Gaming Xbox 360 and Monitor

[kristianity77]

I have a 360, and at the moment am connecting it up to my old CRT monitor to get HD gaming. Now im looking to upgrade to something else, and cant decide what is best. I will we wanting to connect my PC to it, and also my 360. Both at the same time if possible so i can switch between the two.

Now i have been looking at a samsung widescreen 22" LCD PC monitor, which looks to be around the 250 pounds mark. 2ms response time, it looks pretty good.

But my question is, Ive also been looking at 26" LCD TVs which retail for only a slight it more.

I want to have my 360 running as crisp as possible, i dont really want any scaling to be going on on either screen as i hear this can downgrade the picture quality. So my question is, am i better off with a widescreen PC monitor, or a widescreen LCD TV. Also, if anyone is clued up on this, can they suggest a make and model of screen that is tried and tested and works like a charm?

Thanks in advance for any help, its much appreciated!

 

[legendofphil]

I would go for the widescreen TV.
A 22" widescreen monitor has a native res of 1680x1050 which is 16:10 and not supported (AFAIK) by the 360 VGA out, so that would be upscalled badly.

 

[Jiggah]

LCD TV. It'll have the required 16:9 format and not have odd formats like 16:10. It can also be doubled as a PC monitor. I don't see any reason to go for an LCD monitor if you can afford and LCD TV and willing to use it for PCs and consoles.

 

[cartman100]

i have a 24" Samsung 245b for my pc (RES : 1920X1200) when i connected the 360 to it the picture isnt a patch on the Acer 32" HDTV i have, i would definately go for the HDTV

 

[kristianity77]

ok, thnaks for the help so far. Based on what you lot have said (and i trust you lot at GBATEMP to not let me down!!!) im considering now buying a 26" Samsung HDTV LCD that ive seen. My PC isnt completely up to date (i think athlon 64 3000, about 18 months old - and am only using an on board graphics card. Will my PC be able to output to this screen no problems at what must be a weird resolution for graphics cards to handle am i right?

Also, is the native resolution for the LCD screen important in order for the xbox to work correctly and give the best possible picture?

Thanks

 

[legendofphil]

Your onboard graphics will output that res fine, because its a standard res.
Native res is extremely important when dealing with monitors because they usually lack decent scalling chips.
TVs generally have half decent scalling chips because they are designed to handle from SD to 1080, either side of their native res.

If you were to just get a monitor you would have had an issue having them both connected as your onboard graphics is likely to be VGA, and monitors rarely have dual VGA, its usually either 1 VGA or 1 DVI and 1 VGA.

 

[lenselijer]

I've got both screens (samsung 22inch lcd monitor and 26inch lcd tv).

I always use the lcd tv to play 360 games, you really notice the difference in size and the screen dont look stretched because of the lower resolution.

 

[jon_jon]

The 26 inch LCD TV is going to be 720p and possibly 1080i, but not likely 1080p. If you want to use your computer with it, make sure it has a VGA connector.

 

[jimmy j]

I got a Samsung SyncMaster 740nw to use with both my 360 and PC. Its only 17" widescreen, but its 16:9 and only cost £100.

Its done the job, but 17" is far from ideal. I'll definitely be getting an HDTV when I've saved enough. Probably a Samsung LE-26R87BDX (it has VGA input)