Buying a 27" monitor or should you just get a TV?

[savwar]

Is there any mad reason these days, for buying just a monitor specifically, rather than getting a TV

 

I was chatting to my brother and he was thinking of buying a somewhere between 27-32" monitor

 

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/SAMSUNG-S27B750-Full-HD-27andquot-LED-Monitor/312873/113

 

this one is €400.

 

He wanted it to have speakers and a remote as he'd probably use it as a TV, but obviously he'll be using it as a computer also.

 

obviously there's probably no scart inputs..(but i guess they aren't used much these days....)

 

is there any other main differences? is there a difference being close to a TV screen, as you would be with a monitor?

 

Annyon know a good one (either a tv or a monitor) to recommend?? or a good place to find out??

 

I did actually read in reviews that the above samsung has a bit of a hum out of the speakers which could be a little annoying...

 

 

[Steve]

The main reason to go with a monitor over a TV is for a higher resolution. I have a 27" monitor and the resolution is 2,560 x 1,440, while a "full HD" TV is 1,920 x 1,080 which is getting on for half the number of pixels.

 

Higher resolution = sharper image + more screen real estate.

[Steve]

Here's an example of what I mean: -

 

This is Opera open next to a word processing application at 2,560 x 1,440: -

 

http://i.imgur.com/5dbJ3gI.jpg

 

You can see that DV fits without any left/right scrollbars and the full document in the word processor is visible.

 

Here's the same thing at 1,920 x 1,080: -

 

http://i.imgur.com/1HWX5bI.jpg

 

Everything is bigger as the screen resolution is lower, so less fits on the screen.

 

I personally would not buy a 27"+ monitor with a resolution lower than 2,560 x 1,440, but that's just my opinion of course. Some people are fine with a 1080p resolution on a big monitor, but to me the image just doesn't look sharp enough, particularly text. You sit closer to a monitor than you would with a TV (when using it as a computer screen), so you notice it more.

 

The disadvantage of the higher resolution screens is price. A 27" 1080p monitor can be picked up for under £200 now, while a non-budget 1,440p one will set you back £400 and above.

 

If he's on a budget and would rather have a high res monitor than a TV, here's a cheaper option that's supposed to be decent: -

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DGM-IPS-2701WPH-Widescreen-IPS-Monitor/dp/B008PD9BWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361992467&sr=8-1

 

There are also the Korean imports that were discussed in the Technology/Gaming section: -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=32489

[savwar]

thanks for all the input man, your replies are always in depth, you're generous with your time.

 

Where did you get yours/what is it? oh i see its one of the korean ones. how much was it in the end??

 

yeah i see what you mean about the res. i haveseen that a lot of the 32" tvs have the same res as a 27" monitor so its not as defined.

 

i suppose most of it depends on whether he wants to connect it to the tv cable. if not, just go with the monitor...

 

although have you ever seen a monitor with a remote??

i know you can probably get a controller or use a smart phone to control shit...

 

thanks for the recommendation, he normally likes to buy within Ireland, i don't know if thats for supporting jobs reason, or in the case of there being an issue with the product... he'll be putting it through his business so i guess he'll save the VAT...

[Steve]

Mine is a Dell U2713HM which I got at a pretty hefty discount via HotUKDeals. I gave up on the idea of getting a Korean one, because import taxes pushed the price up and I didn't want to take the risk of getting a dud and having to return it.

 

I've not seen a monitor with a remote, but one may exist. It depends what TV gear he's got. If he's got an external cable/Freeview box or whatever he'll be fine with a PC monitor and he can use the remote that came with the box instead. Just make sure the monitor has the correct inputs.

 

I think it would probably be a good idea for him to go to a computer store and take a look at 27" 1080p monitors. Some people are fine with how they look. He needs to check out the crispness of text at a close range. Movies and TV are going to look fine on a 1080p monitor. PC games will look good too. If he's happy with the sharpness of the image when using it with a PC, then the only other consideration is the screen real estate, but it depends what he uses his PC for.

 

If he's cool with 1080p for PC use, a TV is probably a better bet for his needs. He can get one with built in tuner(s) and it'll have a remote and as long as it has the correct inputs on it, using it with a PC will be no problem. I would definitely advise against going lower than 1080p though, as 768p or 720p "HD ready" sets look OK for TV, movies and games, but are not great for use as PC screens due to the lower resolution.

[Frost]

n00b question alert!

 

so what happens if you watch TV on a screen higher than 1080p?

[Steve]

Usually what happens is the content is upscaled so it fills the screen, just like when you watch a regular DVD or an SD TV channel on a HD TV.

 

But there are some cheap monitors that have no scaler, some of those Korean monitors for instance. Modern PC graphics cards have scalers built into them though, but if you just connected a cable box to a monitor like that, presumably you would get black bars around the image as it wouldn't upscale to the full resolution of the screen.

[Frost]

thanks Steve

[supacuts]

Buy an HD 3D-ready Projector and be future-proof... including your twilight years and your pork pies start to go!

 

I have one (and it's not even HD or 3D) and it's great.

[savwar]

My brother just came back to me on this and said he's gonna go for the

 

Samsung SyncMaster S27A850D - LCD display - TFT - LED backlight - 27" - 2560 x 1440

i told him what you said about the wider display, and he says that'd be useful and he'd like to be able to connect 2 computers to the same monitor... which the samsung can do

 

 

but i looked up dell alternatives and then saw here that you have the one i was looking at.. is is about 60 quid cheaper, and has HDMI which the samsung actually doesn't have...

 

So i think i'll push him in the Dell direction...

 

(i assume the dell can take to laptops connecting to it also??)

 

 

thanks for the help earlier on in this steve..

[savwar]

also out of interest, how much did you get it for???

 

it's retailing from dell in ireland at €639 ex VAT.... he'll be buying through his business though..

[Steve]

The issue with HDMI on some monitors (including the Dell that I have) is that you cannot set the monitor to the maximum resolution of 2,560 x, 1,440. It will only go up to 1,920 x 1,080. You have to use DVI-D or DisplayPort to get the full resolution, so bear that in mind. Not all high resolution monitors have this issue with being limited to 1080p with HDMI, but this particular one does. Also, check that the computers he's planning on connecting have graphics cards that are capable of outputting at that resolution too. Connecting a laptop is not a problem, but again, depending on the connections it has and the graphics card (or onboard graphics most likely), you may not be able to get the full resolution.

 

I paid £366 for mine, including VAT and delivery. I went through Quidco, but the cashback was not paid, presumably because I used a discount code.

 

I just had a look on the Dell.ie site and it's 801 Euros with VAT, which is nearly 680 quid. I wouldn't pay that much for one! It's £399.94 on Amazon at the moment and the .co.uk site delivers free to Ireland as long as you spend at least 25 quid.