After an HD screen for gaming

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:56 pm

I'm tired of missing out on 720p and 1080p resolution and I actually feel its a disadvantage for competitve gaming.

I'm after a small HD TV under 29" for mounting on a desk. I came across this on Ebay and thought it looked pretty good for the price:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Samsung-1080p-SM9 ... 286.c0.m14

I don't understand though, its advertised as supports 1080p yet its not full HD only HD ready, whats the catch?

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:09 pm

When such a HDTV is advertised as "HD Ready", that means with a proper HD receiver, it can receive such "off the air" HD TV programming.

I bought a 23" Samsung HD-Ready LCD-based TV monitor and the instruction manual said that in order to receive such "off-the-air" programming, I'd have to buy an external HD receiver box and was dissapointed that it could only get 1080i and not true 1080p. I ended up taking it back and getting a 32" LCD-based Sharp Aquos with true HD 1080p format (some folks may say that it's too small but it does get the job done properly for it's class and size attributes).

I'd have to say that 19" Samsung HD-Ready TV monitor that you're eyeing is already in used condition and will at best display at 1080i rather than 1080p as the seller would like you to believe.

Nowdays, the smallest LCD-based HD-TV monitors that your hard-earned money can buy and still display in 1080p format would be the 32" widescreen ones. Anything smaller than that will only display at 1080i format. Good luck on whichever one you choose. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:18 pm

Unless its true 1080p its not worth it, for that model, 19" is a bit small.

Q. I'm after a screen purely for gaming, TV functionality is not important, is the jump from 720p to 1080p really noticeable on a screen of 32" or less?

Q. Should I just buy a 32" widescreen with 720p or bite the bullet for something with full 1080p? I'm playing still on a CRT with pal RGB 60hz so whatever I buy is probably a major step up.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:28 pm

Diabollokus wrote:Unless its true 1080p its not worth it, for that model, 19" is a bit small.

Q. I'm after a screen purely for gaming, TV functionality is not important, is the jump from 720p to 1080p really noticeable on a screen of 32" or less?

Q. Should I just buy a 32" widescreen with 720p or bite the bullet for something with full 1080p? I'm playing still on a CRT with pal RGB 60hz so whatever I buy is probably a major step up.

Yes, the jump from 720p to 1080p is really noticeable on such a true 1080p HDTV monitor. I bought my Sharp Aquos 32" mainly for use with my PS3 console and watching Blu-Ray movies in general. Well worth the extra coin if you want the true HD experience.

If you can afford it, go with a true 1080p HDTV monitor...it will be the most expensive investment with your gaming consoles that can support that true HD format (i.e. -- Xbox 360 & PS3). I have no regrets going the full 1080p route. ^_~

I'd advise you to keep your CRT-based monitor for the times when you want the best that analog RGB format affords for low-res 320 x 240 based games. No LCD-based monitor will match the warmth and overall look of such CRT-based ones.

For such HDTV monitors, they can be either LCD-based, Plasma-based, LED-based or the newest emerging technology, Organic LED-based (OLED) ones.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:38 pm

Cheers, secretly I was hoping you'd say 'on a screen that size no difference! ^_~'

I'll wait till I recieve a functional console back from microsoft before splurging, its those dam kids with active camo in halo 3 can't see them at all on a CRT and everyone asks how I manage to play on standard definition!

Gwyrgyn Blood · Post by **Gwyrgyn Blood** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:58 pm

http://www.provantage.com/benq-g2400w~7BENL037.htm

BenQ G2400W monitor is pretty much the only thing you need. It's a PC monitor, but it's a better monitor for games than most HDTVs are. Virtually 0 lag in comparison to a CRT. Only snag might be that it only has 1 HDMI input, but you can easily work around that.

In general, whether you need 1080 or not depends on the size of the screen and how close to it you sit.

brokenhalo · Post by **brokenhalo** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:37 am

unless you are going to go 40"+ you don't need 1080p. you won't notice a difference at that size. and if you're going to use it for gaming in a small area 32"/720p is going to be perfect. that's the set-up i'm running now. the increase in draw-distance in FPS's like COD4 is awesome. you absolutely need HD for stuff like that.

Gwyrgyn Blood · Post by **Gwyrgyn Blood** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:57 am

Like I said, it depends on the distance you are from the screen. If you use your screen on a desk like a PC monitor (as he says he will), you're going to want 1080p without a doubt.

Normally you are right, you don't really get much benefit with 1080 if your screen is too small, but that's under the assumption you are sitting from a distance as you normally do with TVs.

ALSO, keep in mind that that BenQ monitor I linked earlier is a TN panel, which means it's not very good for TATE.

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:48 am

BenQ's 2400 series are 1920 x 1200 right? If that's the case, wait for the newer one with 1920 x 1080 native, should be out some time in November. Or else you could get Dell's 2409W, it's really really cheap, you won't believe when you first saw it.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:49 pm

@Gwyrgyn Blood

That BenQ is exactly what I'm looking for 24" is just about perfect, works out at around £230 for hdmi 1080p.

Did a quick check on the Dell model you mentioned, a few people don't recommend it for gaming, but its certainly a nice model.

Definetly this is the way to play a console FPS, If theres any similar models that you particularly recommend feel free to mention. Theres a very good chance I'll try and find the BenQ model mentioned above.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:09 pm

Sharp used to be all in a class of it's own with their 32" widescreen Aquos HDTV monitors with true 1080p. Both Sony and Samsung have recently came out with their own 32" HDTV monitors with true 1080p input.

It would be a very good idea to try out as many HDTV monitors and PC monitors with your 360 console & a HDMI cable before shelling out some serious money...if you like what you see with your HD gaming rig, then you get a cool deal. ^_~

Back in 2000, such HDTV monitors were in the price range of $15,000 to $20,000 USD and to recieve such HD programming, you had to buy a seperate HD receiver box (which meant shelling out even more money). The prices has since then gone down and the technology to manufacture them has become cheaper as well.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:07 pm

Found the 'one'

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/5447785/S ... oduct.html

Couldn't find a BenQ model for the price I expected, The model above I can find for about £20 more than the BenQ with better quality picture and sound outs.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:12 pm

The quality on the Samsung HD monitors is quite something...it didn't always used to be like that though. You will be quite pleased with your new Samsung HD gaming monitor, Diabollokus. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 4:17 am

The monitor you picked looks great.

I've been looking at a Samsung 25.5 inch, but it lacks a few of the bells and whistles yours had (lower dynamic contrast ratio, etc). Still 1080p, but it's an older model so it is priced accordingly here in the states.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:53 pm

If you can get proper 1080p for a good price then your sorted, just watch out for any screen stretching or image distortion. I think theres very little difference between some of the older 1080p samsung models and the newer ones, in terms of image quality. The BenQ model mentioned above is pretty dam good, I'd have bought it had I been able to find one for the right price.

In the UK our prices for 1080p technology are too high so for me £299 for the T240 was a great buy. This way I get the VGA monitor for the Dreamcast and the hdmi for the 360 (and the PS3 some day when its worth buying) + I'll be able to use it for years, hook it up to a Desktop and it saves me some room and electric costs.

espibara · Post by **espibara** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:09 am

I would stay away from monitors for gaming unless its with mame.

I got the Dell 2407 ultrasharp as it had DVI, VGA, component and composite.

The image from the 360 and PS3 via DVI/HDMI and VGA is very soft with a lot of fine detail lost. The prblem is a 720p image is being scaled across the dell panel and it loses a lot of clarity Its perfectly workable but not a patch on my 26 and 40 inch samsung HDTV which is pin sharp.

Now the bad news the composite and component inputs which I use with my PS2 is abosultely shit (pardon my french). It looks simply horrible.

I think teh best thing to do is get a good quality 26 inch HDTV with VGA and component inputs. My PS2 looks pretty good via component with my 2D shooters although its not a patch on my CRT TV.

If anyoen wants a good CRT TV comet are sellinga 21inch goodmans flatscreen CRT with RGB scart for £80. I got one yesterday and its a good set. Very plasticy but teh picture is good and it only cost £80 new.