Automatic Explosions
LG Electronics 50PY3D, Computer Monitor?
Posted September 19th, 2007 at 04:51 PM by Whir
I finally got around to testing the TV as a computer monitor this week. My initial impression was to be quite impressed.
1920x1080 native resolution makes for a very nice desktop, and the TV handled the finer points quite well. Text was nice and clear, with no muddied areas that I could see, which is something I noticed on just about every 1366x768 monitor I used, something I attributed to having to run 1366x760 on the video output for whatever reason.
The one thing I noticed is that most of the hard, dark lines would produce a sort of inversed ghost slightly to the right of themselves. I'm not sure if this was a product of my laptop's output, a cheap VGA cable, or the TV. It wasn't really noticeable at more than two feet away anyhow.
I also gave some compressed DVD video a whirl. Using an h.264 encoded video at 704x396 with AC3 audio and no post-processing via ffdshow, the resulting full-screen video was still quite clear. I know that the same video on a 1680x1050 computer monitor produces some grainy images, so I'm hazarding a guess that the TV's XD Engine® did a little bit of picture smoothing, even with the input at native resolution. This isn't altogether a bad thing, considering what the unprocessed video of certain satellite and cable providers often looks like even in high definition.
Unfortunately I have no true high definition devices or content to play on the TV, so I can't say how that might turn out via HDMI. I expect it will be good, considering the overall goodness the panel seems to have.
With plasma and LCD now leaping into the 1080p display market, things are looking pretty bleak for the comparatively high-maintenance rear projection sets. In fact, I don't think a single RPD has left the store in two months, whereas the number of plasmas and LCDs has increased by a good 200%, most likely thanks to large price drops on both technologies and an increasing consumer awareness of what's to come in less than two years.
1920x1080 native resolution makes for a very nice desktop, and the TV handled the finer points quite well. Text was nice and clear, with no muddied areas that I could see, which is something I noticed on just about every 1366x768 monitor I used, something I attributed to having to run 1366x760 on the video output for whatever reason.
The one thing I noticed is that most of the hard, dark lines would produce a sort of inversed ghost slightly to the right of themselves. I'm not sure if this was a product of my laptop's output, a cheap VGA cable, or the TV. It wasn't really noticeable at more than two feet away anyhow.
I also gave some compressed DVD video a whirl. Using an h.264 encoded video at 704x396 with AC3 audio and no post-processing via ffdshow, the resulting full-screen video was still quite clear. I know that the same video on a 1680x1050 computer monitor produces some grainy images, so I'm hazarding a guess that the TV's XD Engine® did a little bit of picture smoothing, even with the input at native resolution. This isn't altogether a bad thing, considering what the unprocessed video of certain satellite and cable providers often looks like even in high definition.
Unfortunately I have no true high definition devices or content to play on the TV, so I can't say how that might turn out via HDMI. I expect it will be good, considering the overall goodness the panel seems to have.
With plasma and LCD now leaping into the 1080p display market, things are looking pretty bleak for the comparatively high-maintenance rear projection sets. In fact, I don't think a single RPD has left the store in two months, whereas the number of plasmas and LCDs has increased by a good 200%, most likely thanks to large price drops on both technologies and an increasing consumer awareness of what's to come in less than two years.
Total Comments 20
Comments
 |  I suspect DLP is finally on the way out, even with the recent advancements in the contrast ratio of TI's consumer-grade DLP chips. The same might soon be true for plasma as well. Locally dimmable LED backlighting has arrived for LCD displays. Expect high-end LCD units to soon start proclaiming 50,000 to 100,000:1 or even higher contrast ratios. Regardless of overhyped marketing numbers, BLU-LED is not a gimmick as a light emitting diode can be switched off. Black levels and contrast ratios should increase dramatically, perhaps even "exponentially" over traditional CCFL backlit LCD displays. Within twelve months, it is quite possible LCD displays featuring BLU-LED technology could be making DLP and plasma displays look like archaic technologies. |
  |
| |  I still feel that Mitsubishi should have had a go with their laser DLP, as the problems inherent in the standard rear projection sets (light bleed) would be eliminated, not to mention a much finer control of color. And I do still think the Mits Diamond line has the edge in picture quality over the new 1080 plasmas and LCDs. I simply have not seen a better picture anywhere (possibly thanks to the 1080p content hard drive we have that only works with the Mits sets ~_~). |
 |
| | [iirc]The company producing the laser RP chip claims the technology will be available through multiple brands next year. However, upon calling many popular manufacturers, a news site didn't find any other brands than Mitsubishi interested in laser RP.[/irrc] Does your shop carry Samsung? It will probably be the first brand with BLU-LED LCD displays available via the widespread retail market in the United States. The Samsung 81 series might even already be available through select sources. |
| |
| | We stopped carrying Samsung due to various reliability issues and in our opinion, one of the worst pictures on a "brand name" set in the industry. Mostly the former, though, as people read Consumer Reports and use it as a bible and buy Samsung no matter what it looks like. However, when you have sold 20 plasmas, and five of them have had to have been repaired at least once (three times for one particular set), you start to question the quality of merchandise and whether or not you want to keep selling it for various reasons. |
| |
| | I am more or less referring to Samsung's higher-end displays, in particular the series 61 and series 81 models. The 61s are an improvement, but it is the 81s that have the dimmable LED backlight system. If you have a chance to re-evaluate Samsung, take a look at these two model families. I suspect you will find most of the banding issues and other PQ problems oftentimes associated with previous Samsung models to be largely resolved. |
| |
| | That could be the case. But I doubt we'll carry them again any time soon, given our recent experience with their poor quality and even worse warranty/parts department. When they won't cover their own warranties with a dealer, you know a company isn't really worth dealing with. We will not carry Sony for very similar reasons. |
| |
| | Surely a Sony product never needs to be serviced, right?  If one thing, Sony has a fanatical fanbase. It is almost disturbing. BTW, Samsung and Sony have a joint venture for LCD display panels: the S-LCD Corporation. |
| |
| | Wait, what? 7th gen panels? I thought they were still on 6th. Hurray, more stuff to sort out. |
| |
| | S-LCD is already shipping 8G LCD display panels. Possibly the same for Sharp as well. AKT is prepping production equipment for 8.5G display panels, plus it is working with Sharp to develop production equipment for 10G display panels. |
| |
| |  I feel my LN-S4095D is a great tv, my only complaint would be the picture doesn't seem to keep up while gaming and moving at high speeds from side to side...don't know what you would call that...it's like the refresh rate goes way down and my eyes feel like they're bleeding. |
| |
| | I forget what it's actually called, but it's usually (incorrectly) referred to as ghosting. Basically the panel can't change the lights fast. Something that presently separates cheap panels and processors for good ones. To be honest, it's been so long since I've seen any sort of panel show lag that I didn't think anyone even made panels that did anymore. |
| |
| | It could be the panel, but I doubt a Samsung 1080 model is using a panel with a poor pixel refresh rate. It could be the scaler lagging or producing artifacts. However, it could also be the source feed instead of the television. Mrniceguy, what gaming device are you using and at what resolution is it set to output? You could be introducing scaling or deinterlacing issues depending upon various factors, and it is possible a quick change at the device could help alleviate the issue. |
| |
| | He's playing WoW on it. |
| |
| | At what resolution is the video card rendering? If native at 1920x1080, then WoW could be suffering severe frame drop in complex scenes, especially if AA and AF are enabled. Render at a lower compatible resolution, as close to the 16:9 aspect ratio as possible. If the problem goes away, then it is probably a good sign to start looking for a better video card, or at least tweaking driver settings to lower AA, AF, etc. to hopefully usable levels. |
| |
| | wow and my 8800gts are set to the native 1920x1080 and I have the settings cranked, it's really not an issue for me cause by fast I mean too fast to actually be able to play, like running around in circles or trying to do a 720 jump while I'm running around mounted. Fast video plays well on it, I wouldn't be surprised if the moniter is displaying properly and it's my eyes that are the problem trying to process the image moving that fast. |
| |
| | At what distance are you watching the display? If within just a few feet, you might find backing away a little further to help with eye strain issues. |
| |
| | 4 feet, it's not really an issue. |
| |
| | Back away to the 6'-8' range. You might notice the issue you described a few posts back to diminish or possibly even go away. It sounds like a common visual acuity issue with being too close to a large display. |
| |
| | His poor brain is too slow to keep up.  |
| |
| | Hey Whir, Please read this post on guru3d with the problems I have having using this PC as a computer monitor: [url=http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=274226]Problem displaying 1080p properly on a LG 50PY3D via DVI/HDMI - P4, Radeon x1950xt - Guru3D.com Forums[/url] Were/are you using HDMI/DVI-HDMI? If so, I would be really interested to hear your hardware setup and what sorta signal you are outputting... Thank you. |
| |
Recent Blog Entries by Whir
- Cheese For Fusion? (July 3rd, 2008)
- 1) NIN 2) Google Earth 3) ... 4) Profit? (July 3rd, 2008)
- Hellgate: London, Day Two (November 7th, 2007)
- Hellgate: London Mini-review (November 5th, 2007)
- LG Electronics 50PY3D, Computer Monitor? (September 19th, 2007)
Rambles
(0)
