OT: what's a good LCD TV?

I have a Syntax Olevia 30 inch LCD HDTV. It's great. It doesn't have an HDTV tuner, though, but neither do I have any HDTV service, so no big deal. There's lots that are probably great.

You want to look for brightness and contrast levels (high on both counts).
You'll need to decide what you want to use it for to determine what connectors are needed. There is HDMI, DVI, 2 kinds of component input, svideo, composite and cable. Plus analog computer cable. Those are in order of quality. In order to get true HDTV output you have to use one of the top 2. Component video is the best quality to use from your DVD player, and svideo from your VCR. So make a list of what you want to connect it to and make sure the one you buy has all those. HDMI, is just a new sockete for carrying DVI in combination with sound, so you can get adapters to go either way if it only has one or the other. I think most if not all large LCDTVs will have all these, because they're already so expensive. Smaller ones may not, though.

If you're going to go large, like 42" or greater, you may want to consider LCD projection TV (DLP). I personally don't like them, but most people seem to think they're great, and they're way cheaper than LCD, and a good bit cheaper than plasma. But the picture quality, contrast and angle viewing is not as good as plasma and lcd. Personally I'd get plasma, though. Plasma is the best looking large screen out there.

Whereever you buy from you'll want to know what the exchange/return policy and dead pixel policy is. Many places allow a large number of dead pixels and won't accept a return without a sizeable restocking fee and also shipping cost. If you buy locally, I'd make them open and plug in the TV before you pay for it or take it home if there is any question about the return policy or dead pixel policy.

I would recommend a Sharp AQUOS LC45GD4U Flatpanel LCD HDTV
- 1920 X 1080 native resolution (can handle the current highend HDTV spec of 1080i - will convert it to 1080p)

Do all LCD TVs have the ability to operate as monitors?

is the reso for the monitor and TV same for an LCD?

Excuse my n00biness

Any TV at all really can operate at a monitor. Though to be a good monitor, you should look for a high resolution display that has a DVI port. I don't really understand what you mean about the resolution for the monitor and TV being the same for an LCD. All LCDs have different native resolutions. You will probaly find mostly 1280 x 720, 1280 x 768, and 1366 x 768. In a high-end expensive one like the Sharp that Schembfs pointed out you can get 1920 x 1080.

I would recommend something from Sharp as their LCDs are nice, though a bit more expensive than the competition.

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/dis...lcd_tv-23.html

I have the 26" Samsung LCD and its wicked. No sparkles or light leakage. Just kidding but after reading these forums I must admit I did have a glance at my tv being as its a Samsung. I paid a fortune for mine though, GBP1400 in Aug last year but you can get them a lot cheaper now. The contrast on the Samsung is very good compared to others but its not really about names here, you really need to go to a shop which has all of them on and you will see which screen is the best in terms of bang for bux.

I have an XPS2 connected through DVI to a Panasonic ED (Extended Definition) plasma display. The three widescreen resolutions the display will accept through its DVI card are 1366x768, 1066x600, and 852x480 (native resolution). I could not get the NVIDIA 6800 Ultra with 71.89 WHQL to send the lower two resolutions in Single Display mode or Dualview mode, so I will be installing Powerstrip to help with that.

cud u post a link? also state the price u got it for and how long ago?

Thnx