by SonicSilicon » Apr 10, 2001 @ 2:01am
While the TV might sound like a good deal diagonal inch per dollar, there are other things to consider.<br><br>TV:<br>Cheaper per diagonal inch. Approximately 21-bit color. Lower resolution (about 720x480.) Gamma tuned for video playback. (Most dark blue drops off.) Lots of people can view comfortably. Low refresh rate (60 Hz. "Ow! My fr****n eyes!")<br><br>CRT:<br>More expensive per diagonal inch. 24-bit color. Higher resolution. Gamma set for graphics (video playback tends to be murky.) A few people can view comfortably. High refresh rates.<br><br>Video Projector:<br>24-bit color. Wide variance in brightness. Different gamma settings for video and gaphics. Lots of people can watch. Cheap per diagonal inch, but more expensive than other options. Medium-high refresh rates.<br><br>I guess it boils down to what you're going to use a larger screen for.<br><br>If you want to watch lots of DVDs, definately get a good TV (I got a Sony Wega KV-20FV10.) Make sure you have a seperate card for video output, a card with video output that hs two RAMDACs, or VGA-to-Video converter. The reason is that your regular monitor's refresh will drop to 60Hz on DVD playback and distort the monitor image if you have just one RAMDAC.<br><br>If you're going to be using high resolution graphics (1024x768 and above) than the large monitor makes more sense.<br><br>If money is no object, a video projector could be real nice! (No, I don't have one.) It should have at least 250:1 contrast and 800 ANSI lums. 3-LCD types are better than single DLPs.