[aman74]

Hi all,


I tried this question in the panel forum, but in doing some reading people had mentioned this may be the forum to go to for this kind of question.


I have a MacbookPro 15", not sure the exact model, it was a hand me down from my brother. It's about 3 years old.


It's too small for me to work on all the time in a desktop setup. Also, I have a need to downsize and would like to combine my tv and monitor into one solution. However, choosing how to do that is quite a task for me and I haven't found much info out there.


If I get a computer monitor I hear I will have issues with scaling and aspect ratios. How true is this and what sources will be affected? Currently I have analog cable with no cable box. This may change to digital cable, with HD and DVR, but may also change to just using OTA HD.


Is the 16:10 aspect ration a big problem?


What about the alternative of using a tv as a monitor? From what I've read it really should be 1080p and an LCD and not 720p or Plasma. Are both true? Is it still true that I have to go as large as 32" to get away from TN panels?


Can an LCD TV be used for critical photoshop work once calibrated?


Will my Mac drive any of these options properly?


I'm open-minded about options and have considered anything from 22" monitors up to 32" HDTV's.


Things I'm sensitive to are being able to turn the brightness down while maintaining image quality, any kind of buzzing, and glare. Does LED technology deal with the first 2 issues? I've seen it suggested that it does.


If you do PC work on a big HDTV how do you like it? The idea seems odd to me at first to sit in front of something so big, but I think it may just take some getting used to and moving back further.


Please chime in with your thoughts and feel free to throw out some models for me to look up. I'd like to spend under a thousand. Closer to 500 if that is possible. I just know some of the more recommended tv's arent the 500 dollar models, even if 1080p.


Thanks!


Anthony

 

[whiteboy714]

Not sure if you thought of this but if you only have cable without an stb or want to go OTA HD. Your gonna need a tuner for either. SO a monitor wont cut it.


I'd get a nice LCD. Samsung are pretty popular for lcd. I have a 42" plasma and have used it as a monitor. Its only 720p though so scaling is an issue.


It is fun to have a huge desktop. The sammy ln32b550 can be had for $699 on amazon.


Samsung goes in series 3,4,5,6,7,8. It looks like you'll need to get at least a 5 series if your looking for 1080p.


Good luck, wish I could help more, I'm a plasma guy and would recommend them over lcd for everything except a monitor.

 

[aman74]



Quote:
Originally Posted by whiteboy714 /forum/post/16893455


Not sure if you thought of this but if you only have cable without an stb or want to go OTA HD. Your gonna need a tuner for either. SO a monitor wont cut it.


I'd get a nice LCD. Samsung are pretty popular for lcd. I have a 42" plasma and have used it as a monitor. Its only 720p though so scaling is an issue.


It is fun to have a huge desktop. The sammy ln32b550 can be had for $699 on amazon.


Samsung goes in series 3,4,5,6,7,8. It looks like you'll need to get at least a 5 series if your looking for 1080p.


Good luck, wish I could help more, I'm a plasma guy and would recommend them over lcd for everything except a monitor.

Yeah, that's true about the tuner. The converter box will do that for me correct? However, they don't pass HD? I'm a bit fuzzy on that issue.


I guess if I don't upgrade my cable or go with OTA HD I could get something like EyeTv right? I appreciate all the computer options, but kinda want to stay away from having to putz around with that too much. I normally would be ok with it, but I'm having some arm issues and need to stay away from being on the computer too much.


I guess I'm still open to all options right now.


I too am more interested in Plasma. Is it really a no go for computer use?


Any panels under 32" that aren't TN?

 

[Suntan]

I have yet to see any TV (LCD or plasma) that I would consider acceptable for critical photoshop work. They just aren't designed for it.


A good monitor for Pshop usage can be used successfully for TV viewing, but not the other way around, imo.


-Suntan

 

[Suntan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by aman74 /forum/post/16893530


Any panels under 32" that aren't TN?

The HP lp2475w is a 24" IPS based monitor that is quite good for photoshop use. Comparitively speaking, it is quite a bargin.


I really don't know how well it works with scaling SD content though. It does have composite, S-vid and component inputs, in addition to the computer inputs of VGA, HDMI and displayport.


-Suntan

 

[aman74]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan /forum/post/16895520


I have yet to see any TV (LCD or plasma) that I would consider acceptable for critical photoshop work. They just aren't designed for it.


A good monitor for Pshop usage can be used successfully for TV viewing, but not the other way around, imo.


-Suntan

That's what I figured. I may still go the tv route though as PS isn't one of my main criteria for this decision at this time.


You say a good monitor can be used for tv. That's one of the things I'm here to hear about. Can you expand on that? I keep hearing I'll have scaling and aspect ratio problems? Can I just hook up a cable box to it?

 

[aman74]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan /forum/post/16895549


The HP lp2475w is a 24" IPS based monitor that is quite good for photoshop use. Comparitively speaking, it is quite a bargin.


I really don't know how well it works with scaling SD content though. It does have composite, S-vid and component inputs, in addition to the computer inputs of VGA, HDMI and displayport.


-Suntan

I meant panels for tv's.


I always found it odd that for computer use they have many monitors under 32" that use pva or ips, etc., but for tv everyone says to go at least 32" or you'll get TN. I guess this is due to price points in the marketplace.


I've heard good and bad about that monitor. Some say it has some color tint issues. Also, it's wide gamut and I'm not against that, but I'd have to learn a bit more about what that entails.


I almost jumped on that Dell 2209WA, but now it isn't available and I wasn't sure how it would work as a tv.

 

[Suntan]

I don't know what "tint" issues it may have but the one I have calibrates extremely accurately. To the point that profiling makes little to no discernible difference. When softproofing, the picture is spot on when compared to the prints I get back from WHCC (where I do all my important printing.) The default "6500" color setting on mine is not that close to 6500 kelvin, if that is what some people have trouble with. But it has provisions for adjusting the R, G and B levels separately such that you can get the color temperature extremely close to 6500 if you have the right calibration hardware.


It is a high gamut panel and that means that any programs that are not colorspace aware will tend to look "torched." Greens and Reds get amped up the most. For example, the little red "X" button that closes programs looks bright neon red. Another one that is obvious is the green status bar that updates as you download something, it looks quite a bit brighter. Further, using non-colorspace aware picture programs makes pictures look overly saturated in a less than ideal way.


For programs that are colorspace aware, you simply see pictures with colors that you never got to see before. Green grass looks like real grass. Red and purple flowers look like they did in reality (always a torture test for any monitor to accurately display.)


For video, I really don't know how it fairs. I've never really spent a lot of time testing it as I use that computer exclusively for photo work (I've never tried any other ports than the HDMI connection.) I will say that it is the first LCD based monitor I have seen that has no backlight bleed. The uniformity of the blacks across the screen is impressive and this alone puts it favorably for video use.


-Suntan

 

[aman74]

Thanks. The tint issue I heard was that one side of the monitor had a green cast to it and the other pink. I'm sure it's a sample variation thing. I've yet to hear about an LCD that didn't have some kind of issue with specific units.


Anyone else have some thoughts here? I really don't know where to go for help and my topic doesn't seem to be generating much interest.

 

[Suntan]

Also have a look here, if you haven't already.


Easily the most in depth reviews of monitors I have found on the interweb.

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html


-Suntan

 

[aman74]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan /forum/post/16899598


Also have a look here, if you haven't already.


Easily the most in depth reviews of monitors I have found on the interweb.

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html


-Suntan

Thanks much. I've seen that page before. It sometimes mentions scaling and such, but doesn't really explain it for a newbie. I have no idea what the issues are with scaling and the wrong aspect ratio.


I have seen boxes that do scaling for the source material, but not much on here about them other than for high end use or just trying to improve what they have, not to make a monitor work as a tv.

 

[SleepyBum]

I use my Dell 2005fpw as a TV some times. There's no real issues. The only thing maybe, is displaying 4:3 materials, since the monitor is 16:10 ratio. But I usually let the monitor stretch it. I'm sure there's settings in the monitor to make it display at the 4:3 ratio.


Also since it was analog OTA/cable, haven't gotten a stand-alone digital tuner yet, the quality wasn't super crispy to begin with (using a DVD recorder as the tuner). Also, since it's TV, I'm not watching it THAT intently. I usually have it on, and glance over once in a while when I'm working on something.


Here's some pictures of it in action. Please are just stretched a bit, a little chubbier.


I'm planning on upgrading this LCD to the Dell 2408wfp.


You can see an example of what stretching the aspect ratio in the wide jpg. The first picture is a 4:3 video stretched to the 16:10. The second picture is how a 4:3 video should appear with the proper ratio using the side bars.

 

[aman74]

Thanks sleepy for going through the trouble of posting that for me.




Anyone have any other thoughts or recommendations? I know some of my post is a bit general, but I have some specific questions I could use help on.