Large LCD HDTV as a Computer Monitor? 143
An anonymous reader asks: "I have seen $2000 27"and $1400 23" HDTV LCD sets at Costco, and similarly priced smaller sets elsewhere. I asked a salesperson (elsewhere) if I could try one with my laptop's DVI, and was told that the TVs wouldn't work well. DVI and VGA inputs, 400-600:1 contrast ratio, fast refresh rates (for gaming?), and HDTV capability for other uses, why can't they work? The prices run from as above to very significantly more. Has anyone tried the inexpensive large LCD HDTVs, or the expensive ones, for their desktop? I want to reduce the clutter in my family room and upgrade to highdef? Is it time?"
Uh... (Score:3, Insightful)
You know, if your laptop was whacked out and outputting the wrong voltages (or something, im no electronics major), you could damage the inputs. They might not notice even notice untill the future buyer brings it back.
Opposing design phillosophies (Score:5, Insightful)
Monitor: clearly defined, sharp, ability to invididually see a pixel.
Ipso facto: you're probably going to be disappointed trying to use a TV as a computer display.
-psy
Projector (Score:5, Insightful)
Laptop on Floor Display (Score:2, Insightful)
I think I know why (Score:5, Insightful)
I talk about this in one of my letters columns [dansdata.com].
In brief: They will work, but only for suitably small values of "work", because they'll only accept DVI-HDTV input. That's a subset of regular DVI that only supports a few scan rates. If you can't goose your video card into outputting the resolution and frequency combinations the screen wants, you're out of luck.