So I'm looking for a TV as a monitor to help a friend upgrade their setup they are still currently using a 25" CRT tube TV and an old AthlonXP system I built them forever ago also, still on a CRT tube monitor...
The budget however is small, only $270-$350 is the wiggle room for the TV/monitor. What should we use that will last? I was looking at the newegg reviews on some of the cheapo Seikei TVs and it looked like there was allot of people saying they only lasted 7 months before failing and that Seiki was a PITA to deal with for RMA.
I wouldn't recommend TV as a PC monitor because they generally have higher input lag than LCD monitors. Unless you know for certain that a specific TV has really low input lag, you're basically gambling. Why not get a 27 inch monitor instead? At that price range I reckon you should be able to find a decent one.
I'm not looking at it for a gamig monitor, I'm looking for will be pushed by an Athlon 5350 APU as a non gaming HTPC/general use comp that can be easily read from couch distance.
Vizio makes fairly good Televisions for the money, check those out. and i've personally have used them and recommended them to family members, so far i've had no problem and neither have they so i can vouch for them.
I got burned before on no name TVs a few years ago when I picked up 2 AStar LCD TVs from Newegg a few years as they also had great reviews, only to see them start failing just outside of warranty and the company completely disappearing. I bought the Newegg warranty and they weren't even trying to replace them, they where giving a full refund.
I'd rather not have to deal with that again, thus I'm hoping for a decent deal on something from a company with a reputation for not being a fly by night.
I currently have an old 36" Vizio that I bought from a friend for $100 as my secondary monitor. I works great to watch movies from or just have the extra screen real estate. The only thing I would definitely suggest is that you get one with a high refresh rate at 1080p and one that is clear since mine is a bit fuzzy when it comes to reading text.
I fucking adore my 32" Insignia television that I purchased from Best Buy for, like, $219... It's a pretty spectacular deal for a 1080p monitor that has no discernibly greater input lag over my computer monitor.
So I've taken he laptop to the local HHGregg and Best Buy stores, found almost all TVs listed here, after testing I found that only the 39" Vizio and the 40" Seiki looked any kind of decent at all with text.
So now the question, go with the more expensive Vizio or the Seiki and get the store warranty from HHGregg, Newegg or Paul's?
I see no reason to replace a glorious CRT monitor. You could try a TV repair shop if you have one around, or even a swap meet/flea market, testing the TV first for obvious reasons
It's big, hot, uses tons of power, can only display SD video, has to use a converter box to pick up a signal as theres no cable where she lives and she doesn't want dish.
The comp I'm also replacing is an ancient AthlonXP box(Monitor, Mobo and AGP GPU are toast due to a surge, HDD is still good so all data saved) I gave her after her G3 indigo iMac died.