HDTV LCD display + HTPC for day to day work

[apak]

I am thinking of setting up a HTPC coupled with a 42" LCD HDTV in my living room. However to save space, I am hoping to avoid having to hook up a primary PC monitor beside it, and do away with my primary pc all together.

My question is that how feasible is it to use such a set-up as a primary computer? My idea was to have a wireless remote and track-ball mouse and sit back on the couch and do my normal web-browsing, email, and day to day work in that manner... i.e. at a relatively far away distance (>2m) on a large display.

Would the resolution be good enough and display fonts be generally readable to make this practical?

Thanks for your thoughts

ARP

 

[ther00kie16]

Think of how crappy youtube videos (320x240) look when blown up to fullscreen. 1080p will look fine on a 24" or 26" but if you are blowing it up 3-4 times to a 42", small text be impossible to read.

 

[apak]

Agreed if I am sitting close.

But if I am sitting more than 2 meters away, how would it be?

 

[stepone]

I use my PC below with only a 32 inch 1366*768 samsung R87 lcd tv & that has been working great for nearly a year now.

However you should find out if your tv has 1:1 pixel maping as this is going to be fairly important if you want to use your screen at non standard resolutions (ie in games) as this tends to be handled more poorly by tv's than standard pc monitors i've found (luckily mine does

 

[Wuzup101]

My PC looks GREAT on my Samsung LNT4065F (40" 1080p). However, at distances of greater than 2m it probably would be a bit hard to see standard size text. I have pretty much perfect eye sight (thanks to corrective lenses!) and I wouldn't be comfortable reading at 2m... farthest would be about 5' (and yes the small difference in distance can really mean a lot for text). That being said 3.5-4.5' seems to be the sweet spot... and I could use it all day! The text is very clear and crisp (hooked up via DVI>HDMI from monoprice).

 

[stepone]

Remember you can also change the font sizes/zoom in windows & apps like firefox.