PC Monitor-What do you think?

[mj moh a'ii]

Hey All,

What do ya'all think about this as a monitor, or does anybody have other suggestions for a 32" monitor?

Thanks in advance! mj moh a'ii



Samsung LN32A550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV


Product Features

* 1080p Resolution
* 15,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio w/ Wide Color Enhancer
* 5ms response time
* 3 HDMI, 2 Component, and 1 PC inputs
* Swivel Stand

Technical Details

* Display Area: 32"
* Display Type: LCD
* Aspect Ratio: 16:9
* Contrast Ratio: 15000:1
* Resolution: 1920 x 1080
* Response Time: 5 ms
* Signal Compatibility: 1080p
* Input Video Signal: ATSC
* Input Video Signal: QAM
* Input Video Signal: NTSC
* Condition: Refurbished
* Features: PC Input
* Features: Picture-in-Picture
* Speakers: 2
* Inputs: USB
* Inputs: S-Video
* Inputs: PC
* Inputs: HDMI In
* Inputs: Component
* Inputs: RF Input
* Inputs: AV
* Outputs: Audio
* Outputs: Digital Audio Out
* Output Terminals: Headphone
* HDMI Ports: 3

Product Description--March 24, 2008
Samsung's 550 Series is a perfect way to step up to Full HD 1080p resolution. A fast 5 ms response rate produces smooth-motion scenes for sports and action movies, and a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1 makes for deep blacks and crisp lines (15,000:1 in 32-inch and 37-inch models). Superb connectivity and networking with a USB port and 3 HDMI 1.3 ports with Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) means these HDTVs play well with all of your other electronics. Easily enjoy MPEG and JPEG files stored on external devices by connecting through the side-mounted USB 2.0, turn your LCD into a full-scale home viewing gallery, or connect your MP3 player for a dynamic audio experience.

Key Features

* New -- 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio: up from 15,000:1 on 2007 models (15,000 on 32-inch and 37-inch models)
* New -- Fast 5ms response time: dow
* 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes with Super Patterned Vertical Alignment
* 3 HDMI 1.3 ports: Simplay compliant
* USB 2.0 port: connect devices directly to your HDTV--view JPEG photos or MPEG movies or easily listen to your MP3 player through your HDTV's audio system or your home theater system
* DNIe Digital Natural Image Engine improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, and white balance
* Hidden speakers with SRS TruSurround XT audio
* Wide Color Enhancer technology and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) offer a wider color range
* Picture-in-Picture (PIP) enables convenient simultaneous viewing of TV programs and video or PC sources
* V-Chip system allows blocking of rated TV and movie programs determined by the parent to contain objectionable content.
* Trilingual on-screen displays in English, Spanish or French.
* Variable sleep timer to turn the TV off in varying time intervals.
* Auto wall mount compatible: 3-dimensional operation via TV’s remote control; no external IR receiver required.
* Swivel stand included
* 1 year parts and 1 year labor warranty (90 days parts and labor for commercial use), with in-home service, backed by Samsung toll-free support

 

[N. Radioactive]

EU should look mighty nice on that! Im getting a smaller monitor, with similar features.

 

[WoenK]

Absolutey fine for gaming.
Got the model prior to this one, only has 1080i which is not optimal for full HD gaming but I do not like it that small anyway and works fine in 1360x768 .
Friend of mine got the 37" version with 1080p and looks simply awesome.
Only thing I would be sceptical about is the "refurbished" part.
The LG 37LH3010 with 1080p costs around 450,- Euros new, has DVB-T and DVB-C included, but is lacking the USB (which might not be useful for anything else besides MPEG/JPEG and standard MP3)

 

[Stutoman]

I would like to point out that you should think twice about this 'monitor' since its designed to be a tv viewed at distance.

The difference between monitors and TVs is the brightness and the glare. Having a tv as your computer monitor will damage your eyes more quickly and is even more unhealthy than a normal one.

Just a note to consider...

 

[sdragonfire]

HDTV as monitor

YOU'LL LOVE IT!

I've been using a 32" hdtv as my monitor for the past few months and I must say it makes gamming sweet! Just make sure to set your resolutions to the screens native resolution to get a pixel perfect experience!

 

[sdragonfire]

I would like to point out that you should think twice about this 'monitor' since its designed to be a tv viewed at distance.

The difference between monitors and TVs is the brightness and the glare. Having a tv as your computer monitor will damage your eyes more quickly and is even more unhealthy than a normal one.

Just a note to consider...

I thought so at first too, but i'm sitting bout 2 to 3 feet away from mine and all is fine as long as you have a perfect pixel to pixel ratio set (native rez) it will look like a big monitor

Also the thing bout damaging your eyes being too close was back in picture tube days, there is no known eye harm from LCD tvs, unless its eye strain due to interlacing, or a non pixel/pixel ratio

 

[gogo]

Technical Details

* Condition: Refurbished
.
.
* 1 year parts and 1 year labor warranty (90 days parts and labor for commercial use), with in-home service, backed by Samsung toll-free support

Make sure your retailer is offering the warranty. While with most monitors I've looked at, there is a three year warranty, if the 1 year stated above is for a new verison of this, you may not have any come back if something goes wrong.

 

[sdragonfire]

Absolutey fine for gaming.
Got the model prior to this one, only has 1080i which is not optimal for full HD gaming but I do not like it that small anyway and works fine in 1360x768 .

Is that its native rez tho? I bet if you set a custom resolution of 1368x768 you will see a HUUUGE difference! Even smaLl text will look PERFECT
If your an ATI user, you'll have to use Powerstrip to add it as a windows resolution

 

[WoenK]

Is that its native rez tho? I bet if you set a custom resolution of 1368x768 you will see a HUUUGE difference!

My display only supports native 1368x768, thus 1080i and not p. I can cramp the resolution via HDMI up to 1920x1080 but at 29Hz interlaced it does not look that great and I have the feeling for that resolution a 32" is too small unless I make the fonts and icons bigger (will never understand how people can use those on a smaller display). I used the VGA some time, but I did not see any mayor difference, it's also at 60Hz at my resolution and I have the hassle of having to connect 2 cables instead of the single HDMI (I move the telly around quite a bit)
The 37" telly of my friend has native 1920x1080 and does it at 60Hz, looks clear and crispy, but anything besides gaming and videos is too small for my taste.

As for the "TV damaging eyes and monitors do not"...
If my telly is at my bed, I am usually about 1-1,5 m away. Never got tired from it and it is way more comfortable than my old 21" monitor at 80Hz (where I was about 50cm away). I have used TVs for computers since 1982 and my eyes surely did not get damaged by that.
What did tire my eyes really badly though was really watching TV because you are kind of "lazy" and stare at the same point of the screen without moving neither your eyes nor your body except the one finger on the remote.
Does not mean, plugging your computer to your TV is "harmless", just that you are a bit more likely to have a bit more movement with it.
If you relax your eyes a few times every hour, stand up and move around a bit, anything is "mostly harmless"

 

[SnowLeopard]

If I were in the market, I'd be looking for something that could support 3D.
I'm not exactly sure what that entails other than a refresh of 120Hz and probably alot of extra bucks.

 

[mj moh a'ii]

Thx everybody for your input, it's greatly appreciated. Leo- I don't think they do 3d in a 32" yet, but thanks for yet another thing I need to look for!

 

[Kiriku Surgun]

I haven''t checked the stats on the monitors, but I did a quick scan.

Another think you also might want to take into consideration is the power consumption level, better for the envirement and better fo your montly costs.
I think computers drain quit a bit of energy, I have a powerhouse computer(much to good for my needs) but I do have a ''green edition'' video card and a great powersupply which downgrades the energy needed to run...

Just a thought for you if you haven't thought about it yet =) Good luck finding the right monitor for your needs!

 

[mj moh a'ii]

OK- this is green! Kiriku Surgun . Leo this has a refresh rate of 120Hz, but haven't found any saying something about 3D. Any ideas.

Thx folks

Samsung LN32B650

* Manufacturer: Samsung
* Part Number:LN32B650

General

* Product type LCD TV
* Diagonal Size 32 in - Widescreen
* Dimensions & Weight Details Panel without stand - 31.6 in x 3 in x 21.5 in x 23.8 lbs , Panel with stand - 31.6 in x 9.4 in x 23.7 in x 31.1 lbs

Display

* Technology TFT active matrix
* LCD Backlight Technology Wide Color Gamut-CCFL
* Resolution 1920 x 1080
* Display Format 1080p
* LCD Refresh Rate 120Hz
* LCD Pixel Response Time 4 ms
* Image Aspect Ratio 16:9
* Dynamic Contrast Ratio 100000:1
* Progressive Scan Progressive scanning (line doubling)
* Display Menu Language French , English , Spanish
* V-Chip Control Yes

TV Tuner

* Tuner Qty 1x analog , 1x digital
* Digital TV Tuner QAM , ATSC
* Analog TV Tuner NTSC
* Multi-channel Preview Picture-in-picture (PIP)
* Stereo Reception System MTS
* Channel Coverage VHF:2-13 , UHF:14-69 , Cable:1-125
* Secondary Audio Program (SAP) Yes

Video Features

* Video Interface HDMI , Component , Composite
* HDTV Ready Yes
* Parental Channel Lock Yes

Audio System

* Speaker(s) 2 x Right/left channel speaker - Built-in - 10 Watt
* Sound Output Mode Stereo
* Surround Mode Yes
* Sound Effects SRS TruSurround HD
* Output Power / Total 20 Watt

Connections

* Connector Type 3 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear , 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Side , 1 x Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear , 2 x Component video input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear , 2 x USB - Side , 1 x Network ( RJ-45 ) - Rear , 1 x VGA input ( 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ) - Rear , 1 x Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Side

* PC Interface VGA (HD-15)

Network & Internet Multimedia

* Functionality Digital photo playback , Digital video playback
* Connectivity Wired
* Connectivity Protocols USB , IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet)
* Supported Pictures Formats JPG

Stands & Mounts

* Stand Included Yes
* Stand Design Tabletop
* Stand Features Swivel

Power

* Power Device Power supply - Internal

Miscellaneous

* HDCP Compatible Yes

Manufacturer Warranty

* Service & Support 1 year warranty
* Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year

Dimensions & Weight (Shipping)

* Width (Shipping) 35.5 in
* Depth (Shipping) 9.9 in
* Height (Shipping) 24.2 in
* Weight (Shipping) 38.1 lbs

Sustainability

* ENERGY STAR Qualified Yes
* Greenpeace policy rating (Sept 2009) 6.9

 

[WoenK]

"3D" is not really worth it.
Anything without shutter glasses is not really enjoyable and who wants to wear glasses ?
120Hz sound nice, but question would be what they mean with it.
I heard of some Sony tellys doing 200hz and I heard about 100Hz LCDs, but 120 Hz is something new.
Not sure if one should really give anthing for that PR things.
LCD does not have to rebuild the picture like the the old tubes did, and I have not seen a difference in 200 Hz tellys or 100 Hz tellys or 60Hz.
LED backlighting sure makes the picture bettet and is more energy efficient.
Those "dynamic" contrast ratios are quite misleading, because they do not tell you much.It is not really a standard and every manufacturer calculates it a bit different.
Also those "4ms"...how is it measured ?
Most calculate it grey to grey today instead of the black to black they used some years ago.
Maybe see the telly you want first live, the numbers often give a wrong picture.
And also mistrust "HD ready", was normally a indication that it could do 1080i and not 1080p.

 

[FilthyMcNasty]

Samsung is not as sharp for text as LG is. Look at my profile pic. I have bot Samsung and LG. I run the LG is my secondary screen because that is what I browse the web on.

 

[DreamWarrior]

OK- this is green! Kiriku Surgun . Leo this has a refresh rate of 120Hz, but haven't found any saying something about 3D. Any ideas.

Thx folks

Just a note so you don't spend more money than you need to: the 120Hz refresh rate is just the TV using a form of processing that doubles the framerate by interpolation. It will NOT accept a true 120Hz signal from your PC.

I've no idea how or if this relates to 3D, just FYI.

 

[mj moh a'ii]

Well I found the second monitor/TV for the same price as the first one, so I think its a mute point now