[spincrazy]

So, I've been looking at this set for a bit and I've also been debating getting 2 and using one for a monitor. I love my CRT for photo editing (Lacie electron22 blue IV), but it's getting time to start thinking about a flat panel lcd because I've had it for a few years and would love to free up some deskspace and 37" would be a pretty nice alternative to a second palette monitor. Anyway, my concern is will this television (really a monitor as it has no tuner, but they sell it as a tv) be calibrate-able. I currently use a ColorVision Spyder2Pro. This is a must. Anyone with any knowledge?

set is here http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=56#VALUE

 

[Toshi]

i kind of do something similar, using my Dell 2405FPW (also 1920x1080 like the one you posted) as the "tv" for use with my playstation 2, which does 1080i output. it's also great for dvds/xvid rips off of bittorrent. if i had a desire to watch tv i guess hooking up a tuner would work as well.

the blue thing is the ps2 to component adapter, which plugs into one of the five inputs . dvi-d for the computer, component for the ps2 -- if the 37" lcd you posted supports something similar then you should be set. it's a nice setup for sure in terms of saving space and possibly picture in picture if your set supports it (dell does).

 

[spincrazy]

Thanks for the response Toshi. So you think I can calibrate it and it will be as nice as my Lacie at least? My other option, as I see it, is to spend over twice that and get an Eizo and only have 23".

Dell and Apples are out due to backlight bleed and poor calibration (doesn't hold) and areas of the screen that have different colors when they shouldn't.

Maybe I'll just get one and the requisite cable and try it out. I'm sure I could send it back...although what a pain in the ass.

 

[Toshi]

i have no experience with the model you posted. if you need calibration then so be it -- i don't see any cheap way around that.

 

[Silver]

No reason why the Spyder won't work on that. I don't quite understand why you're worried about that.

You're going to have to sit a fair distance away though, the pixel size is going to be fairly large. Will it look as nice as your LaCie? That depends...how old is your LaCie? I'm also not sure what kind of panel the Westinghouse is. TN Panels generally aren't as nice as S-PVA or IPS ones.

 

[spincrazy]

Well, never tried to calibrate a television before so I didn't know. My Lacie is about 3.5-4 years old. It's still one of the nicest monitors I just know it has a limited lifespan and I'd benefit from not sitting in front of cathode rays 10 hours a day. I retouch ads and fashion for a living - into pixels - often working at 400%. The res seems similar to my Lacie and the Eizo.

 

[syadasti]

If you have a bit more money you can buy a 30" Dell (make sure its the 3007WFP-HC) or HP LCD with the new enhanced CCFL backlight (seems like the best fit for your application). Those things have higher gamut (92% NTSC) than any other LCD panel save a 27" panels (NEC and Dell sell them but they have a 1920x1200 which sucks because the pixel size is going to be huge compared to a 24" with the same native resolution) and the insanely priced LED backlit monitors (even better gamut). Only thing is you need a beefy videocard to drive 30" LCD monitors at native resolution (2560 x 1600)

 

[Silver]

Chances are pretty good it's not one of the higher end panels. (It does claim a 176 degree vertical/horizontal viewing angle though...so I may be wrong on that. If it is, that's a hell of a price)

If your LaCie isn't looking used up (I have a 22" NEC CRT that has seen better days...) the Westinghouse isn't going to look as good, especially if you keep the viewing distance the same.

The fact that it can be used as a TV doesn't matter. Once you hook a computer up to it and calibrate it with the Spyder, you're using it as a monitor, and the Spyder will calibrate it just like any other monitor.

It just won't be calibrated when you're using it as a monitor for a television source. Does that make sense?

 

[spincrazy]

Thanks for the advice guys. My Lacie looks fine, nearly as good as the Eizo at that place I go 4 days a week. I do think it's a good price and it gets good reviews. I don't think I'm going to get it after all, at least to use as a monitor. I'll look at those monitors you listed syadasti.

 

[syadasti]

Thanks for the advice guys. My Lacie looks fine, nearly as good as the Eizo at that place I go 4 days a week. I do think it's a good price and it gets good reviews. I don't think I'm going to get it after all, at least to use as a monitor. I'll look at those monitors you listed syadasti.

Actually you can get away with low-end cards like 7300GT or 1900XT to drive a 30" LCD monitor at the native resolution, but you'll have to stick with 2D applications only, 3D would crawl with such low-end cards:

The GeForce 7300 GT comes with one dual-link DVI and one single-link DVI port, allowing you to connect a 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display to the dual-link DVI port and a 20-inch or 23-inch Apple Cinema Display to the single-link DVI port. Or connect two 30-inch displays to either the ATI Radeon X1900 XT or the workstation-class NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500. Both feature two dual-link DVI ports.