Playing PC Games on an HDTV

BigSlideHimself · Post by **BigSlideHimself** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:23 pm

Do any of you do this? If you have a 40 inch 1080p it should look pretty good, but how do you like it compared to a good lcd monitor?

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:29 pm

I should get off my ass and do that

but, it would depend on the game, really.

Now, someone needs to clear this up, can you do 1080p with DVI, or do you need an HDMI cable.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:28 am

I'm running 1920x1200 over DVI, so yes, 1080p isn't a problem.

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:19 am

I have a 40\" 1080p, and it looks great for me.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:17 pm

And if DVI isn't an option, most high end cards are coming with dongles that have both s-video (which is just 720p) and component outputs (1080p). I've tested this on both my old 6800GS and my current 7900GS and it works great.

BigSlideHimself · Post by **BigSlideHimself** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:03 pm

I was curious how the HDTV works for a monitor, are you taking size over quality at all? 1920x1080 is a slick resolution, but at 40 inches I wonder how the image quality compares to a 20 inch running at 1680? Is it a good resolution for surfing and type?

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:29 am

It's is AWESOME for surfing and type. They are just big LCD's. Crystal clear. The image quality is exactly the same as your 20\".

As a programmer, I stare at an entire screenful of text for hours on my 40\". I'd like a bit more vertical space, but this is a TV, it's spec'd for movies.

Just don't get plasma. Whatever you do. Don't. Get. Plasma.

Warlock · Post by **Warlock** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:42 am

Testiculese wrote:Just don't get plasma. Whatever you do. Don't. Get. Plasma.

whats wrong with plasma?

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:32 am

Warlock wrote:
Testiculese wrote:Just don't get plasma. Whatever you do. Don't. Get. Plasma.
whats wrong with plasma?

In two or three years, you're buying a new TV because your screen just burned out....and they're more expensive to boot.

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:29 am

And they are the worst of the flatscreen TV's. The picture quality is crap. Go look at one in the store, walk up to about a foot or two away and you can see the pixels. They only have a 2-3 year shelf life, and I'm sorry, but if I just plunked down $3000 for a TV and it only lasts 3 years? Not a good investment.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:58 am

What about LCD Projection TVs? I'm satisfied with the LCD I have attached to my desktop, but I'd like something nice & big (~50-55\") for movies in my livingroom. (I would, of course, play D3 on it from time to time.

)

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:09 pm

DLP Projectors -> LCD TV -> Plasma.

LCD Projector? Is that the flatscreen with the computer built into the rear? Like over a foot thick? My 40\" is 3\" thick, and I've seen 50\" at 3\" thick. I don't know about the difference in quality. I wanted something to mount on the wall.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:39 pm

I'm not worried about mounting on the wall, I have a nice cabinet probably 25\" deep that I will be placing it on. I'm thinking projection because of the size of that space and limited $$.

So you recommend DLP over LCD for projection TVs?

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:41 pm

Sort-of. I looked over DLP's when I was looking for my 40\", and they were about the same in picture quality, DLP was a bit brighter. I read a few sources that said DLP was better for [forgotten reasons].

Genghis · Post by **Genghis** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:00 pm

Hey, I take exception to the anti-plasma sentiments here! I just bought one a few months ago...after nearly buying an LCD.

I'll agree that for a computer monitor you definitely want an LCD over plasma. But for TV watching plasma is awesome. The only reason I could justify an LCD at this point is if I watched a lot of TV during the day in a bright room without curtains.

However, from what I've read recently, this may be the year that LCD finally catches up to plasma in picture quality. If true, all plasma has going for it moving forwards is that it's cheaper than LCD at large screen sizes. And when LCD makers stop selling at a loss, that margin may get wider.

Anyway, before buying anything, check out this awesome resource:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:30 am

And if you go DLP, ABSOLUTELY buy some kind of battery power supply just in-case you loose power. If power went out before you properly shut the TV down, the cooling fan won't spin and your bulb will literally explode....making your TV a giant paperweight. Those bulbs aren't cheap either! They retail for several hundred dollars easy.

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:50 am

I think we need a word from someone who's in the home theatre business because I smell BS.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:40 am

Ferno wrote:I think we need a word from someone who's in the home theatre business because I smell BS.

I hate to break it to you Ferno, but I have personally seen this happen. Hell, I know people that work on TVs FOR A LIVING that rant about it all the time when DLP is mentioned. Instead of throwing up the BS flag, try and do your research first. Or at the very least, you should ask me if I had personally seen this.

However, since I doubt you'll believe me anyways, I'll throw up a little wikipedia action for you. Click here When the TV is powered off, it uses the AC power to run a small fan that blows over this bulb to help it cool down as it is extremely hot (akin to the halogen bulbs in projectors....only hotter). If power went out, and the fan doesn't have any juice to spin.....that bulb is toast. They make a pretty good pop when they go too.

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:03 pm

Any projection system, DLP, LCD, that uses high intensity lamps needs to let the lamp cool down before what is called another re-strike. A striking voltage of thousands of volts is applied to the bulb envelope on startup to ionize the gas in the envelope and start electron conduction. Striking a hot lamp envelope often blows them up. Each strike takes allot of hours off the bulb as well. I told a client to avoid doing this and he didn't listen.
After a 7 hour marathon session of projection he shut off the projector, then 3 minutes later tried re-igniting the bulb and struck it according to witnesses there at least 10 times. When it finally did ignite it blew up so violently it dislodged connectors and boards in the projector and caused a catastrophic failure.

So it's not just DLP that suffers from this but any projection lamp based system. Oh and that lamp blowing up finally convinced my client to protect his new projection TV, HTPC, stereo, and DVD with a large UPS system. Literally within a minute after my leaving his residence and as I was driving away, the power went out in Town for 90 minutes and he didn't even notice. The UPS system saved all his equipment and allowed him to continue using his system.

Google up projector lamp care and there is a wealth of good advice there.

Playing PC Games on an HDTV

Playing PC Games on an HDTV

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