Bigger monitor...and I mean big...advice though?

[BoysNightOut]

I am looking to get a much bigger monitor than I have now for XMas and need some ideas.

I've been checking out the following:

Apple 30" Cinema LCD HD
Dell 3007FP 30" Widescreen LCD
Samsung 42" Widescreen LCD-TV

Would it be wiser to get a LCD/TV combo deal with a bigger screen for almost same price as the 30" LCD computer screens, or would it be better to just stay PC monitor even though they're a bit more expensive than the bigger screen TV/LCD combo thing.

I currently run a Gateway 21" Widescreen Monitor and love the widescreen idea, so I'm def. sticking to that style. Any other good options? Or advice on monitor or an LCD/TV?

I'll mostly be using it for movie watching on the PC and occasional light gaming. Nothing too fancy. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do like my graphics to be smooth and fast scrolling when I do play/watch movies.

Thanks all!

I realize I make too many "advice threads", my 2nd in the same night lol.

 

[BoysNightOut]

bumpity bump

 

[Elec_]

sry dont know anything about LCD's except that widescreen is cool

 

[NosBoost300]

well the 30 inch monitors have a way higher resolution than the t.v. does.. it'll put 1080p to shame if you picked up any of the 30 inches.. i myself would get the 30 just because its meant for computers and you won't run into any problems.. those 30 inches run 2560x1650 or something like that, while the 42 inch is 1950x1080 at most

 

[TheEnd187]

true but to run it at 2560x1650 you would need a XHD compatible video card either 7950GX@ or some SLI Setups

 

[NosBoost300]

or run it at a lower resolution.. lol

 

[hickfarm]

I wish i had a 21" screen. That would be great for me.

 

[moisiss]

If you plan on using it for HD DVD or Blu-Ray disks in the future (which you should if you are going to put that kind of money into it) you might want to make sure it is HDCP compliant. Check this out....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP

especially this part...

HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players allow content providers to set an Image Constraint Token (ICT) flag that will only output full-resolution digital signals using HDCP. If such a player is connected to a non-HDCP-enabled television set and the content is flagged, the player will output a downsampled 960x540p signal. Most high-definition television sets currently in use are not HDCP-capable, and this would initially negate some of the key benefits of HD DVD and Blu-ray for those consumers.

I don't think the apple is HDCP compliant... but I'm not sure about the other two. I would seriously look into this if you are going to drop that kind of cash on a screen...

edit:
Oh yeah, check this out too...

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/hdcp-vista.ars

However, if you're heading out this weekend to drop US$3,000 on a TV, chances are high that it will support HDCP. The same can't be said of monitors, sadly. Apple's US$2999.99 30" display doesn't support HDCP, and only a handful of Dell's various options do. If you're in the market for a new display, you might want to wait until some units are shipping with HDCP support.

This was written in August 2005 though... so the info is not the most up to date.

 

[BoysNightOut]

Thanks for the great info so far guys! I really appreciate it!