Over the years, high-resolution televisions have become more affordable than monitors. You might have stared at your giant screen and considered using it as one, too. After all, if it’s good enough for console gaming, it should work fine as a monitor, right?
While TVs could function as computer monitors in most cases, that doesn’t mean it’s the best option. Here are some factors to consider if you’re looking to buy one for this purpose.
Size
The gigantic display is appealing, but it might pose a bigger problem. For one, it can take up too much space on your work desk, and changing viewing positions might not be as easy as on a standard monitor, where you can just tilt it or turn it on your desk. Sure, you can mount it to give your work area some room, but sitting too close to a huge screen might cause eye strain, as you’ll be moving your eyes side-to-side to look at different areas of the television.
From Walter Newton Official GIPHY
Pixel density
Pixel density is the number of pixels packed into one square inch of a screen, measured in pixels per inch or ppi. While your laptop and HDTV screen might have the same 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 15.6-inch laptop would have a pixel density of 141.21ppi, while a 32-inch HDTV would have a lower pixel density of 68.84ppi.
The lower the pixel density, the less clear and detailed the image becomes. However, this is important for viewing things on the screen—when you’re sitting further from a screen, it will need a lower pixel density for a comfortable viewing experience. So, while you won’t have any problems looking at your 15.6-inch laptop with 141.221ppi from two feet away, it will be much harder to see things on your 32-inch TV with a 68.84ppi screen from the same distance.
If a normal user typically sits about two to three feet from their computer monitor, the display should have a pixel density of 80ppi or higher. For an optimum viewing experience on a 1080p resolution, the screen should be no larger than 27.5 inches diagonally. For 4k screens, you’ll want to max out at 55 inches.
Input lag
Input lag is the time it takes to display any movement on the screen, which you make with your input device (e.g., your mouse and keyboard). Computer monitors prioritize minimal lag times, but HDTVs have different priorities—they focus on video processing instead. So, while a PC monitor may have less than five milliseconds of input lag, a TV will register 20 to 30 milliseconds.
This might not matter if you’re doing simple tasks on your computer, but it’s a different story when playing games. Keep in mind that gaming monitors have an even lower input lag of 1 to 2 milliseconds, so the delay on your TV will be significant and noticeable when gaming.
From Walter Newton Official GIPHY
Response time
The response time is how long it takes for each pixel on the screen to switch colors between scenes. Since TV sets focus on movies and videos, their image-processing capabilities lead to higher response times. A higher response time can make it hard to play competitive games as it can result in motion blur and “ghosting.” It can also make colors appear inaccurate, which is difficult if you have tasks that require you to edit images or videos. On the other hand, computer monitors prioritize providing a sharper image and don’t require too much processing, which remarkably lowers response time.
From South Park Official GIPHY
Refresh rate
The refresh rate is the number of times a screen “updates” its image per second. TVs typically have a 60 Hertz (Hz) refresh rate, while monitors can offer up to 240Hz refresh rates.
While some TVs do offer higher refresh rates, the content people watch on television can vary—either at 24, 30, or 60fps (frames per second). Some games can offer output with higher fps with a powerful graphics card, so if you have a gaming laptop hooked to a TV with a low refresh rate, you might not be getting the most out of your machine.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you if you want to use your TV as a computer monitor. But if you want to maximize productivity and enjoy your games, especially if you have a fiber-fast Internet connection, then a dedicated computer monitor is still the best choice!