HD Gaming on a PC monitor (Just have a quick read please)

[WrinklyNinja]

Hi.

Basically Im getting a new monitor on saturday. Probably this one - Can you also give me your opinion on that. I think its good and for the price aswel it seems like a bargain. Concidering Ive only got a 14inch Samsung Syncmaster 152v.

Neway. Ive been telling my dad for eons now that PC monitors are High Def out of the box. And that a PC signal is high def. However he says "then why do some monitors have "HD Ready" on them and some do not".

A question I can only answer with "Those monitors are expensive, and by sticking that on they shift more" Not only that but you usually only see that on monitors which also have TV tuners in aswel.

I just need people to confirm that a PC monitor is indeed HD and that a good LCD/TFT monitor would be just as good as an actual HDTV of similar size.

So:

1) Please confirm that for me. So I can show him.

2) Please have a quick check of that monitor link and let me know what you think.

3) Answer this, although Im pretty sure I know the answer, Im not 100% because Ive never actually bought a TFT purposely. The one I have got now came with my old pc.

Do all flatscreen monitors have their VGA lead detachable so you could shove another lead straight into the back, like say a 360 VGA cable. Or do some come with a fixed VGA lead? I know my CRT does but I have never seen (to my knowledge) a flatscreen with a fixed VGA cable.

4) Is there much difference between an LCD and TFT monitor. And if so what, and which is the best.

Thanks in advance.

[WrinklyNinja]

Also is every monitor garunteed to accept my 360 signal providing the right resolution is selected.

I think I know the answers to most of these questions but it does no harm to get other peoples opinion.

[WrinklyNinja]

Also what are my rights regarding returning it in the scenario that it does not work...?

[Wedgy]

I would not recommend that monitor, and say look for widescreen only.

HD rsolutions are done in 16.9
1280x720 is 720p and 1920x1080 is 1080i

1280x768 and 1280x800 are what most PC monitors do wide screen in and would be fine for 720P gaming.

1280x1024 is a 5:4 resolution and 1024x768 is a 4:3


Now 1280x1024 is better then 720p in a sense cos it a higher resolution.

Now if that monitor can do the 1280x768 and 1280x800 then 720p game should be in a letter box. But some 4:3 monitors just wont do it. If i set my 4:3 monitor to those resolutions the pic wont display at all (try it your self)

Now hear is the tricky part as far as i know 360 game are not all the same when i comes to monitors. Some will do the letter box 1280x768 no problem while others will do the 1280x1024 and squash the picture in a bit.

So its hit and miss, thats why a wide screen monitor is recommended cos they will do the 1280x768 and 1280x800 and every xbox game should play in the 720p resolution.

Yes you can return it no questions ask usually within 14 days and as long as its not damaged and yes the VGA cable should be detachable.

Hope that helps at all i will try explain it simpler if you dont understand.

Remember HD = widescreen

[darktidus]

HD = at least 720p. 720p = 1280x720 pixels which any monitor will easily do.

'HD Ready' has at least 720 lines and has a digital input (DVI/HDMI). A PC monitor should be fine. Also the official VGA cable has the male to female converter (or whatever its called) so you'll be all dandy. Or you should be..

[WrinklyNinja]

Cheers guys.

But after a whole evenings worth of web crawling through various monitors and tech info I have been forced not to get 1.

Apparently (and this is all over the official forums.) the 1280x1024 native resoultion of the 19 inch monitors is not supported properly by the Xbox 360 vga cable. Many games fill the screen even though they are surposed to be in letter box.

For example PGR fills the screen instead of being in letterbox, but by filling the screen the image is distorted and goes thinner. I already knew that this sort of image warping happened because the resolution I currently use 1024x768 is the last resolution on the vga settings to have the option of "normal" and "widescreen". I currently use normal but when I switch it to widescreen, or force a resolution any higher than 1024x768 this image warping takes place.

It really has to be seen to be believed and it really is ugly. On an FPS it seems like the vision is funny, which I can only describe as if you put on your grandmas or mum/dads glasses and they are really strong and the floor seems to move away from you, imagine that but rotated 90degrees.

And regarding widescreen monitors. Those who are not casual gamers, (who cannot see an image defect, and who frankly couldent care.) and who own a widescreen monitor with a 360 vga report that on all resolutions things seem slightly warped, for example that a circle seems more egg shaped than circular.

At the moment the 360 cable is not 100% supported beyond 1024x768. Some people on the Xbox.com forums report that when they called up tech support they were told that an internal notice was going round and that it was on a list of things to fix.

So yea. Thanks for the advice guys but it would seem that every1 who uses the cable above 1024x768 is experiancing image warping problems.

Its annoying and I hope its fixed in the autumn patch.