Matrox vs Lg. Screen TV

[bmwgs]

I am retiring in about 5 weeks.  As a retirement present to myself I was going to convert to the Matrox Triplehead setup.  I'm started to do some thinking, which is a dangerous thing on my part, so I need a little advise.

Recently I purchased a 50" Plasma Screen TV.  Reading the book that came with it, I found this TV can also be used as a computer monitor.  Well, I was wondering how is the quality, or clarity using such a large screen to play the game?  Would one be any better than the other? 

I don't plan on using the same TV, but if its something that may work well, I would buy a slightly smaller TV (40" or so) and mount it on the wall behind my computer.  The distance would be about 4 feet from my head.

Any suggestions or advise would be welcomed.

Fred

[SIK1]

I use a 42" 1080p LCD monitor about 4ft away. I don't know how it compares to a triplehead2go but I love my setup. If you go the tv route make sure that the tv is compatible as a computer monitor, also look for 1 to 1 pixel mapping. There are several here in AH that use LCD tv's in the game. Do a Google search and you will find quite a bit of info on using tv's as monitors.

[RipChord929]

I use a 120hz LG 47inch LCD, at 1920x1080rez with the 1024 textures... I sit at the point that presents the proper visual perspective to my eye, about 2 feet away... The canopy frame and gunsite appear about lifsize, without having to zoom at all.. With TrackIR5, I look around and it is truly amazing... I can ID targets without the Icons.. It added so much immersion to the game for me, that it is almost a completely new experience..
The details are awesome, colors are vivid with the new version.. And absolutely no ghosting!!!

I don't really know how a plasma screen will do.. But I can say that the big screen is AWESOME!!! I run the input thru the HDMI, works perfect... After I build a new computer of my own, instead of this prebuilt one, I plan to do the matrox TH2G digital deal, with 2 more 47inch screens... That will give the FULL LIFESIZE PANORAMIC VIEW.. Fill my peripheral vision completely... LOL, I think that will make it feel almost real!!!

Remember that the bigger the screen, the slower the response time.. Thats why I went to the 120hz...
But with the new 240hz units out now, the 120's have really dropped in price... Could have saved a couple C by waiting a year!!!

This has been my experience with the bigscreen, I'd NEVER GO BACK!!!

RC

[Hoarach]

I use a 32" and love it.  The picture is much larger and the gauges are easier to read.  It has even increased my accuracy believe it or not.

I would never go back as well.

I know if you have a nvidia card you can manually adjust the screen/resize your desktop to a custom resolution if the screen becomes stretched or what not when using a converter or whatever you may use to plug your computer into the tv.  I myself used a dvi-hdmi converter and had to resize my desktop. 

[SIK1]

Just so you all know you can get hdmi-dvi cables for about ten bucks from monoprice.com. Since none of the newer tv's seem to have a dvi input.

[cactuskooler]

I have three 22" monitors running with TH2G. It's very impressive in game and gives ample workspace on your desktop. I doubt I'll ever go back to a single monitor setup.

The only limitation is that the largest resolution TH2G supports currerntly is 5040x1050(3 x 1680x1050). So if you have three 24" monitor with a native resolution of 1900x1200, your going to have to downsize each to 1680x1050. SothTH can do three screens with different resolutions but I don't know too much about it.

[Hoarach]

I bought a monster dvi-hdmi cable for $40 at radioshack.  I know it was overpriced but I couldnt even find them that cheap on newegg so I said screw it and settled.  I switch my hdmi cable between my pc and my ps3.

[SIK1]

Seriously try monoprice.com.

For forty bucks you could have a hand full of hdmi-dvi cables.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2505&seq=1&format=2
 
Those are fifteen foot cables that I linked the shorter ones are less expensive.
I get all my cables and power cords from them.

They have good deals on tv wall mounts too.

[DAVENRINO]

Hmmm.....I wonder who told SIK1 bout Monoprice   Been using them for years - great cables and service with cheap shipping to Hawaii.

BTW... I love my 60" monitor @ 8'.  Been playing AH on bigscreens for bout 6 years now.

[Reaper90]

I have three 22" monitors running with TH2G. It's very impressive in game and gives ample workspace on your desktop. I doubt I'll ever go back to a single monitor setup.

The only limitation is that the largest resolution TH2G supports currerntly is 5040x1050(3 x 1680x1050). So if you have three 24" monitor with a native resolution of 1900x1200, your going to have to downsize each to 1680x1050. SothTH can do three screens with different resolutions but I don't know too much about it.

When you down-size a monitor's resolution from 1900x1200 to 1680x1050 is there any loss in quality compared to a monitor who's native resolution is 1680x1050? i.e. dows the monitor have difficulty scaling down to a lower resolution than it was designed for or is that a "no problem" kind of thing? The reason I ask is I'm planning a triple-head setup with 3 28" monitors, but they'd need to be scaled down. If the scale-down is going to cause problems, I may go to a much larger single display, but I'd prefer the 3-panel display for the panoramic quality.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

When you down-size a monitor's resolution from 1900x1200 to 1680x1050 is there any loss in quality compared to a monitor who's native resolution is 1680x1050? i.e. dows the monitor have difficulty scaling down to a lower resolution than it was designed for or is that a "no problem" kind of thing? The reason I ask is I'm planning a triple-head setup with 3 28" monitors, but they'd need to be scaled down. If the scale-down is going to cause problems, I may go to a much larger single display, but I'd prefer the 3-panel display for the panoramic quality.

Depending on the screen it can have a very large effect in quality. Some screens do a better job in optimizing the scaling - others go really nasty and blurry when run out of native resolution. So unless you can run your screens at native resolutions you're pretty much out of luck. There are however even 32" screens that have mere 1680x1050 or lower native resolutions but the problem with those is they're intended for public displays instead of gaming.

[Reaper90]

Depending on the screen it can have a very large effect in quality. Some screens do a better job in optimizing the scaling - others go really nasty and blurry when run out of native resolution. So unless you can run your screens at native resolutions you're pretty much out of luck. There are however even 32" screens that have mere 1680x1050 or lower native resolutions but the problem with those is they're intended for public displays instead of gaming.

That's what I'm worried about - I don't want to ask the monitor to do something it wasn't necc designed for, even if it would seem that displaying a lower resolution would be "easier" - and have it cause a problem.

[RipChord929]

When I first hooked my 47 inch to my PC, set the monitor(TV) function to HDMI1... Turned on the machine, it booted up just like normal, in giant size.. The Nvidia Control panel popped up for a moment, said it detected new hardware, readjusted the 9800gt's to display only the resolutions available for this screen, 1080max..
1080 looks damn good too!!!  But the 768 looks good as well, much smoother than you'd expect.. Even the water looks great at 768, thats sayin alot!!! It will go down to 5??, starts lookin too jagged tho..

RC

[Wraith_TMS]

I have three 22" monitors running with TH2G. It's very impressive in game and gives ample workspace on your desktop. I doubt I'll ever go back to a single monitor setup.

The only limitation is that the largest resolution TH2G supports currerntly is 5040x1050(3 x 1680x1050). So if you have three 24" monitor with a native resolution of 1900x1200, your going to have to downsize each to 1680x1050. SothTH can do three screens with different resolutions but I don't know too much about it.

Yeah, SoftTH gives you that option.  It's a good alternative if you have screens of different resolution capabilites. 

In my case, I run a 24" with 2 side 22", all widescreen panels capable of 1900x1200, which allows me to run the game at 5408x1200 through SoftTH.

FWIW, 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Yeah, SoftTH gives you that option.  It's a good alternative if you have screens of different resolution capabilites. 

In my case, I run a 24" with 2 side 22", all widescreen panels capable of 1900x1200, which allows me to run the game at 5408x1200 through SoftTH.

FWIW, 

Just keep in mind that 5408x1200 is an extremely demanding resolution you will need a high-end system to run any modern game smoothly. So if you don't have money to spare for high-end graphics (or have some already) then think twice.