I've noticed that alot of the new LCD-based high-def TVs have PC inputs (specifically, VGA), presumably so they can be used as computer monitors. Has anyone here tried that, and if so, would you recommend it?
I'm considering using a portion of my tax return to purchase a 26" or 32" HDTV, and then using it to consolidate all the computer and TV stuff into one corner. That would let me eliminate an old bulky TV (had it since 1991), an old CRT monitor, and some furniture. (I live alone in a small apartment, so eliminating the need for certain furniture items and freeing up space is always good.)
My question specifically is, how is the image quality? Is there anything annoying in the details (e.g. bigger pixels than with a 17" monitor)? Does it make your eyes hurt at close range?
It depends on the TV and your video card. Most 720p LCDs use 1366x768 panels. This presents a word-alignment problem as 1366 isn't divisible by eight (in fact, irritatingly, 1366 only factors to 2*683). With my video card/TV combination I can manage a 1368-wide virtual screen with a 1366-wide window, but even so I've never managed to quite get resolution to the pixel. YMMV.
1080p should be better, provided the TV manufacturers actually use 1920-wide panels. Since 1920 is divisible by 128 there shouldn't be any alignment problems, at least until someone starts selling 2048-bit video cards. The question then becomes whether or not you can fine-tune the TV to get "on the dot," as it were.
If you have a video card with HDMI output, that's probably your best bet for 1080p. You might can also get away with a DVI-D to HDMI cable (reportedly sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't). Keep in mind that, with HDMI, I believe you're limited to 50/60Hz vertical refresh.
Finally, there's the question of whether or not the entire display is visible. A TV manufacturer may plonk a bezel over the edges of the panel...
A better approach is to connect components to an HDMI monitor. I'd hoped that would be the direction the TV industry moved toward but, alas, this hasn't been the case. Unfortunately, large monitors are expensive as hell and, in the U.S. at least, there's the DRM matter to consider (Windows Vista and HD components refuse to do HD with non-HDCP equipment).
Re: video cards...
The computer is a Mac Mini, so it's stuck with whatever video processor Apple chose to put in it. It has a DVI output and currently uses a DVI-to-VGA adapter to connect to its current monitor. It has the ability to auto-detect what kind of monitor it has, using a database of the most common types. I'm just hoping Apple has included display drivers for HDTVs in its software updates.
If and when I get the HDTV, I'll try connecting the computer to it as an experiment, but not commit to getting rid of the current monitor or any furniture until I get it to work. If it doesn't work, I'll just keep using the current monitor. I still want to get the HDTV anyway, considering I've already got an HD-DVD player and thus have already started down the high-def path. (Seems silly to have that player and start collecting movies in high-def with just a regular TV.)
It will have to be 720p. I've been checking prices and the ones with 1080p are just way out of reach for me at this time.
This tiny computer connected to a huge monitor will make a weird combination.
you may have trouble reading smaller text, especially if you run in the higher resoloution range.
that said, my server is hooked up to my main TV, and its just fine; but if you want it for games, especially those like Homeworld 2 where you have smaller "tool tips", you might have to squint
but as i say, for general use, its fine.
you might want to try finding a tv with DVI-I on the rear, but..VGA does me
fine, and i am...fussy :p when it comes to picture quality.
Pikajedi4, is your main TV high-def or regular?
The most demanding use my computer gets is video editing, and that's only occasionally. I'm not into computer gaming at all.
I haven't seen DVI on any TVs yet. The ones I've looked at just have a VGA connector labelled "PC".
Another thing I've noticed is that often when the monitor has an aspect ratio of 16:9 (HDTV) as opposed to the traditional 4:3, the owner seems satisfied to let it stretch a 4:3 image horizontally. I find that very annoying. If the computer cannot send it a native 16:9 image, I'd rather it put a vertical letterbox around the 4:3 image.
Pikajedi4, is your main TV high-def or regular?
The most demanding use my computer gets is video editing, and that's only occasionally. I'm not into computer gaming at all.
I haven't seen DVI on any TVs yet. The ones I've looked at just have a VGA connector labelled "PC".
Another thing I've noticed is that often when the monitor has an aspect ratio of 16:9 (HDTV) as opposed to the traditional 4:3, the owner seems satisfied to let it stretch a 4:3 image horizontally. I find that very annoying. If the computer cannot send it a native 16:9 image, I'd rather it put a vertical letterbox around the 4:3 image.
tis a high def 36" 1080i.
and most computers will scale it correctly.
Re: video cards...
The computer is a Mac Mini, so it's stuck with whatever video processor Apple chose to put in it. It has a DVI output and currently uses a DVI-to-VGA adapter to connect to its current monitor.
Probably DVI-I (analog and digital). Look at the connector. If the the slot on one side is surrounded by four pin connectors, you have DVI-I.
I believe DVI-I is compatible with the commonly available single link HDMI-to-DVI-D cables.
It has the ability to auto-detect what kind of monitor it has, using a database of the most common types.
Odds are you'll only be able to do 50/60Hz 720p with digital. The VGA connector is probably a better bet.
I still want to get the HDTV anyway, considering I've already got an HD-DVD player and thus have already started down the high-def path. (Seems silly to have that player and start collecting movies in high-def with just a regular TV.)
If it's any comfort, HD-DVD is probably obsolete already anyhow. 
I haven't seen DVI on any TVs yet. The ones I've looked at just have a VGA connector labelled "PC".
DVI is deprecated in favor of HDMI.
I know for a fact that there were some sets with DVI connectors because I managed to buy one right before they dropped the HDMI bomb.
At least it's DVI/HDCP. I know a guy who paid major big bucks for a plasma monitor at the Enron firesale. Thanks to the Copyright Nazis he now has the world's most expensive 480p TV.
If it's any comfort, HD-DVD is probably obsolete already anyhow.
The reason I picked HD-DVD over Blu-Ray is that I plan to have both eventually. I decided to get HD-DVD first because the players are cheaper and its standards are all decided now, whereas Blu-Ray is going through a succession of standards which may leave this year's players unable to play next year's disks without regular firmware upgrades. I decided to give Blu-Ray another year or so while they make up their minds what should be standard on the next batch of players. (It should at least have the ethernet connection like all HD-DVD players already have.) Then, for the Trekkies, Paramount looks like it might be the last movie company to hang onto HD-DVD exclusively. That means, if you want to see any Star Trek stuff in high-def any time soon, it will have to be HD-DVD. (e.g. the remastered Original Series) Two separate players actually cost less than one combination player.
To make things more fun, I've still got an old LaserDisc player that somebody gave me and about 10 or 15 titles on that. 
Then, for the Trekkies, Paramount looks like it might be the last movie company to hang onto HD-DVD exclusively.
I thought Paramount dropped HD-DVD. Seems like I read that they were getting out of the HD business until the current mess straightens itself out.
To make things more fun, I've still got an old LaserDisc player that somebody gave me and about 10 or 15 titles on that.
You need to find you one of those old mechanical (groove and pickup) video disk players to complete the collection. Interestingly, the only title I ever saw for them was the old B+W/Color version of "The Cage" (in fact, I think Radio Shack listed it as their only title for a number of years).
Groove-and-pickup laserdiscs might make an interesting collectible, if I were lucky enough to find any at a flea market or something. Just for collecting, however, not for playing. (Am I correct to assume these are made of vinyl like audio records?)
For a while there back in the late 80s and early 90s, it looked like LaserDisc was going to make a comeback. (Real movie fanatics realized they wanted better quality than VHS. So what if you couldn't record to it, if the image is clear.) I even joined Columbia House's short-lived LaserDisc club. Got the whole Star Wars trilogy as part of the one-cent plus shipping teaser, knowing I'd have to get three more at full price to satisfy the contract, and that I was saving them until I could afford a player. (I was a full-time college student at the time.) But then the LaserDisc club folded and I never had to buy the full-priced three. Even if I never play the Star Wars laserdiscs (have that on DVD also, anyway), they're still interesting to take out and look at the packaging occasionally. Since each movie is on two discs, the album jacket folds out to reveal a big panoramic scene from the movie (e.g. the Battle of Hoth, with AT-AT's walking around in the snowy mayhem). Definitely a worthy collectible item.
The LaserDisc player is an old Pioneer model given to my by a former co-worker. I was able to get it working for about five minutes, but I guess either a part slipped loose or the laser lens is dirty. It powers up, opens the tray to load, and all that, but when you put in a disc, the display still reads "No disc". If I ever find a place that will repair it, I'll send it in for work.
Then, for the Trekkies, Paramount looks like it might be the last movie company to hang onto HD-DVD exclusively.
I thought Paramount dropped HD-DVD. Seems like I read that they were getting out of the HD business until the current mess straightens itself out.
Before they do that, I hope they at least complete the remastered Original Series on HD-DVD. They've already got season one out, with two and three scheduled for later this year (or so I've read, anyway.) There are hints that they might put the Star Trek movies out on HD-DVD, but I'm not waiting around for that. (There's a nice collectors' edition of those out on regular DVD, and cheap on top of that. Of course, they're probably deliberately jerking the collectors around anyway, knowing that over time they can make rabid fans buy multiple editions of the same movie.)