?
Whew! That's a lotta questions. But I have found virtually no information on doing this out there. I have searched this forum and haven't found anyone doing exactly what I want either. I don't mind being an early adopter, but I get nervous when I'm the first adopter! I hope I'm not.
I first looked at HDTVs, and had pretty much chosen the Sony KV-34XBR800, but I am worried about compatibility with my ATI card's DVI output, overscan, and other issues associated with using a TV as a PC monitor that are discussed elsewhere on this forum.
Digging around here revealed to me that there's another alternative: a 16:9 PC monitor. After more research I've pretty much settled on the
CTX MS3600VF
Monivision DM7352SF
Princeton AR3.4FTW
Examining the mfr's Web sites & spec sheets leads me to believe that these three are all the same monitor, made by Chun Yun in Taiwan and rebadged by the various resellers. This unit is a "36-inch" 16:9 CRT PC monitor that has a VGA input and analog component inputs. No DVI.
Has anyone seen this unit in person? Better yet, does anyone own one? I've spent some time looking on the Web and can find no seller in my area (metro Atlanta). I'd really, really rather not have to mail-order this huge item, and have to risk $400 in round-trip shipping charges should I have to return it.
Why would I have to return it? Why wouldn't I like it? Well, for starters, how is the picture quality? Is the picture geometry good and "PC monitor like"? I assume it'll have no overscan and be nicely adjustable like other PC monitors.
How would DVD playback look on this monitor? Compared to the Sony 34XBR800 (which I think looks superb)? (I know there might be limitations caused by my PC's software DVD decoder, so let's assume I have the component output of my Sony DVD player hooked up to its component inputs.) How about contrast range, nice deep blacks, color temperature adjustability?
How will my Windows XP desktop be displayed? I assume the text quality will be much, much better than my 27-inch NTSC TV, and be very readable. But, will Windows "know" that a 16:9 monitor is attached, and will it format the display (not stretch a 4:3 display or present the 4:3 display with black sidebars) for 16:9? If Windows can format the display correctly, one way it could "know" to do so is via the ATI driver if I choose a 16:9 resolution setting. But the ATI Web site implies that my Radeon 7500 can't do 16:9 (even though 16:9 resolutions are in the list) and implies that I need a Radeon 9000 or better (because the specs for these specifically state "16:9" support). Am I confused yet?
Speaking of resolution, this monitor's specs list "RGB" (I assume they're talking about the VGA input here) resolution as "1024x768." But 1024x768 is 4:3! This doesn't make sense to me on a 16:9 monitor. Also, the spec'd scan rates are up to 52 kHz horizontal and 120 Hz vertical (refresh). So I assume I could set my video card's resolution to 1920x1080 (or 1280x768 which is almost 16:9) and this monitor would display it. Am I right?
And yet another thing: What about future Hollywood-mandated copyright protection (HDCP)? I suppose that by viewing DVDs (or future HD DVDs with some future PC hardware and/or software) on a PC, I may have options for viewing HDCP-encrypted DVDs without HDCP-compliant hardware (in other words, some kind of PC crack). Or someone may make an HDCP-compliant DVI-to-VGA converter? I don't know. Do you?
Whew! That's a lotta questions. But I have found virtually no information on doing this out there. I have searched this forum and haven't found anyone doing exactly what I want either. I don't mind being an early adopter, but I get nervous when I'm the first adopter! I hope I'm not.