Choosing a Monitor: LCD or LCD TV?

[Angelus]

Hi I am looking into getting a LCD monitor for use while I'm at college. I was stuck between getting either a regular LCD Flat Panel monitor or a LCD TV. The size I want is 17". I have a Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP Deluxe right now on my computer. I probably won't be buying a seperate TV so either way I will be watching it on my computer. I was looking at the DellTM W1700 17" LCD TV:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/pro...s=19&l=en&s=dhs
which seems to be a really good deal, and got PCMag's Editors choice last September. I was just wondering what is a better setup, having a TV Tuner Card and a Flat Panel Screen or having a LCD TV like the Dell one above? I'm lleaning towards the Dell because I think it would have a higher quality picture as well as be easier to shift between TV and homework. Or if you recommend just gettin a LCD, which one do you recommend? BTW the Dell is HDTV ready too :D . Also one last thing, would it be possible to capture TV shows thru the Dell model? Thanks

[Doom9]

personally, I have a high degree of distrust against anything that has to do with TVs.. they never adhere to the same quality standards as PC equipment. Thus, I'd suggest you get a good PC TFT display with a low reaction time and a DVI input, and get a (HD)TV card for your PC. That way, you're capturing needs won't be impaired at all.
And BTW, I wouldn't know about any desktop 17" TFT screen to have a 1920x1080 resolution (there are some for Notebooks, even 15.4" screens - but 1920x1080 on a 15.4" display, I think most people would run away from that screaming - that resolution looks just fine on my 23" display), so your TFT TV would have to downscale HDTV in either case.. I'd not call that HDTV ready, but I'm an engineer, not a marketeer ;)

When we're talking about digital TV, the solution with a card in your PC is certainly better, because you'll be able to capture those streams digitally and without any quality loss. You'd need a settop box that can stream the .TS streams to your PC or record them on a built-in HD to achieve the same with standalone hardware.

[Angelus]

Thanks for your quick reply! The digital television isn't that big of a deal for me now (I don't have it at home or at my college) I was just thinking down the road once prices are cheaper. I was mainly looking for convenience between watching TV and using it as a PC monitor as well. The setup I have now is that Leadtek TV card (which even the Leadtek software/drivers wont install on my system!) with the BTWincap drivers and Dscaler to watch it. Maybe I'll take a look at BestBuy today for some nice LCD monitors cause they have some good mail-in rebates and today is tax free day here in my state! Woo-hoo :D

Thanks