Using a Monitor Instead of a TV ?

[Sundayjumper]

Idle musing really. We have a Sony Smart TV which is feeling less and less smart as time goes on. Too much bloat. Getting quite slow.

We never watch terrestrial TV any more. It's Netflix, Amazon, or my Plex server. Occasionally iPlayer. I have an AV amp and an Apple TV. The Apple UI beats the crap out of Sony's. So I ended up wondering if you can remove the so-called "smart" features from the smart telly and make it just a telly ? Like they used to be ? Then I realised that's exactly what a monitor is

Ebay, close to home, £300 for a 55" 4k display if collecting in person:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295743094748


Or an 86" touchscreen for just under £800 if I wanted to really annoy the wife just before Christmas:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285559366246


So what's the downside ? Not bright enough ? Too blurry ? I'm not going to buy anything in the near future but when the Sony dies I'd certainly be interested in non-smart options.

[DeskJockey]

I'm not sure there's a big downside for your use case. But it will most likely depend on the quality of the monitor panel. Technically there's no reason you couldn't do it.

You might want to look at something that switches the monitor off properly when the Apple TV switches off, unless you're happy to just leave it in standby mode.

And as long as the monitor has HDMI or you've got a converter, then it'll probably be fine. I've considered the same as we don't use the TV's inbuilt tuner, but run through a Freeview/Firestick/Switch/Xbox.

Edit: the right version of HDMI.

[scotta]

The boy uses my old LG 24" monitor for his PS4 & Xbox in his room. Works perfectly. even has basic speakers built in.

[Ascender]

But it will most likely depend on the quality of the monitor panel. Technically there's no reason you couldn't do it.

I think that's what it comes down to primarily - how bothered are you about the quality (relatively speaking) of the screen for watching movies and tv?

I had the exact same thoughts as you when I replaced our tv - we basically watch everything through Apple TV now so it does feel like a waste having to buy a SMART TV, but I think the bulk of the cost goes in to the panel - the speakers are generally crap and it costs nothing for the UI and software.

[Sundayjumper]

...it costs nothing for the UI and software.

I'm sure that many UI & software engineers will agree with you

[Sundayjumper]

You might want to look at something that switches the monitor off properly when the Apple TV switches off, unless you're happy to just leave it in standby mode.

Fair point. I'd be running it through the AV amp, I'll have to check whether that has a +12V trigger output that could be used somehow.

[Sundayjumper]

I think that's what it comes down to primarily - how bothered are you about the quality (relatively speaking) of the screen for watching movies and tv?

And that's the "length of a piece of string" part of the question of course. At normal hallway distance viewing it's probably less of a problem than desktop PC use. But you won't know until you try it. Hmm.

[Jobbo]

Downsides - no remote control, no speakers. But a big panel with sound coming from an AV system and the source having its own remote would mitigate those losses.

I suspect a normal TV will do quite a bit of processing to improve a low-resolution image, interpolate extra frames etc which a monitor won't do. DVD rips from your Plex server may look a bit worse for instance. But you can check that very easily before buying by simply playing them through an existing monitor.

[Jobbo]

Samsung have come at this from the other side by adding TV functions to a monitor - I imagine that is the worst of all worlds because the Smart bits will become redundant/slow over time in the same way as any Smart TV: https://www.samsung.com/uk/monitors/hig ... m801uuxxu/

[Ascender]

...it costs nothing for the UI and software.

I'm sure that many UI & software engineers will agree with you

I'm just basing that on what I've seen

Honestly, I can't believe the state of UIs in consumer goods that are deemed acceptable for shipping. Whether its just bad design or really bad response times... Or both.

[Beany]

A used ex-signage display will have been run at 100% brightness and high contrast it's entire life, and will likely be pretty bad from a brightness/contrast standpoint.

That, and they're rarely well colour tuned so TV on it will probably look a bit wonky. They also get bumped, knocked and generally abused a lot, depending on where they are. If it's from a McDonalds order terminal for example, drunks punch those all the time....

And that's before considering whether the pixel layout is landscape or portrait - if it's portrait, it'll look weird when configured in landscape, particularly for detail in 4k content.The colours blend in a different way and things can look strange, with odd colour fringing etc, vertical sync can become horizontal sync, etc.

In short, I'd not.

Source: I've set up commercial displays, and seen how people like them to be set up, and how they treat them in use.

[Ascender]

I think that's what it comes down to primarily - how bothered are you about the quality (relatively speaking) of the screen for watching movies and tv?

And that's the "length of a piece of string" part of the question of course. At normal hallway distance viewing it's probably less of a problem than desktop PC use. But you won't know until you try it. Hmm.

Are there any deals on Amazon with their good returns process for something that's not fit for purpose/incompatible etc?

[integrale_evo]

Monitors generally have little image processing, but if you’re giving it a decent signal then chances are it’ll look better than a tv for similar money.

Pc gamers are generally pretty fussy buggers when it comes to image quality.

I’ve used monitors with hdmi inputs for games consoles and roku boxes for years with no problems