Monitor Decision for PS3

[Koga316]

19" LG: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/LG-19-Widescreen-Monitor-Black-L196WTQ/sem/rpsm/oid/176535/catOid/-12965/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

20" Samsung: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-20-Widescreen-Monitor-206BW/sem/rpsm/oid/170983/catOid/-12965/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

22" Samsung: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-22-Widescreen-Monitor-226BW/sem/rpsm/oid/170984/catOid/-12965/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Which should I go with to use on my PS3? I don't shop online to circuit City and Best Buy are my options. I can get the 19" easily. The 20" a little extra but pushing it. 22" Gonna take tim..but I want a monitor now so I can get some HD on my PS3. I already order the HDMI to DVI cable I will need and I already have what I need for sound. Which one should I get and why?

 

[Koga316]

It takes 2 days for a post a topic to appear?

 

[Arwin]

It takes 2 days for a post a topic to appear?

Your first post/topic is probably reviewed before it is allowed to appear, in case of spam and such. In this case, the spam filter probably caught it because there are even links to products in this post.

I have the 22" 225BW Samsung screen and I think it's really rather good for hooking up the PS3, as it accepts all progressive resolutions (720p and 1080p) and scales them pretty well to its native resolution (1680x1050). Besides almost all games on the PS3 are optimised for widescreen or just assume it (not to mention the movies), so you're really better off with a widescreen. And 22" is a good desktop size for games - you sit closer to it, so it's almost as good as a bigger TV in the living room.

Since you've linked to the 226BW, you should consider the now outdated 225BW that I have, as you may be able to find it for 60-80 bucks less.

 

[Koga316]

The contrast isn't as good. But is there a offline store that might carry it?

 

[Skrying]

The contrast isn't as good. But is there a offline store that might carry it?

Why offline? You're going to be ripped off fairly bad if you want to buy from Circuit City or similar.

 

[Koga316]

Because its all I can do at the moment

 

[Koga316]

Uh, ok. I went to Circuit city and test some of their monitors with ym PS3 and the19" Lg was the best....didn't buy it yet though. But the 20" and 22" Samsungs did output 1080p. The problem with these those were that quite a bit was cut off on the sides. It was worse than on a SDTV. Arwin, do you have these issues on your Samsung using a PS3? The 19" showed everything but the other 2 just....cut them off...still went full screen or whatever..but you know how on a SDTv stuff is missing on the side? yea...this...is....messed up. I would get the 20" Samsung if there was no issue. But it seems that the LG is my best bet. It gave me a better picture and was brighter. I only would have gotten the 20" cuz it could go to 1080p.

 

[Arwin]

Uh, ok. I went to Circuit city and test some of their monitors with ym PS3 and the19" Lg was the best....didn't buy it yet though. But the 20" and 22" Samsungs did output 1080p. The problem with these those were that quite a bit was cut off on the sides. It was worse than on a SDTV. Arwin, do you have these issues on your Samsung using a PS3? The 19" showed everything but the other 2 just....cut them off...still went full screen or whatever..but you know how on a SDTv stuff is missing on the side? yea...this...is....messed up. I would get the 20" Samsung if there was no issue. But it seems that the LG is my best bet. It gave me a better picture and was brighter. I only would have gotten the 20" cuz it could go to 1080p.

What did you test? Did you even configure the PS3 to show Widescreen? I've no such problems myself on the 22" at least. There are sometimes differences in terms of the viewing window that you get to see when using 1080p mode also. So again, what did you test? I can do some HD comparisons for you, as I also have a 720p set as my regular setup (the 22" is actually mostly used for PC work, but once I start playing GT5 a lot with the wheel, there will be some changes, or maybe even a second PS3 )

 

[Koga316]

I tested the 22" and 20" using my HDMI to DVI Cable. And isn't already set to widescreen when using HDMI? Looked like it to me...especially on the 19" which gave the best picture. The 22" and 20" seem needed to be squished on. It was like the video had too much pwnage for the screen and just showed what it could. What settings did you use

 

[Skrying]

The 19" might have different scaling options, you're really not going to know well enough unless you spend time adjusting those settings.

 

[Koga316]

And whats the aspect ratio on yours? All 3 monitors were 16:10. But the 19" was fine

 

[Arwin]

And whats the aspect ratio on yours? All 3 monitors were 16:10. But the 19" was fine

Yeah, the 22" is 16:10 too (obviously, with a 1680x1050 resolution ). You do get a little bit of deformation, but it doesn't really bother me.

 

[Koga316]

*sigh* I guess I'll go back tomorrow. Wonder if they'll look at me like I'm crazy. Hey Arwin, what's your settings

 

[Arwin]

*sigh* I guess I'll go back tomorrow. Wonder if they'll look at me like I'm crazy. Hey Arwin, what's your settings

It could be that I overlooked something myself, but I'd suggest bringing a picture along with a clear outer border paintshopped in, so you can see if you really do miss something or not. I've also had some issues with the web-browser in one of the firmwares going out of bounds a bit, and then back to normal in the next.

What did you test in the shop when you were there last time?

 

[Koga316]

Trust me, stuff was missing. The associate noticed it instantly as well cuz I tried the 19" 1st. I used Virtua FIghter 5. I played Tekken 5 DR and it looked fine from what I saw. But VF5....wow. ... what happened. Same with Mortal Kombat II. Some of the wallpaper was off.

 

[Arwin]

Trust me, stuff was missing. The associate noticed it instantly as well cuz I tried the 19" 1st. I used Virtua FIghter 5. I played Tekken 5 DR and it looked fine from what I saw. But VF5....wow. ... what happened. Same with Mortal Kombat II. Some of the wallpaper was off.

Ok, that's good to know. Tekken 5 supports native 1080p properly, I know because I have tested. But Virtua Fighter 5 has some kind of weird internal upscaling to 1080p I think. You may want to try the game in 720p and see what happens then.

EDIT: yes, this review mentions different overscan settings also:

Lastly, while the Virtua Fighter 5 box mentions only 720p, the game can be actually ran in 1080i and 1080p, as well. To do this, make sure you have 1080i selected, unselect 720p from the PS3's display settings, and then boot up the game to run it in 1080i. Unselect 720p and 1080i to run the game in 1080p. But know this, while the upscaling to1080i looks perfectly fine (it will actually cure 90% of overscan problems you may have in 720p), 1080p tends to look jaggier and unnatural. If 720p displays without any overscan issues on your TV, then leave it at that. But if you're experiencing overscan problems, scale up to 1080i and check to see if 1080p will render fine on your TV: this seems to be a 'your results will vary' case.

 

[Koga316]

I did. That and MK II. I tried both 720p and 1080p

 

[Koga316]

Oh didn't try 1080i. But would 1080i work on all games in case I'd go through this with another game that only does 720p.

 

[Koga316]

Hey what settings you use settings on the PS3? I know while I was at CC a change a setting from limited to full and it looked more clear. I was on the 19" though.

 

[Koga316]

Where is the edit button? I don't see it on my PS3 browser.

You don't have to install the monitor to a computer 1sr do you? And is there a way to brighten the screen more. At CC (didn't go back yet), the 22" brightness was at the highest...and wasn't good enough for me. Is there some setting on the PS3?