Trying to find the right LCD monitor for me..

[NukaCola]

Currently, I use a 17" ViewSonic:

http://www.amazon.com/ViewSoni...or-Black/dp/B0009ZCZZO

Specs
1,280 x 1,024 optimum resolution
350:1 contrast ratio, 350 nits of brightness
2 1-watt speakers; 8 ms response time

Anyway, I'd like to get a widescreen LCD that I can use for my computer as well as:
Connect an Xbox360/PS3/Wii via Component Cables (HDMI could be nice, but not necessary)

I considered this monitor, but I'm unsure about it now, considering I'd need a DVI-->HDMI converter (which, from I heard, results in a loss of quality):

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16824255001

What a friend of mine suggested was getting a widescreen LCD cheaper than that and use a DVI/HDMI/Component box to patch my consoles through (apparently they're only around $20 at my local K-Mart or Wal-Mart). For audio, I already have a converter that can take the white and red cables and patch them to my 5.1 speakers' green, orange, and black plugs.

So..what do you all think? Can you elaborate on this box?

 

[Fallen Kell]

There is no loss of quality from going DVI->HDMI or HDMI->DVI unless the cable you use is a crap cable. They are electrically the same, no conversion or anything occurs, just a changing of the pin outs and form factor (assuming you are using DVI-D, if you are using DVI-A, you are essentially using a VGA cable, in which case you can not convert to HDMI and should get a DVI->VGA converter and connect to the D-sub connector). The 2 things that HDMI add over DVI are the mandating that it conform to HDCP, and the addition of pin outs for audio in the same wire.

As for the video selector box, yes, they work. The higher end ones work better, but in general they work. Personally, I would go with a good quality LCD screen. I mean, this is your primary interface to your computer, and soon to be XBOX360/PS3/Wii as well. Look at how much of an investment you have made on all those systems and really consider spending a little more on the main way you interface with all those devices... Think about it in terms of a audio setup, rule of thumb is to budget 70-80% on the speakers and 20-30% on the electronics (receivers/amplifiers/tuners). The reason being is that the speakers are what allows you to really listen to the music, not the electronics that are powering the speakers. The same should be said about your monitor. Your monitor is one of the main ways you enjoy the computer, Xbox360/PS3/Wii... without it, the graphics that those systems are capable of producing are pointless if you don't have a monitor that can display all their detail.

 

[footballrunner800]

Thats not the best monitor for gaming. the 8ms respone time will definitely give you ghosting in fast pased games. For gaming, nothing beats a crt, or a 2ms response time lcd. I reccomend the samsung 2253bw(the replacment for the 226bw). You lose the resolution but your games will look great!

 

[octopus41092]

You have to remember that when you get a LCD its best to run it at its native resolution, unless you can run everything at 1920x1200 I would recommend just buying a cheaper 22" widescreen. Its about 150 dollars for only 2" less. I think that 22" is the best price for the size right now.

 

[Tago]

Check out This thread

 

[Captante]

I would suggest spending a bit more for somthing better with more available inputs, a 3 year warranty and a zero-dead pixel policy... take a look at the BenQ 24 inch models for a bit more money which have all these things.

Also I wouldn't worry too much about the response-time because all the super-fast 22 inch and some of the 24's use cheap TN panels to achieve it at the expense of color-accuracy & viewing angles. 8ms is fine for gaming and I play FPS's on my BenQ FP241W 24-inch S-PVA LCD every day, plus I came from a 21 inch NEC CRT.

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: Captante
I would suggest spending a bit more for somthing better with more available inputs, a 3 year warranty and a zero-dead pixel policy... take a look at the BenQ 24 inch models for a bit more money which have all these things.

Also I wouldn't worry too much about the response-time because all the super-fast 22 inch and some of the 24's use cheap TN panels to achieve it at the expense of color-accuracy & viewing angles. 8ms is fine for gaming and I play FPS's on my BenQ FP241W 24-inch S-PVA LCD every day, plus I came from a 21 inch NEC CRT.

I wouldn't, westy has as good panel as benq has, and westy has both hdmi and component inputs.. what else you need?

 

[footballrunner800]

It all comes up to what tou really want. I recomend you to go to your local shop and seeing what monitor looks best. Some people can't see the difference between 2ms and 5ms response time. In my old lcd, it felt like my mouse would lag a couple of ms. It just felt uncomfortable. When I switched to a 2ms response time lcd, it all went away! Like I said, it all depends how you feel with the lcd. And like octopus said, make sure your video card can handle the high resolutions.

 

[s44]

For console use, I'd skip any monitor that doesn't properly handle 16:9 letterboxing (WS monitors, unlike TVs are generally 16:10). That leaves you with 24" monitors that do 1:1, any Gateway monitor, and maybe some of the Dells.

 

[musicetime101]

Originally posted by: footballrunner800
Thats not the best monitor for gaming. the 8ms respone time will definitely give you ghosting in fast pased games. For gaming, nothing beats a crt, or a 2ms response time lcd. I reccomend the samsung 2253bw(the replacment for the 226bw).

I agree with this suggestion.

 

[flexy]

I own a 22" WS BenW X2200W. But most current 5ms / 2ms GtG LCDs should do.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA

Originally posted by: Captante
I would suggest spending a bit more for somthing better with more available inputs, a 3 year warranty and a zero-dead pixel policy... take a look at the BenQ 24 inch models for a bit more money which have all these things.

Also I wouldn't worry too much about the response-time because all the super-fast 22 inch and some of the 24's use cheap TN panels to achieve it at the expense of color-accuracy & viewing angles. 8ms is fine for gaming and I play FPS's on my BenQ FP241W 24-inch S-PVA LCD every day, plus I came from a 21 inch NEC CRT.

I wouldn't, westy has as good panel as benq has, and westy has both hdmi and component inputs.. what else you need?

A 3 year warranty that includes a zero-dead/stuck pixel policy vs Westinghouse's 1 year & no dead pixel policy?

Westinghouse isn't horrible (in fact I own an older 19-inch) but BenQ is better quality.

 

[NukaCola]

Here's a review on the Westinghouse I posted that confuses me:

Oh, I almost forgot - my only REAL complaint: *no audio output*. If you plan on hooking up anything other than your computer, plan on not being able to use your own speakers without a bit of hassle.

What does the reviewer mean by that?

I'm pretty sure I use DVI-D with my current monitor. Also, with the Westinghouse, I'd rather use my own speakers, so if I wanted to do HDMI I'd need an audio accessory to channel the HDMI to my speakers anyway.

Another reviewer says this about the Westinghouse:

I've had this for some time. Some people on here complained about excessive 'lag' in games. I noticed it somewhat. Finally I figured out what it is. This is a 1920x1200 screen. What you are seeing out the box is not a native signal, its a processed and enlarged signal. In gaming this causes lag. To get a native picture, you have to change the Aspect Ratio(4th menu) from Full to Normal. This is good and bad. Good in the sense that you get a non-lagged native picture which is suitable for video game systems. Bad in the sense that you now have an inch of black screen at the top and the bottom. So basically for normal tv type operations unless you want an extra layer of conversion this will be in fact a 22"" screen. This post should save some people some grief.

I'm taking a look at the BenQ now. I'm also going to look at those HDMI/component/DVI boxes.

EDIT: My friend says I'm better off getting a Wii --> VGA converter, 360 --> VGA Converter, and a PS3 --> VGA converter if I want to play those on a monitor..He pointed me to this:

http://www.x2vga.com/

Looks good to me! So long as switching between consoles and my PC won't be a hassle..

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: NukaCola
Here's a review on the Westinghouse I posted that confuses me:

Oh, I almost forgot - my only REAL complaint: *no audio output*. If you plan on hooking up anything other than your computer, plan on not being able to use your own speakers without a bit of hassle.

What does the reviewer mean by that?

I'm pretty sure I use DVI-D with my current monitor. Also, with the Westinghouse, I'd rather use my own speakers, so if I wanted to do HDMI I'd need an audio accessory to channel the HDMI to my speakers anyway.

Another reviewer says this about the Westinghouse:

I've had this for some time. Some people on here complained about excessive 'lag' in games. I noticed it somewhat. Finally I figured out what it is. This is a 1920x1200 screen. What you are seeing out the box is not a native signal, its a processed and enlarged signal. In gaming this causes lag. To get a native picture, you have to change the Aspect Ratio(4th menu) from Full to Normal. This is good and bad. Good in the sense that you get a non-lagged native picture which is suitable for video game systems. Bad in the sense that you now have an inch of black screen at the top and the bottom. So basically for normal tv type operations unless you want an extra layer of conversion this will be in fact a 22"" screen. This post should save some people some grief.

I'm taking a look at the BenQ now. I'm also going to look at those HDMI/component/DVI boxes.

EDIT: My friend says I'm better off getting a Wii --> VGA converter, 360 --> VGA Converter, and a PS3 --> VGA converter if I want to play those on a monitor..He pointed me to this:

http://www.x2vga.com/

Looks good to me! So long as switching between consoles and my PC won't be a hassle..

No audio-output means that the moniter itself has no connection for external speakers so its not an ideal choice for use as a stand-alone television since most PC users connect external speakers through a soundcard ... if you want to connect a game console or other video source you'll need to either route sound through your PC or get an audio switch-box so you can connect multiple sources to your external speakers.

As for that video break-out box you linked to, if you get a moniter that has component & HDMI as well as DVI inputs you won't need it & anytime you can skip an extra piece of equipment its a good thing.

 

[recoiledsnake]

Originally posted by: footballrunner800
It all comes up to what tou really want. I recomend you to go to your local shop and seeing what monitor looks best. Some people can't see the difference between 2ms and 5ms response time. In my old lcd, it felt like my mouse would lag a couple of ms. It just felt uncomfortable. When I switched to a 2ms response time lcd, it all went away! Like I said, it all depends how you feel with the lcd. And like octopus said, make sure your video card can handle the high resolutions.

Interesting that most people still do not know about input lag and how it's different from response time. I would say you wouldn't be able perceive just 2ms in response time. I think your old monitor had lots of input lag. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_lag

 

[NukaCola]

Originally posted by: Captante

No audio-output means that the moniter itself has no connection for external speakers so its not an ideal choice for use as a stand-alone television since most PC users connect external speakers through a soundcard ... if you want to connect a game console or other video source you'll need to either route sound through your PC or get an audio switch-box so you can connect multiple sources to your external speakers.

As for that video break-out box you linked to, if you get a moniter that has component & HDMI as well as DVI inputs you won't need it & anytime you can skip an extra piece of equipment its a good thing.

$400 or so is the maximum I'm paying for a new monitor. I can't find a monitor on New Egg that has component, HDMI, AND DVI-D all in one. Also, I think it'd be cheaper for me to get a $200-300 widescreen monitor (I'm looking at BenQ and Acer) along with that VGA Box.

Regarding the sound, it's no problem for me because I have this useful do-hickey that let's me plug in the white and red plugs in one end, and my speakers' orange, black, and green plugs in the other.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: NukaCola

Originally posted by: Captante

No audio-output means that the moniter itself has no connection for external speakers so its not an ideal choice for use as a stand-alone television since most PC users connect external speakers through a soundcard ... if you want to connect a game console or other video source you'll need to either route sound through your PC or get an audio switch-box so you can connect multiple sources to your external speakers.

As for that video break-out box you linked to, if you get a moniter that has component & HDMI as well as DVI inputs you won't need it & anytime you can skip an extra piece of equipment its a good thing.

$400 or so is the maximum I'm paying for a new monitor. I can't find a monitor on New Egg that has component, HDMI, AND DVI-D all in one. Also, I think it'd be cheaper for me to get a $200-300 widescreen monitor (I'm looking at BenQ and Acer) along with that VGA Box.

Regarding the sound, it's no problem for me because I have this useful do-hickey that let's me plug in the white and red plugs in one end, and my speakers' orange, black, and green plugs in the other.

The BenQ G2400W 24 inch has DVI, HDMI & D-sub (VGA) which can be converted into component using an inexpensive VGA to component cable and costs $389 plus shipping... the only negative is that like ALL of the available 22 inch models it too uses a TN panel, not M-PVA like most of the better 24's.

The $409 Westinghouse actually does use M-PVA panel & will as a result offer better color accuracy then the above BenQ, but many of them have power supply problems and with only a 1 year warranty that would be a concern to me ... I really think you should consider saving up another $70 and going for the BenQ T241W instead which has a P-MVA panel plus an HDMI & VGA input (no DVI) instead.

 

[NukaCola]

What's TN and "M-PVA"? And a monitor nearing $500 is a bit too much for me :/
Also, there would be no lag with that VGA/Component cable you showed me..right?

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: NukaCola
What's TN and "M-PVA"? And a monitor nearing $500 is a bit too much for me :/
Also, there would be no lag with that VGA/Component cable you showed me..right?

TN & P-MVA refer to types of LCD moniter technology which I'm too lazy to describe in detail here but you can read all about in the LCD sticky at the top of this forum.

In short however, TN panels cost substantially less but are limited to 6-bit/16.2 million colors (vs 8-bit/16.7 million) and in genral have poor viewing angles compared to P-MVA. This shouldn't be a huge problem for gaming, but watching movies or things like photo-shop the color reproduction won't look nearly as good.

And no there would be no lag caused by converting a VGA signal to/from component.

 

[qbfx]

Originally posted by: Captante

Originally posted by: NukaCola
What's TN and "M-PVA"? And a monitor nearing $500 is a bit too much for me :/
Also, there would be no lag with that VGA/Component cable you showed me..right?

TN & P-MVA refer to types of LCD moniter technology which I'm too lazy to describe in detail here but you can read all about in the LCD sticky at the top of this forum.

In short however, TN panels cost substantially less but are limited to 6-bit/16.2 million colors (vs 8-bit/16.7 million) and in genral have poor viewing angles compared to P-MVA. This shouldn't be a huge problem for gaming, but watching movies or things like photo-shop the color reproduction won't look nearly as good.

And no there would be no lag caused by converting a VGA signal to/from component.

MOST of the TNs are 6-bit, not all of them. If calibrated, and with decent FRC they can look almost like an 8-bit (with some slight flickering on some colors). Of course 8-bit is 8-bit but costs more.

 

[qbfx]

Originally posted by: Captante
[...] I really think you should consider saving up another $70 and going for the BenQ T241W instead which has a P-MVA panel plus an HDMI & VGA input (no DVI) instead.

The T241W has a TN, not a P-MVA. (5ms, 160/160)

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: NukaCola
$400 or so is the maximum I'm paying for a new monitor. I can't find a monitor on New Egg that has component, HDMI, AND DVI-D all in one.

Right here. Plus it will correctly display the 16:9 output from your consoles.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: qbfx

Originally posted by: Captante
[...] I really think you should consider saving up another $70 and going for the BenQ T241W instead which has a P-MVA panel plus an HDMI & VGA input (no DVI) instead.

The T241W has a TN, not a P-MVA. (5ms, 160/160)

Whoops! I assumed all the 241's were P-MVA, guess I should have looked more carefully at the specs.

I would still however keep looking for a good deal on a 24 inch P-MVA instead of moving down to a 22 which again is only available in a TN panel to the best of my knowledge.

Edit: Actually considering the OP's budget constraints I'll have to backtrack & say the original Westinghouse he was looking at is the best option for the money.

Originally posted by: qbfx

MOST of the TNs are 6-bit, not all of them. If calibrated, and with decent FRC they can look almost like an 8-bit (with some slight flickering on some colors). Of course 8-bit is 8-bit but costs more.

All the TN panels I can recall seeing use dithering to make it appear that they display 8-bit color when in reality they don't ... all I've seen any time recently in this size range with SIPS or P-MVA 8-bit panels are uber-expensive 21.3's & high-end 24's.

If there is a 22 inch none-TN on the market (especially at a reasonable price) I'd like to know about it since I need an inexpensive LCD for my 2ed PC & I can't tolerate 6-bit color.

 

[NukaCola]

Actually, that Gateway has peaked my interests. It looks great and I'm looking more towards that. Opinions?

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: NukaCola
Actually, that Gateway has peaked my interests. It looks great and I'm looking more towards that. Opinions?

I think its too expensive for a 22 inch TN panel moniter & aside from having multiple inputs all its "features" are of dubious value ... if you decide to go with a 22 inch model you should look for a better deal & for $59 more the original Westinghouse is looking good.