LCD Monitor plus tv tuner OR cheap LCD tv?

**CVT** · June 16th, 2007 02:38 PM

You're welcome and good hunting!

3001:thud:

**Jun aka Pekto** · June 16th, 2007 05:31 PM

I have 3 separate setups at home for recording tv shows/movies:

1. Family room with wife's pc: I have the aforementioned tv tuner and pc with the DirectTV video hooked to the tv tuner card via SVideo cable and the audio routed to the soundcard. I don't use the tv tuner itself because it's limited to only 125 channels.

2. The den with my pc:

Setup 1: I have the DirectTV video hooked via Svideo to the Video In of my graphics card while the audio is routed to my sound card.

Setup 2: I have the video and audio (all composite) from the same DirectTV box hooked to a LiteOn DVD Recorder. I have an old 20" crt tv hooked up to the video/audio out of the dvd recorder.

I rarely use my wife's pc for recording shows. But it's there if I need it.

For recording tv shows with lots of commercials, I prefer Setup 1 since the show is recorded directly by my video-editing app. While the show is on commercial, I edit out the unwanted segments of the recorded clips.

For recording uninterrupted cable tv movies, I prefer setup 2 especially when I want 6 hours of video on one single-side dvd platter. It pretty acts like the digital version of a vhs tape. Setup 2 is also not prone to audio-sync issues that sometimes happen when using a pc or Mac.

Personally, if I had a better DVD recorder that automatically snipped off commercials, I rather have an lcd tv/DVD burner setup.

**Jun aka Pekto** · June 16th, 2007 06:18 PM

Looking at newegg.com, it seems lcd tv's are generally cheaper than an lcd monitor/tv tuner combo.

A 32" lcd monitor starts at $999 for a Sony and progressively goes up in price while a 32" lcd tv (Hyundai brand) with built-in HDTV tuner starts at $500.

Of course, the lcd monitor in this case is really just an lcd tv minus the tv tuner. That's why the max res on both is 1366x768.

Now, for a real 30" lcd pc monitor, A Samsung Syncmaster 30" costs $1400. But the res is 2560x1600. I imagine similar monitors will be in the same price range.

**CVT** · June 16th, 2007 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by GlennSter

thats a big help...thanks!!! futureshop..here i come

Actually, a friend in CA asked me to buy one TV tuner for him. It's good that the power supply is autovolt....

I understand too from him that the same model is available in the US, at a much higher price......

3001:thud:

**GlennSter** · June 16th, 2007 11:46 PM

im just concerned about the size....

is 22 inches widescreen big enough for a medium bedroom?

a friend told me that he'd rather have a normal tube tv that's around 27 inches rather than a 22 inches lcd....

hmmm

**oldblue** · June 16th, 2007 11:57 PM

22" is to small. even the affordable 32" na available ngaun sa stores, ayaw ko pa din bumili. tiis mun ako sa 4 yrs. old flat tv ko. yun 40" samsungs are now slowly crossing the 100k mark

regarding LCD monitor + tv tuner, you'll have to add speakers too. sa sobrang dami ng wires na kakalat mas lalo lang nakakabadtrip

**empy** · June 17th, 2007 12:26 AM

oy glenn...tigilan mo kami ha...pasawsaw sawsaw ka na lang sa F1 GP, tapos kunwari low budget sa TV

kumuha ka na ng 1080p unit with an HD box!!!

on a serious note, 22 inches is too small these days IMO. i have a 27 inch in my smallest bedroom at naliliitan pa rin ako (sitting 6-7 feet away from the screen). i also agree with oldblue about hating the achechebureche of wires and speakers...

here in north america you can get LCD TV's dirt cheap if you don't need full HDTV. actually, kahit HDTV mura na rin eh. as long as you don't need the absolute highest resolution, or have to have a big-name brand, you can get excellent TV's at excellent prices from less known brands like LG or Vizio.

**Jun aka Pekto** · June 17th, 2007 03:17 AM

Originally Posted by GlennSter

im just concerned about the size....

is 22 inches widescreen big enough for a medium bedroom?

a friend told me that he'd rather have a normal tube tv that's around 27 inches rather than a 22 inches lcd....

hmmm

As a preference, I'd also pick a 27" crt tv over a 22" lcd tv because the size of the characters would be bigger.

To match a 27" crt tv for character size, I think it'll take a 32" lcd tv. So, I wouldn't go any lower than 32".

**wrcastro_ph** · June 17th, 2007 09:40 AM

I've tried that TV tuner and an LCD but my analog tv tuner doesn't give a good quality picture. I would suggest to get a TV tuner for LCD and get a decent one and not those cheap brands.

**Jun aka Pekto** · June 17th, 2007 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by wrcastro_ph

I've tried that TV tuner and an LCD but my analog tv tuner doesn't give a good quality picture. I would suggest to get a TV tuner for LCD and get a decent one and not those cheap brands.

You'll need a good video source to begin with and a good tv tuner. I haven't seen an HDTV tv tuner yet (for a computer) unless the thread starter meant a separate HDTV receiver box. I think our DirectTV is digital. But, it's not HD. Not yet, anyway.

This is the picture quality I get when I pipe my DirectTV signal through the analog In of my video card. The native resolution of the signal is 720x480. Obviously, enlarged, it'll look worse. This was live when I did the screengrab.