An affordable screen for a PS3??

[Touring Mars]

I am thinking about whether I should consider buying a monitor to use with my forthcoming PS3 and wondered what I should go for...

I have this monitor at work, and it's great - beautifully sharp and excellent, vibrant colours, and I'm thinking that the PS3 might look great on it, but sadly it's not mine... I know it's not HD or 1080p or whatever, but it has a max screen res of 1680 x 1050 pixels... would it be a suitable choice for playing PS3 games on?

Another reason is that I just realised that I presumably won't be able to take advantage of the PS3's capability as a web browser or linux platform unless I have a monitor too...??

I am not really looking for an HDTV, since I'm only looking to spend around £200 on a monitor... any ideas/info (esp. on what not to go for)?

Also, can you play many PS3 games on a widescreen monitor anyway??

 

[Raitziger]

PS3 cant do pc resolutions and if the monitor does not support 720p or 1080p(check manual if you are not sure) ,i think that means no go.
I think you wont find new HD(720p or 1080p) monitor for that money, so go for used.

 

[Vonie]

If you care about Blu-ray movies, be sure the monitor supports HDCP.

 

[Pebb]

Touring Mars what is your budget range.

 

[G.T]

Touring Mars what is your budget range.

I'm only looking to spend around £200 on a monitor...

I still suggest the one I mentioned on MSN, but I'm not sure now if it's equipped with what is needed to display properly. It's a tad over budget (£249.99 at Argos), but it's the best I could find that I know about...

http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/monitors/lcd/lcdtvmonitors/ls19dowssedc.asp?page=Specifications

 

[zdenko]

Hey i have that samsung. I curently use it as a pc monitor uisng dvi and it is excellent. From what i have heard is that u can use a dvi to hdmi cable to this monitor with no problems for the ps3 as it supports 1280X720p hrough dvi. The dvi port is also hdcp compliant. I also use it for my ps2 with component. The intelacing in the low res games is very noticable but the progressive games look great.

One thing u will have to live with though is slight screen strethcing because of the 16X10 ratio. U dont really notice though unless u keep swapping monitors all the time.

 

[Touring Mars]

Cool, thanks for the replies so far...

Currently, I don't use the 16:10 aspect ratio on my monitor because of the stretching, but it does also allow you to use 1:1 aspect ratio for the type of input you're using... it does mean there is vertical letter-boxing, but the actual usable screen size is exactly the same as the 4:3 version of the same monitor (which I used to use)... however, you can still watch DVD's etc. in the full screen mode with no stretching at all.

Anyway, I was reckoning that a good quality monitor which will support the PS3 might be very hard to find for anything even close to £200!

 

[Pebb]

£200 is a bit pushing it I reckon Touring Mars, but I see what I can dig up.

 

[Touring Mars]

OK, I'm getting a bit lost with all this new-fangled technology etc.

I found out that my current monitor (a Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW) has a DVI input, but not (unsurprisingly) an HDMI input. But if I buy an HDMI to DVI adapter, should I then be able to use the monitor for the PS3 and get the full benefit? i.e. what should I expect it to look like?

 

[Raitziger]

OK, I'm getting a bit lost with all this new-fangled technology etc.

I found out that my current monitor (a Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW) has a DVI input, but not (unsurprisingly) an HDMI input. But if I buy an HDMI to DVI adapter, should I then be able to use the monitor for the PS3 and get the full benefit? i.e. what should I expect it to look like?

Check manual for 720P support.Adapter wont do any good without 720p or 1080p support. I think it also needs to be HDCP compliant.

 

[Touring Mars]

Hmmm, unfortunately I don't have the manual any more, but I had a look on the Dell website and couldn't find anything about 720p of HDCP at all Although I've googled '720p' and 'Dell 2005FPW' and found a few discussions which seem to suggest the monitor works fine at 720p, but maybe not with HDCP (like this for example... although I need a translator!) So I'm guessing that if I got an HDMI-DVI cable, I'd be able to see the PS3 in near-to HD on the monitor, but maybe not be able to watch DVD's (or just in HD??) I dunno

A side question, if the monitor does work, does anyone know if I'd also be able to hook up the sound simulatenously to a speaker system separately i.e. use the DVI connection for the display and have normal audio outputs into the back of my hi-fi?

 

[slackbladder]

I think you can have HDMI for picture and either optical for sound or phono (from the composite cable that comes with the PS3). Should work okay.
Try here for a load of monitior options. I've bought from there myself and had good service. Not too sure if any mention HDCP though. Best to go to the site of a monitor you like the look of.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I know it's not HD or 1080p or whatever, but it has a max screen res of 1680 x 1050 pixels... would it be a suitable choice for playing PS3 games on?

It would really depend largely on how well it might scale the video from the PS3. I'm not personally familiar with that monitor, but I'd try it out with a PS3 before buying.

Another reason is that I just realised that I presumably won't be able to take advantage of the PS3's capability as a web browser or linux platform unless I have a monitor too...??

No, you can do this with any display, monitor, TV, projector, etc.

I am not really looking for an HDTV, since I'm only looking to spend around £200 on a monitor... any ideas/info (esp. on what not to go for)?

There are a few threads on this subject in the Electronics & Home Theater forum that might be worth checking out. You might even want to post in that forum as you are more likely to get more responses specifically about monitors and displays. In fact, there is a very recent thread on the subject:

• Cheap HD tv or maybe monitor?

Also, can you play many PS3 games on a widescreen monitor anyway??

Yes.