[NYClubKid55]

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before but I did a search and could not find an exact answer to my questions.


I am looking at 17 inch widescreen vs. 15 inch 4:3 monitors for the kitchen. The 15 inch looked bigger than the 17 inch. The salesperson at the local CC said this is because the 17 is stretched.


1. If the TV is shown in widescreen, how does the PC screen display? Wide or does it stay 4:3?


2. How is the pic quality while viewing cable TV on these monitors since they have more resolution than a regular TV?


3. Why does the 15 inch look larger than a 17 inch widescreen? This is of concern to me because the 17 looked to small to view a PC screen (like reading a web page).


4. How about screens that are available online like Sceptre 17 inch widescreen Naga? Anyone have one and can comment on it? Any other makes and models you recommend?


Thanks for your inputs.

 

[RayL Jr.]

I think because the 17" is stretched but also "narrowed" - the 15" actually has more pixels. Yup, lousy Word doc and web page viewing. Native resolutions for 15" are 1280x1024, 17" HDTV LCD's are 1280x720 or 768.


I'd look at a Samsung LTM225W 22" 1280x720 WXGA 16:9 HD LCD Monitor for $1550. Or resort to a Samsung SyncMaster 191T 19" TFT LCD 1280x1024 SXGA or Samsung SyncMaster 213T 21.3" 1600x1200 UXGA TFT LCD regular 4:3 screen.


NEC/Mitsubishi, Sceptre, Viewsonic, Sony, Zenith, Hitachi also have nice regular LCD displays. No 17" PC-HDTV for me...

 

[90c4]

Check out the Sampo LME17S3 - costco.com has them for $500. I have one in my kitchen and it's excellent. It's a 17inch 4:3 with 1280X1024 resolution and it also has a built in TV tuner. I checked a bunch before buying this one.

 

[RayL Jr.]

I might add that since a lot of regular PC'ers are happy with 800x600 Windows resolutions, 1280x720 or 768 wouldn't be that bad, actually an improvement. If you're used to 1600x1200 or 1280x1024, you'll notice the "chop" more - and a "shrink" with the 17" HDTV LCDs. So maybe for the kitchen you could also consider the 17". And see "front and back" recipe cards...


Either way the picture quality for cable TV should be noticeably better than a regular TV - but of course smaller in size.

 

[K-Wood]

Re PQ: I'm using a 19" 4X3 Planar LCD with a Viewsonic TV tuner box for a bedroom TV. The picture quality of S-Video from my DSS receiver is pretty bad, at least compared to what I'm used to with a Holo3D-equipped HTPC driving a 42" ED plasma. Don't get me wrong, the PQ is fine from our 10' viewing distance, but it's pretty blocky up close.


As a result, I'm definitely planning to build a small form-factor HTPC to replace the Viewsonic so that I can apply DScaler to the svideo input. I expect I'll see a huge improvement in PQ with a HTPC.


I wonder whether the scaling circuitry on LCDs with integrated tuners are any better than the Viewsonic box?

 

[NYClubKid55]

Thanks for all your inputs.


What do you guys think is a good size to view web pages, Word docs, etc. for a widescreen LCD? 19? 22?


Will Windows display in 16:9 format or does it revert to 4:3 and you have black bars on both sides with a widescreen LCD?


I'd like to get a widescreen LCD for viewing DVDs but viewing web pages is also important and that means I may have to go the 4:3 route.


On a side note, does anyone know why LCD TVs with PC capability are more expensive than LCD PC monitors with TV capability?


Thanks again.

 

[RayL Jr.]

Well, at 1280x720 or 768 resolution you'll see the same amount of the Word doc or web page with a 17", 22" or even 40" screen. It will just appear bigger with the bigger screens. I'd say at that resolution 17" would be good for a chair-desk distance (as in a regular PC). 22" best viewing distance would be 3-5 feet.


Windows can show it's nice XP outdoor scene in full 16:9 glory. No bars.


Good question that has been brought up before here - hopefully the price gap will narrow. It could be the tuner included w/LCD TV's, or they are just "newer" models. The Samsung LTN1785W 17" widescreen LCD PC monitor is also more money than the much bigger 191T 19" 4:3 model...

 

[90c4]

If you get a widescreen, get at least 19 inches. For 4:3, at least 17 inches. An integrated tuner is great for kitchen displays. I have mine hooked up to my HTPC which has an AIW card, but I usually only use that for recording. I also have inputs from my HD box, but when I just want to flip channels - when washing dishes, etc - the integrated tuner just seems more natural. It's definitely more wife/kid friendly too. For web surfing, I'm used to 1280X1024 but will settle for 1024X768 as long as it's native. Here are a few photos of my kitchen setup:
http://www.sharemation.com/gastwirt/kitchen1.JPG
http://www.sharemation.com/gastwirt/kitchen_back.JPG
http://www.sharemation.com/gastwirt/kitchen_sink.JPG


The mount is an omnimount. The transformer is in the basement below the kitchen - I ran a wire in the wall to minimize clutter. At $500, the Sampo is an absolute steal. It has a 16ms rise/fall, so it is plenty fast for video and gaming.

 

[zen313]

Imagine playing Q3 while washing the dishes... scary. ;-) NICE setup though! Jealous... I'm still living in a 1 BR apt in NYC....

 

[90c4]

The image on the web page in the bottom photo is actually of my main display, about 30 feet away. Just above my foot in that photo you can see the silver Shuttle PC. I absolutely love having the kitchen display. We regularly use it for:


Movies for my 2 toddlers - have over 100 DVDs on the drives

TV

PVR

Email

Web

Recipes


The only (slight) problem that I have is that one display is 16X9 - my Sony 10HT - and one is 4:3, so if using them at the same time, with full resolution on the Sony, I get a compressed image on the Sampo. It hasn't really been an issue though as I usually only turn the kitchen one on during a movie session while fixing myself a bowl of ice cream.

 

[NYClubKid55]

Ok after doing a lot of research and looking around in different stores, I have decided to go with the Sampo. At $500 from Costco, it is an absolute steal.


I like the setup you have in those pictures. What keyboard and mouse are you using? They seem like a good accessory for the kitchen. Small and wireless.


Thanks to everyone for their help.

 

[blipszyc]

90C4,

Great Setup! What cables do you have running to that wall plate? Looks like VGA and RG6, but I can't seem to make out the others? RCA? Power?

 

[90c4]

The cables are VGA, RG6, SVideo, DC Power, Audio L/R for SVideo, Audio L/R for VGA, Cat5 (for a laptop), telephone. I used an SVideo connector for at least one of the audio L/R jacks to save room - provides a more snug fit than mini jacks. Getting VGA jack attached to the plate with all of the other stuff on there was a royal pain. I also have several wires just hanging out in the back in case I decide to use attach them to my HD box in the other room. If I were to do it over, I would have added a USB2 jack so that I could connect my camera there instead of in the other room.


The keyboard and mouse are from Gyration - about $99 from Staples. They work really well, even on granite which is sometimes tricky for optical mice. A good investment is the keyboard cover which has to be ordered directly from Gyration. If your setup is near food or water, it's a necessity.


You should really enjoy the Sampo - especially given the price. Costco now carries the omnimount cantilever mount that I have too. One thing I forgot to mention about the Sampo is that it stretches TV images vertically a little, as the 1280X1024 picel aspect ratio is slightly different from 4:3. It would be nice if it would give the option of black bars on top and bottom.


I bought this one (actually the LME-17S1 which I eventually returned once the LME-17S3 came out... yeah Costco!) and treated it as my reference set. I then tried several others to compare it against and returned them all - some had better TV pictures, but as a monitor, this one was the best. Let us know how you like it.

 

[acheslow]

Quote:

Originally posted by 90c4 Getting VGA jack attached to the plate with all of the other stuff on there was a royal pain.

How did you do that by the way? Did you custom build a VGA quickport connector?

 

[90c4]

To be honest, I tried a few different ways and I don't remember what the last one was. I'm fairly certain that it was a female to female gender changer. I took the nuts off the sides, got longer posts, and used a soldering iron to melt a center hole for the bulk of the female jack and small side holes for the nut/bolts to hold it onto the plate.