I usually sit in a lounge chair to watch TV. Unless you want cables running across your floor, you'll need a wireless keyboard and mouse, with the computer within about 6 - 10 feet of the TV. I find it cumbersome to use the computer when sitting in my LazyBoy.

 

I would wait until LCD TV's become readily available supporting true 1080i or 1080p before using one as a monitor.

I have a 32 inch LCD hooked up to my computer, and all I use it for is watching any downloaded movies/tv shows (Top Gear usually).

 

Do you mean "built-in" as in a hole in a wall for your TV?

What happens when you buy the next TV.......or you sell the house (and someone sees an inappropriate sized hole in the wall)?

Mounting on the outside of the wall is easy to "repair".....or if you want to move furniture around.

I would recommend you do not make any holes in the wall.

Reijo

 

Having used my TV as a monitor, I can tell you that for my eyes (at least), I can't tell the difference between 720 and 900 or over 1000 lines of resolution. The image that I see on my TV (when used as a computer monitor) is just as clear and as brilliant as it is on my 19" computer LCD monitor, only much, much BIGGER.
All this talk about higher resolution of computer monitors and the deficiencies of using an LCD TV is meaningless to me and I don't see what the fuss is all about. If it looks good, it really doesn't matter to me what the lines of resolution is. It's really all semantics to me and I'm sure it is to anyone who is just a "layperson" when it comes to "what's got better resolution". This is like laying your pecker on the table and taking out the ruler. Or should I say that when it comes to computer geeks it's like this ....................................

It's not unlike saying, "You're better off with 200 GB HD and I laugh at you because you've only got 80." OK, put your pecker back in your pants because it really doesn't mean anything to me. I consider myself to be your average home computer user and I happen to have one with "only" an 70 gig HD. I've barely used up 50 gigs of it and it's been this way for years. I will be ready for a new computer long before I come even close to filling this one up.

For example, many people seem to go nuts over HDTV - a must have, the way of the future, etc. Yet, if you read articles in the newspapers and magazines where "experts" talk about this sort of thing, the general overshadowing theme is that in the foreseeable future of Canadian television, an EDTV is more than the vast majority of consumers will ever need. There's such a thing called "overkill".

 

You sound like someone who hasn't experienced HDTV.

 

Dave, be careful what you say about screen resolution! There are those of us who are power users, and a typical LCD TV offers a resolution screen area that is almost a quarter of what we are used to. My TV will display a 1280x768 picture, and honestly, I get a claustrophobic feeling working on it. My laptop will display 1920x1200. The amount of real estate is incredible (but the font it small! You need good eyes!). When I have 20+ windows open all going at once, the LCD TV will never cut it. The computer hooked up to my TV gets strictly used as a media server and work horse when I need some data crunching done while I'm off doing something else.

You're a Shaw customer. You should look at getting an HD tuner. You won't believe the difference!

Ohh, and 200 gigs vs 80 gigs. I'm working on filling my second 300 gig drive right now. I was eventually hoping to get a terabyte of space online. And the laptop is bursting at the seams with 140 gigs of space used (I actually have two internal HDDs). Some of us like to have everything at our fingertips RIGHT NOW!

Chris.

 

Guys, please note the following:
I have had HDTV for months. Remember, I've got the Samsung 40" LCD TV (see my previous post - I even posted up a picture of it).
Also, I have the Shaw Motorola HDTV PVR. My comments are from my perspective - the way "I" see it.

I am NOT a "power user". Your "average" home computer user and TV owner is NOT a "power user". I clearly made this distinction. Please note my previous statement:
Please also take note of the original post here. The big question is, "Is 4doorj a power user?" Does he care?
We kinda got away from the original question and started looking at this from a "power user's" point of view - a view that may not be in keeping with the spirit of this thread. My "overkill" statement still stands.

 

You know I'm just poking you, right?

So, what do you think of the HDTV vs regular TV? I'm going to a Superbowl party this weekend, and I told my buddy he better have an HD tuner ready to go for his new 40" LCD, or I wasn't coming! Hehhehe, he's got a tuner now!

I'm ready to see some ass kicking this Sunday!




I've even got my Terrible Towel, and I'm gonna swing that thing around with everything I've got!

 

Well, ya got me. You guys started to sound like Future Shop salesmen trying to sell a computer to a guy who just wants an adding machine.

HD channels are indeed spectacular. Funny thing is, I can't tell the difference in picture quality between HD TV and a DVD movie played on the same TV. I was always told that one is better than the other. Maybe I'm just not discriminating enough because this is the same comparison that I see when using the TV as a computer monitor. It looks really, really good and I can't differentiate between it and what I see on my actual computer monitor. In fact, I view digital photos that I've taken both on the computer monitor and on the TV. The both look so good, but the TV has the advantage of being so much bigger.

 

I gotta explanation for that - LCD's are fixed panel displays, like I said before, in your case, 768 lines of resolution.

So your DVD player (assuming its progressive scan) will pump out a 480p signal, and your TV will show it in 720p (not really upconverted per se, but just double scaling your DVD signal to fill a 720 screen).

Your HD signal (I believe you mentioned is from SHAW), pumps out a 720p signal (ExpressVu is 720 as well, surprisingly not 1080, in order to save bandwidth). So your TV doesn't have to doublescale the signal, it just shows 720 (or 768ish). Both pictures will be 720 resolution - and your naked eye probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a double scaled 480 to 720 vs a 720 picture. That's why you can't see the difference.

Now take a 1080i capable TV, like a rear projection - it'll take the 720p ExpressVu signal and upconvert it to 1080i (if you set it up that way)- during a show like hockey, football, SNL, or Leno, the difference is breathtaking - especially when you switch back and forth between the HD and the SD feed.

Try looking at www.digitalhomecanada.com. Great forums there, I've learned a lot, and I'm about the same level as you guys - not an expert, but know enough to get past the gimmick talk at Future Shop.