Samsung LN32A550 LCD TV as a PC monitor

Sometimes too much of a good thing really is too much. I decided that since I have had my 24" Dell monitor for going on 3 years, that a size update would be in order. After checking reviews and such online, the LCD TV route seemed to be the best compromise between price and performance.

I drove my wife nuts this weekend checking out all the TVs and specs, and finally settled on the Samsung LN32A550. It's a 32" LCD TV with a 1080p resolution, which is 1920x1080 in monitor resolution terms. That's close enough to the 1920x1200 resolution on my Dell monitor to make me feel good about not losing picture definition. The 32" should just be a bigger picture, so I can turn the size down on UI elements in games for more game real-estate.

Well, it turns out that 3' of desktop space between me and a 32" LCD TV is not enough to overcome the TV's shortcomings. I guess they don't list the dot-pitch anywhere on purpose, because it is huge, and it becomes distracting. World of Warcraft blurred a lot while playing, and Call of Duty 4 made my eyes cross if I tried to turn fast. Text on web pages was nice and clear, after I figured out how to calibrate the TV to a PC mode, but one doesn't usually buy a 32" LCD for web surfing. Colors were also pretty washed out. I managed to get them to look pretty decent, but since I couldn't play games without my eyes watering, I guess that didn't make much of a difference.

On the upside, it looked damn cool on my desk. (I'll post pics later.)

I think that after I return it, I am going to look into finding a deal on a 27" Dell 2709w LCD monitor.