LCD Computer Monitor vs LCD HDTV
You can use practically any modern LCD TV, including what is called an LED TV, as a monitor for your computer. An LED TV is simply an LCD TV that uses diodes for the back light. Most LCD televisions in addition to having one or more HDMI connectors also have an analog VGA PC video connector. Some additionally include the bonus of a DVI connector for a PC with a modern video adapter.
Some LCD televisions are rated 720p, which indications a pixel resolution of 720 and p for progressive scan. 720p is inferior to the resolutions of an LCD computer monitor, making such a television inadequate to use as a computer display. The television will display resolutions up to 1280x720 or 1366x768. It will serve as a computer display, however, due to the lower pixel resolution the definition will not be crisp. It will still beat older VGA CRT monitors in most cases for clarity with the exception of some very high end CRT monitors.
An LCD television rated at 1080p with a native resolution of 1920x1080 may serve well as a PC monitor in most circumstances. However, there are other things to consider in addition to pixel resolution. Another consideration of refresh rate and also the timing chip. A rating of 8ms GTG (gray to gray) delay time is common for lower end LCD TV displays. This is inadequate to serve as a computer monitor. The monitor will not be able to keep up with visual motion in certain windows activities and especially in gaming, causing visual anomalies known as artifacts. Try to find a TV with a GTG timing of 6ms or less, such as 2ms.
When considering using a television for a computer display make sure you select a manufacturer that advertises the input lag.
- response time != input lag
Respond time is not the same as input lag. The response time is the GTG timing rating. It measures how quickly it can change its pixels from black-to-white or gray-to-gray. However going from black-to-white takes longer than it does for it to go from gray-to-gray. The "black to white" time is not going to be as good as the "gray to gray" time. Manufactures will use the most flattering number to advertise their product, which will end up being the GTG time. They call this GTG rating their "response time." Some say it is not an important statistic to consider, however, it does indicating how much ghosting a display has. Ghosting is undesirable so the response time is still a consideration.
