[chrikenn]

I'm going to be getting rid of my old TV and getting something new. I'm trying to decide between getting a 17 or 19" LCD MONITOR to attach to my 12" Powerbook and coupling that with an EyeTV 200, OR simply getting a 17" or 19" TV LCD. As far as I can see, the EyeTV setup would have the benefit of recording and burning to DVD. I don't know of any benefits that the standalone LCD TV would have (of course, it could also be hooked up to my Powerbook, but I would not get the EyeTV then...).

Anybody have any advice on which would be the best route to go? Which would have better picture quality, etc etc?

Thanks.

[Rev-O]

Originally posted by chrikenn:
I'm going to be getting rid of my old TV and getting something new. I'm trying to decide between getting a 17 or 19" LCD MONITOR to attach to my 12" Powerbook and coupling that with an EyeTV 200, OR simply getting a 17" or 19" TV LCD. As far as I can see, the EyeTV setup would have the benefit of recording and burning to DVD. I don't know of any benefits that the standalone LCD TV would have (of course, it could also be hooked up to my Powerbook, but I would not get the EyeTV then...).

Anybody have any advice on which would be the best route to go? Which would have better picture quality, etc etc?

Thanks.

Just the usual. A 19" monitor is going to have more resolution than an LCD tv. EyeTV is going to give you pvr functionality. Also means that you're going to locate your laptop in a tv environment (in front of a sofa, hopefully!), or locate your tv in a computer environment (at a desk).

[joe]

Originally posted by chrikenn:
Anybody have any advice on which would be the best route to go? Which would have better picture quality, etc etc?

I've had several Mac TV Tuners over the years (XClaim, Formac, EyeTV200). And have used them on many different monitors (CRT, LCD, flat, wide, etc). About the only recommendation I would make is that you go with the 19" LCD over the 17" LCD. That's because I'm assuming the 17" LCD has a native res of 1280*1024 (1.25 aspect ratio) which makes all TV tuner images appear slighty squashed. Over time this gets more than a little annoying. If the 19" LCD does a native 1600*1200 then your videos will appear normal. On a non-wide screen monitor just about every res has a 1.33 aspect ratio from 640*480 to 1600*1200 - EXCEPT that annoying 1280*1024. And it seems more noticeable with video apps than about any other app (for me at least).

On the plus side - EyeTV200 rulz! You won't regret going this route over a the combo LCD/TV monitor.........joe

[perbl]

Originally posted by joe:
About the only recommendation I would make is that you go with the 19" LCD over the 17" LCD. That's because I'm assuming the 17" LCD has a native res of 1280*1024 (1.25 aspect ratio) which makes all TV tuner images appear slighty squashed. Over time this gets more than a little annoying. If the 19" LCD does a native 1600*1200 then your videos will appear normal. On a non-wide screen monitor just about every res has a 1.33 aspect ratio from 640*480 to 1600*1200 - EXCEPT that annoying 1280*1024. And it seems more noticeable with video apps than about any other app (for me at least).

On the plus side - EyeTV200 rulz! You won't regret going this route over a the combo LCD/TV monitor.........joe [/B]

Can you name a few (except the ultraexpensive rare ones) 19" LCD-monitors that features a native resolution of 1600x1200?

As far as I know from the monitors available around here, almost every 17-19" LCD-monitor features 1280x1024 as a native resolution, except from the widescreen types. You may have to step up to the 20" size in order to get screens featuring 1600x1200 as native res.

[joe]

Originally posted by perbl:
As far as I know from the monitors available around here, almost every 17-19" LCD-monitor features 1280x1024 as a native resolution, except from the widescreen types. You may have to step up to the 20" size in order to get screens featuring 1600x1200 as native res.

Sorry, I didn't realize how few 19" LCDs support 1600x1200 res. One workaround would be running those 17-19" LCDs in 1024*768 to force a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. That fixes the TV tuner display but has a few downsides (less screen res, LCD scaling). OTOH, you may not even notice that the TV tuner window aspect ratio is off when running 1280*1024. Best to try it on your current monitor first and go from there.

Personally I noticed the problem almost immediately with my 1st TV tuner but didn't realize what was causing it. At the time I had the 17" Apple CRT (ADC version) and was running 1280*1024. Eventually I realized the odd 1.25 aspect ratio was causing the problem. But Apple's 17" CRT didn't support 1280*960 which matches the standard 1.33 aspect ratio of the TV tuner and the other resolutions (640*480 through 1600*1200). I eventually bought a 19" CRT which looks great at 1600*1200. I also bought an Apple 20" widescreen LCD which doesn't have a problem with the TV tuner aspect either..........joe

[cmoney]

I've been pimping the Dell 2001FP 20" LCD on these boards since I got it about a month ago. It's cheap - constantly on Dell's special offers lists and goes for anywhere from $700-$780 depending on what offer is going on at the time. That's not much more than most 19" LCD monitors.

Plus it has 1600x1200 native resolution and SVideo and Composite video inputs to boot. So if you find the EyeTV is lacking for you, you can always hook up a TiVo or cable box to it! Great combination IMHO.