How well do TVs work as monitors?

[stuman74]

Would they work well enough for teenagers? I was looking at getting two of these for my kids so they can connect to their computers as well as have the ability to watch tv by just changing the input. These Insignia units are going to be on sale for Black Friday for $80 each.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia...&skuId=9844485


For comparison, their current monitors are these Dell's:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/popupproductdetail.aspx?sku=320-1750

Thanks!

 

[kami]

They'll work. Text usually isn't very sharp, and there are sometimes issues with certain colors. There will also be some ghosting/motion blur. You will notice it if you drag around a window fast or something like that. Sometimes the input lag is horrendous (up to half a second), it varies from TV to TV.

Check and see if there is an option to disable overscan (though you can compensate in the control panel for most video cards I think) with an HDMI input. Usually only HDMI input #1 on a TV supports "PC mode."

The next thing you'll want to do is disable all of the post processing "features" of the TV. This means turning sharpening completely off, disabling noise reductions, dynamic contrast, dynamic blah blah blah... all it will do is add artifacts to the image. Some TVs have post processing you can't turn off which is why it rarely looks as clean as a regular monitor.

I used a 32" Insignia for a monitor for a few months when I was "between monitors" and it worked fine with all the special settings turned off and using HDMI 1.

 

[stuman74]

They'll work. Text usually isn't very sharp, and there are sometimes issues with certain colors. There will also be some ghosting/motion blur. You will notice it if you drag around a window fast or something like that.

Check and see if there is an option to disable overscan (though you can do that in the control panel for most video cards I think) with an HDMI input. Usually only HDMI input #1 on a TV supports "PC mode."

The next thing you'll want to do is disable all of the post processing "features" of the TV. This means turning sharpening completely off, disabling noise reductions, dynamic contrast, dynamic blah blah blah... all it will do is add artifacts to the image. Some TVs have post processing you can't turn off which is why it rarely looks as clean as a regular monitor.

I used a 32" Insignia for a monitor for a few months when I was "between monitors" and it worked fine with all the special settings turned off and using HDMI 1.

Thanks for the reply! From the PC, I was planning to connect via VGA PC connection. I would then either connect a Roku or Apple TV or TiVo Mini to it via HDMI (then they can toggle between the PC input and the TV input).

It's only a 60hz set which, to me, for TV is fine. Just wasn't sure what that equates to in terms of usage as a PC monitor.

 

[imported_poobie]

1080p will work much better than 720 for a monitor even though as a TV it wouldn't make much difference in a smaller set

 

[imported_poobie]

oh, ok that is a 1080 set. It should work great!

 

[kami]

Thanks for the reply! From the PC, I was planning to connect via VGA PC connection. I would then either connect a Roku or Apple TV or TiVo Mini to it via HDMI (then they can toggle between the PC input and the TV input).

It's only a 60hz set which, to me, for TV is fine. Just wasn't sure what that equates to in terms of usage as a PC monitor.

Not sure about using VGA, because doesn't that limit it to 4:3 resolutions? 1024x768, etc.? Any TV I've tried VGA with only allowed a certain set of resolutions for input (up to 1280x1024 I think). The TV has two HDMI inputs so I would use HDMI for the PC if at all possible (can also use a DVI to HDMI cable if PC doesn't have HDMI output).

 

[yh125d]

I used a 51" DLP for a couple of years, and have been using a 42" vizio LED for a year and haven't had issues. With AMD video cards though it turns on underscanning by default so you just change it back to 0 in the drivers

I haven't noticed input lag/ghosting or anything, and I don't notice any difference between the 42" LED and my old monitor for gaming either.

There may be some specific models, or panel type (plasma?) that may have lag/ghosting issues but I haven't seen any myself

 

[crisium]

Input lag on TV's is frustrating. It's sad when you are trying to find a TV with the best input lag and struggle to find better than 30-40ms. Definitely do not buy anything advertised as higher than 60hz. First of all, they are not really more than 60hz. Secondly, they add a lot of input lag. They often have game mode which somewhat alleviates this, but even in this mode they tend to have noticeably higher input lag than 60hz sets.

I really suggest looking into input lag as your primary concern. Along with true 120hz that's the only area where TVs cannot compare to a quality monitor at all, imo.

I don't know if your kids will consciously recognize moderately higher input lag, but I guarantee they will feel the pain in any racing game or competitive FPS. Have mercy on them!

 

[Matt1970]

Not sure about using VGA, because doesn't that limit it to 4:3 resolutions? 1024x768, etc.? Any TV I've tried VGA with only allowed a certain set of resolutions for input (up to 1280x1024 I think). The TV has two HDMI inputs so I would use HDMI for the PC if at all possible (can also use a DVI to HDMI cable if PC doesn't have HDMI output).

That's usually the fault of the TV set and a lot of DLP sets are like that. VGA can do 1920×1080 16:9 with no real problems.

 

[Edgy]

With factory settings TVs are MUCH brighter than computer monitors from my experience.

Just mentioning it since it's a 24 inch (small enough to use close up) and you're buying for your kids.

So if you do buy then make sure brightness is checked/adjusted before deployment.

 

[sf101]

If you get a Toshiba make sure you run it in game"pc" mode otherwise it will act weird as heck. I use a 55" Toshiba for a home theater gaming setup and it works quite well haven't noticed any real ghosting or input lag enough to notice really either.

Have that setup along with a regular gaming rig "BENQ XL2420TX" and I can go back and forth quite easily enough without regrets or huge glaring issues only real difference is my main rig is more powerful thus higher fps/smoother.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Those insignia units will work fine especially if you use the DVI inputs. Many TV's automatically bypass the post-processing when you plug into DVI. VGA is ok but kind of outdated and not ideal. I've not had good luck with HDMI from PC to TV. I've been using a Samsung TV for a couple years now and game most every day. I've set up several other PC to TV rigs. Works great for users who don't want/need seperate screens.

 

[KingFatty]

Been using VGA output from an older laptop, on 2 different 1080p TVs (Samsung and TCL), and it has worked great. Just set the TV to "PC" mode or whatever, and the two TVs I tried seemed to understand that using the VGA input on the TV meant using PC mode, as certain effects were disabled so the screen behaved just like a computer monitor.

As an aside, I just got the Pinball FX2 Humble Bundle deal and put that on the TV, and boy the kids and I love it on the big screen, highly recommend you grab the humble bundle while it's still available over the next 3 days or so, and put it on the TV computers: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly

 

[stuman74]

Well, I ordered two of the 24" Insignia's. Need to inform senior management (aka the wife) and see if I'll give it to them as replacements for their current monitors (or I'll add them next to the big TV in the basement for sports .

 

[Blue_Max]

Oh, sure - this guy gets way more replies than my TV thread.

Seriously - I tried a 32" very high quality TV and the games looked great... I just couldn't handle the fuzzy text on Facebook, etc. I returned it and will hold out for a proper 1440-1600p true monitor.

 

[Haider]

I used a 51" DLP for a couple of years, and have been using a 42" vizio LED for a year and haven't had issues. With AMD video cards though it turns on underscanning by default so you just change it back to 0 in the drivers

I haven't noticed input lag/ghosting or anything, and I don't notice any difference between the 42" LED and my old monitor for gaming either.

There may be some specific models, or panel type (plasma?) that may have lag/ghosting issues but I haven't seen any myself

Plasma is way ahead oled/led LCD...

 

[Haider]

Input lag on TV's is frustrating. It's sad when you are trying to find a TV with the best input lag and struggle to find better than 30-40ms. Definitely do not buy anything advertised as higher than 60hz. First of all, they are not really more than 60hz. Secondly, they add a lot of input lag. They often have game mode which somewhat alleviates this, but even in this mode they tend to have noticeably higher input lag than 60hz sets.

I really suggest looking into input lag as your primary concern. Along with true 120hz that's the only area where TVs cannot compare to a quality monitor at all, imo.

I don't know if your kids will consciously recognize moderately higher input lag, but I guarantee they will feel the pain in any racing game or competitive FPS. Have mercy on them!

Correcto-mundo input lag is your first priority. http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panasonic-tx-p50vt20b-tx-p50vt20-20100520694.htm My Panasonic tx-p50vt20 plasmas is about 3 years and has 17ms lag...

 

[KingFatty]

Well, I ordered two of the 24" Insignia's. Need to inform senior management (aka the wife) and see if I'll give it to them as replacements for their current monitors (or I'll add them next to the big TV in the basement for sports .

What about, instead of replacements, you use them as additional/2nd displays? Let them rock dual screens each, so they can have a game-guide website (or instructions, video, etc.) open on one screen, while gaming on the other?