Using Plasma monitor to surf internet?

[sainthalo]

I am thinking of buying a (probably panasonic) Plasma monitor and building a Computer and Audio setup around it (ie DVD, Tuner, MP3, DivX, VCD, SVCD, PC games, Internet all from the PC and viewed on the Plasma only). I would buy a DVI in enabled monitor.

Is the plasma screen picture good enough to surf the net?

In an average sized room sitting an average sized distance away, what size monitor would I need for surfing the net?

Can anyone think of an alternative to Plasma technology? Would RP work or would the computer picture be awful?

Many thanks

 

[Choddo]

Is the plasma screen picture good enough to surf the net?

yes we use a few at work.Check that the res is high enough. Reading much text on a 852x480 (common on 42") is painful.
I'd want 1024x1024 minimum.

 

[codlord]

I have a Panasonic 42" which I partly use for PC stuff - mainly for an MP3 jukebox (using pronto remote to infra red keyboard to control it).

The panny I have has a native res of 852x480 but will support other resolutions. I have tried:
640x480 - Great quality but crap for surfing or using applications - just can't get enough information on screen. Most web sites are designed for 800x600 or above.
800x600 - Still very good quality and better for surfing etc (this is what I tend to use).
1024x768 - Still good quality but I think only at 60hz so has a tiny bit of a flicker.
I have not tried other resolutions so not sure if others are supported.
Remember most operating systems allow you to change fonts and font sizes so you can adjust these to get the best out of different resolutions etc.

As for room size etc I can only sit about 6/8 feet away from the screen and I would say that at this distance you would not want anything bigger than 42" as I expect you would start to see pixels etc.

 

codlord,

so would you say that the Panasonic is adequate for surfing the web, e.g. would I be able to read these forums (without eyestrain) with the panny's (limited) resolution?

Mike

 

[codlord]

Mike,

Yes, absolutely, the quality is super-suberb in 640x480 as good as the best monitors, in 800x600 it's still excellent just not "quite" such a sharp picture and 1024x768 still very good just not totally flicker free but as good as any monitor that is running at 60hz. Most people probably would not notice - I am a stickler for monitor refresh rates though! In all three modes I could happily read even small text on screen no problem.

The problems with actually using it for surfing come not from lack of quality but just from lack of resolution - try putting your pc in 640x480 and do a bit of surfing - you'll be using those scroll bars a fair bit!

 

[sainthalo]

Originally posted by codlord
The problems with actually using it for surfing come not from lack of quality but just from lack of resolution - try putting your pc in 640x480 and do a bit of surfing - you'll be using those scroll bars a fair bit!

Is there no way around this scrolling issue? I think there is software for outputting to widescreen monitors which eliminates this issue... anybody know?
Also what is the optimum viewing distance when surfing on a plasma 42"?
Also I dont undersatand why a a bigger than 42" would be worse?

 

[codlord]

I dont undersatand why a a bigger than 42" would be worse

I thought the 50" had the same resolution (so pixels would be bigger) but it looks like the native res on the 50" is 1366x768 - I think this would actually mean the pixels are smaller than on the 42" so scrub what I said before. This obviously means the 50" in native resolution would be better for PC work that the 42".

Is there no way around this scrolling issue?

Yes, as I said you can output a higher resolution. Also some graphics cards will support non-standard resolutions like the Panny Plasmas native 852x480 - this will help if you don't want to use a higher res.

Personally I just output 800x600 and stretch to fit full-screen.