Monitor vs Telly?

Hi,

In a while (maybe after Christmas?), I might look to getting a small HDMI display device for my Beagle.
The thing is, if it is going to go the HDMI route, there are two options. Either a specific computer monitor, or a TV. Now once upon a time a TV used to make a poor monitor (image quality, refresh rate, phosphor resolution, interlace; all against serious computing). But these days? It looks to me to be a bunch of LCD panels, some of which have digital tuners built in, others that do not.

Is there much difference between a TV and a monitor anymore when running at sane (not OTT) resolutions?

Is there much difference between a TV and a monitor anymore when running at sane (not OTT) resolutions?

The most relevant difference is that the TVs are capable of lower frame refresh rates (like 24Hz) than monitors which suits the Beagleboard. An LCD display should be run at its native resolution and modern TVs will probably do 1080p (1920×1080) at a low refresh rate.

By all means a TV to suit the Beagle’s 19201080 @ 30 Hz. Other than that there are only a handful of rather pricey gaming monitors, Eizo does one. Btw DVI-D would be sufficient as the Beagle doesn’t support audio out via HDMI.
I also had some luck with a HannsG at a slightly lower resolution but if you’re buying new I’d go for the highest resolution possible.

It has to be a “full HD” one though, NOT “HD ready” caveat emptor!

I’ve been very pleased with my LG M237WD (bought from R-Comp). Beagle uses the DVI-D plus analogue audio in and I’ve got the wintel/linux box connected via VGA. Apart from SCART, S-Video, component and an old style antenna there are two HDMI sockets, though I’m currently not using them.

There are two possible problems with the “TV as a monitor” approach: Overscan that can not be disabled, and picture enhancement algorithms that can not be switched off.

So make sure that the TV supports a “true image” or “pixel perfect” or something similar zoom mode that can be set permanently for an input socket.

And make sure that all picture enhancers can be disabled (ideally, also on a “per input socket”) base.