Help me find a TV

[Scott9027]

I'm looking for a new TV for my dorm room. I think I want an LCD, but if anyone has reasons I should look at other display technologies I'll definitely consider them. The main purpose for this monitor is playing Xbox360 and watching movies, since I don't have any other HD sources. I need to keep the budget under $1000, but I would like to spend around $600-$700. I found the Westinghouse 37" LVM-37W3R for $599, but I noticed it was technically in the monitor section, and wasn't considered an LCD TV. Does this mean it won't have a cable hookup? I also saw some Vizio LCDs that were in my price range, but none of them had 1080p. Also, I'm not really sure what size I should be looking at. I'll be sitting between 8-12ft away roughly. I think 37" is probably the largest size I can afford. Is there any chance that 32" might be big enough, or is that just too far away for that size? I need something that will really let Halo 3 shine, since my 20" CRT isn't cutting it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. :beer:

Edit: Any thoughts about 720p vs. 1080i vs. 1080p are welcome. Do you think I would notice the difference between any of these formats while playing Xbox360 games? I'm not even sure if I can find a 720p panel that's cheaper than any 1080p, so I'm not sure if it's worth it.

Edit2: Can anyone at least give me their home theater setup (size of TV/size of room) just so I can get a feel for what would work at what distance? I'm going to head to BestBuy pretty soon just so I can see some different sizes and get a feel for them.

[icantfindone]

I have the Westy 37W3, which I use solely as a computer monitor. The issue with the Westy is that it has no tuner, so as long as you have a cable box, or a VCR or DVD player with a channel tuner, or a tv card in your computer, you will be able to surf/change channels. It is a fantastic monitor though. Picture is great, and the response time is fast enough for even the most frenetic shooters (I regularly play CSS, Bioshock, TF2 on my screen). The Westy has quite a few inputs on it (DVI, HDMI, and componant) so you should be able to hook everything up to it no problem. It also has PIP, so you can view two sources at once, such as be on the internet while watching tv in pip.

As far as the screen size/viewing distance, I sit about 2.5 feet away from my 37", and I think it is absolutely perfect. For $599, it is a no brainer, get it quickly.

[Scott9027]

Thanks for the reply! While I'm sure 37" would be big enough for a monitor/TV, this will be used only as a TV. Since I don't have a cable box or VCR, it would be better if it came with a tuner, because otherwise I'll have to add that into the budget. I've also decided that size is more important than resolution, especially since I plan on being relatively far away. So I'm looking for 37"+ 720p screens with TV tuning capability.

[icantfindone]

For the quality and size of the screen, it would be hard to compete with the Westy 37W3. I think you would be hard pressed to find even a 720p screen for a better price. If I were you, I would get the Westy for $599, then pick up a tv tuner card for my PC, and run the cable to that, and use your computer to upscale the image to 1080p. This way, you would also be able to record shows, series, watch TV in a window while on your computer, and also save space, since you wouldnt have to have an additional monitor on your computer.

The $600 Westy + a TV tuner card still falls way below your budget.

I got mine for $721 shipped, and it is the best money I have ever spent.

[Scott9027]

Alright, perhaps I'll experiment with some different room arrangements so that I can use it as a monitor/TV or at least have it on my desk next to my monitor.