I want a TV as a monitor!

[NotChetHanks]

Quick question, I want to buy a 32 inch TV for my office and use it as a computer monitor, will I run into any issues? Thanks!

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

What are your computer specs? What do you want to connect it by? Do you game?

 

Edit: Also, what 32" TV are you looking at getting?

[FiB3R]

Only that the image quality will be pants because of the low resolution when using it as a monitor.

 

But if it's main use is a TV, then it'll be fine. Just make sure it has the inputs you want/need.

[astropheed Veteran]

Should be no issues if it's not terribly old. I'm currently running a 32" TV as a Monitor for my PC.

[Ambroos]

Full HD at 32" will cause you issues, yes. Small text will be annoying to read because of the distance. When closer to it everything will look horrible because the pixel density is really low. And you'll have to do a lot of tweaking to turn off all enhancers to get a proper view.

 

It's possible, just not very comfortable. TVs are for video.

[Ice_Blue]

AFAIK with a 32 inch TV your max resolution will be 1366 x 768

 

Not enough for most purposes, IMO.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I use this tv for my monitor in my room

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-KDL-32R400A-32-Inch-Black-Model/dp/B00AWKBZOI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404164489&sr=8-2&keywords=sony+32+inch+tv

 

it works really well

[Marshall Veteran]

It's generally better to go with a monitor as opposed to a TV. Especially if you're gaming as monitors typically have a higher refresh rate.

[devHead]

Monitors are less expensive and have higher refresh and resolution rates for similar sizes.  So, why would you buy a TV to use as a monitor?  I had a friend a few years back who got a television as a monitor and he had a bear of a time getting the resolution to be up where it made it practical.  He did finally, but the image quality (for PC use) was just not as good as a comparable sized monitor.  My recommendation, don't waste your money.  Heck, if you want to have television on your PC monitor, it would be better to get a video card with a TV tuner built into it.

[ZakO]

AFAIK with a 32 inch TV your max resolution will be 1366 x 768

 

Not enough for most purposes, IMO.

 

Most 32" TVs will support 1080p (1920x1080), still far from ideal for a 32" screen though. 

[NotChetHanks]

Specs

 

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3

AMD FX 8350

GSkill Sniper Series 8GB

HIS iCooler HD7750 1GB

 

I do game on here a lot but it's mostly for work and I do work with spreadsheets and word documents.

 

Edit: And the TV is a 1080p TV and it will be on my desk so not too far away.

[FiB3R]

Specs

 

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3

AMD FX 8350

GSkill Sniper Series 8GB

HIS iCooler HD7750 1GB

 

I do game on here a lot but it's mostly for work and I do work with spreadsheets and word documents.

 

Edit: And the TV is a 1080p TV and it will be on my desk so not too far away.

Get a monitor.

[eddman]

Quick question, I want to buy a 32 inch TV for my office and use it as a computer monitor, will I run into any issues? Thanks!

Well, most TVs do post-processing which increases the latency by a lot, which will translate to lag in gaming. Monitors do not do such stuff.

 

Although, most newer TVs do have a gaming option which apparently turns off all (most?) of those post-processing, but you'd have to check for yourself.

[TAZMINATOR]

Most TVs have 1080...  

 

I have a TV as a monitor... No problem at all.

 

I can switch back and forth between PC and TV.  No problem.

[NotChetHanks]

What's

 

Well, most TVs do post-processing which increases the latency by a lot, which will translate to lag in gaming. Monitors do not do such stuff.

 

Although, most newer TVs do have a gaming option which apparently turns off all (most?) of those post-processing, but you'd have to check for yourself.

 

The TV has a gaming setting.

This is the TV

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-32-class-31-1-2-diag--led-1080p-60hz-hdtv/3723009.p?id=1219093275049&skuId=3723009&st=categoryid$abcat0101001&cp=1&lp=1

[xendrome]

Hope you have a good eye doctor.... 

[FiB3R]

I use two TV's as monitors, one in the living room and one in the bedroom, both are used from a distance though, and I have to increase the scaling to like 175% to make them comfortable to read, but that gives you much less usable space. I also zoom web pages to 133%.

I only really use them for media and web browsing though and some light file management.

For anything intricate, they drive me nuts, so I go to my desktop.

[FiB3R]

Do you have a laptop? Go hook it up to a similar TV and check it out for yourself, it's the only way you'll really know what it's like before splashing the cash.

[TAZMINATOR]

That's the  reason that TV and PC have the text size option in the settings which allows you to increase/decrease the size so you could read the text better.

[NotChetHanks]

Hope you have a good eye doctor.... 

 

Yeah, paid $3k for Lasik and I have 20/15 vision. Free tuneups if needed for life.

 

Do you have a laptop? Go hook it up to a similar TV and check it out for yourself, it's the only way you'll really know what it's like before splashing the cash.

 

Yeah I do and great idea.

[FiB3R]

That's the reason that TV and PC have the text size option in the settings which allows you to increase/decrease the size so you could read the text better.

You really don't want giant text in a spreadsheet.

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

What I don't understand is you have in the past talked about your abundant cash flow yet go cheap on a monitor/TV. Either spend the money for a real monitor or at the very least buy a decent quality TV so that when it doesn't work out as a monitor, you still have a good TV. Dell, HP, NEC and Lenovo all make wonderful 30" monitors. I mean really, 200 bucks for a 32" Insignia Best Buy house brand... don't do it.   

[astropheed Veteran]

If you're working with Spreadsheets and fine details like that, I'd suggest getting a Monitor. I use my Computer for gaming mostly so the TV is fine.

[TAZMINATOR]

You really don't want giant text in a spreadsheet.

 

Not me, I don't do the spreadsheet. 

 

I was talking about web text, email, etc.  You can increase text size so you can view from the couch.. 

 

If you want to work on PC such as spreadsheet, then sit at the desk to work on instead of the couch..  that's simple.

 

I can even read real small text.. Not a problem. 

[NotChetHanks]

What I don't understand is you have in the past talked about your abundant cash flow yet go cheap on a monitor/TV. Either spend the money for a real monitor or at the very least buy a decent quality TV so that when it doesn't work out as a monitor, you still have a good TV. Dell, HP, NEC and Lenovo all make wonderful 30" monitors. I mean really, 200 bucks for a 32" Insignia Best Buy house brand... don't do it.   

 

And that has what to do with how much I want to spend for a monitor? I asked the question for a reason. Yes I have abundant cash flow but I don't spend like a mad man. If I can buy a 27 inch monitor for $230 or a 32inch TV for $199, why wouldn't I buy the TV? Having a lot of cash doesn't mean you have to spend every dime.

 

If you must know about the methods behind my decision, the TV is also Roku ready like the other 4 TV's in my house so when I'm not working, I can watch Hulu or Netflix in my office. I can do more work on my laptop if anything.

 

If you're working with Spreadsheets and fine details like that, I'd suggest getting a Monitor. I use my Computer for gaming mostly so the TV is fine.

 

Okay that makes sense. I'm gaming more and more on my computer and could probably shift more work to my laptop.