HDTV vs. lcd monitor

[pejsaboy]

Not that I have the money for it anymore ;) but I had been considering buying a 20" HDTV for use as my computer monitor for a while. Now, I know that my video card will output in HD with the right connector[s], but the other day I started thinking about something: I really know nothing about hdtv's and how they go together with a pc. So, this looks like the place to ask about it.

First, will I even get better picture quality in games with the HD output as opposed to the DVI that my flat panel is using now? [Or with a newer widescreen]

And second, possibly more important than the first question- do HDTVs have the same issue with native resolution that a flat panel does? meaning... if you run it at something other than the native res [even in the same 4:3 or 16:9] it doesn't look right, kinda fuzzy or whatnot.

The HDTV in mind wouldn't be used for watching tv or movies at all, solely as a computer monitor. So, before I shell out a little more for the HD I wanted to figure out if it's actually much better than a regular widescreen computer monitor.

Thanks!

[JamesXP]

non 1080P monitors use 1336x768 most of the time when you 20" at that everything looks odd, but if you get a 1080p set (1920x1080) it will look alot better.

[pejsaboy]

Wow... that's a huge difference in pixels! I was planning on a 1080p model though, so the confirmation on that is nice. So, is that confirmation on the native res issue, or just that 20"/non-1080p looks weird? :D

[Yuriman]

You're likely to get a 720p "tv" (1336x768, as said above) in the 20" range, whereas a 20" PC LCD will probably run at 1680x1050.The difference between a 20" "HD-LCD", and a 20" LCD, is that one is 16x9 and one is 16x10. Both will probably have DVI, but the "tv" will have a built in tuner allowing you to plug a coaxial cable into the back.

1080p = 1920x1080, while an equivalent PC monitor would run 1920x1200.

[pejsaboy]

Ooooooohhh, I see. So the 720/1080p are the native res indicators. In that case then, what is the visual effect on games between the 16:9 and 16:10 ratios, does one or the other look a little off, or do you just have extra space top and bottom on the 16:10?

[reclaimer122]

Both should be completely filled, and as long as it's the device's native res, it will look natural. You can set your game to run at either 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 depending on whether you get a monitor (1200) or an HDTV (1080). I personally would go with the monitor.

[pejsaboy]

Yeah, the more I think about it, it doesn't sound like there's much advantage of the hdtv over a normal monitor for me since I don't need the tuner. Thanks for the info everyone!