[atari8472]

I would like to share the experiences...

 

[adit]

Dont have it but from specs (http://www.primaamerica.com/Products/Products_LC-27K6.htm)

looks like a decent HD LCD.

The only con:
- to small (for my taste)
- missing DVI or /and HDMI connection ( be carefull this means no upconverting DVD players and for sure nu Blu-ray or HD DVD in the future).

 

[atari8472]

Hi Adit,

thanks for the reply, but I was actually looking for someone who's got the same TV as me ;-)

about the missing DVI/HDMI - you're right... but on the other hand the TV takes 1280x720 Progressive from my PC via VGA, so I'm able to watch DVD, DivX or anything else from my PC in 720P (1280x720 is the native resolution of this TV).

The computer treats the TV as a regular VGA LCD monitor, so no hassles like with CRT based TVs ;-)

you're also right about HDDVD/Blu-ray not being an option, unless I'll be able to use my PC (with a computer bases HDDVD/bluray drive ?)

I still think it was worth the CAD1499 I've paid for it ...

 

[jmartino]

Using as PC monitor

Just got one and the picture is just perfect with a progresive scan dvd.
When I connect it to the PC via the VGA connector, the picture is quite crappy, I played with the setting on the video card but still granular view.

I got a 2 year old dell p4 1 something Ghz, just regular video card
16Mb I guess, but have not checked. The previous Dell monitor looked (17'')
pretty good. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jose

 

[atari8472]

Hi there,

I also have a computer connected via VGA connector and I get absolutely amazing picture. The text is super sharp and colors amazing.
I've used Powerstrip utility to set things up
(http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm)
and used one of their predefined resolutions (I think it was called [email protected] HDTV). I could check at home if you're interested.

That gives me 720 progressive and the DVDs look equaly great, if not better than from my p.s.DVD player (720p > 480p

On my video card I have two connectors: DVI & VGA. I use DVI to connect to my LCD monitor (1280x1024) and VGA goes to my Prima (1280x720). I use NVIDIA drivers profiles to switch between the two (CTRL+ALT+1 to get LCD only, CTRL+ALT+2 to get PRIMA only, CTRL+ALT+3 to getsame picture on both at the same time, CTRL+ALT+4 to have LCD as main display and PRIMA for FULLSCREEN mode video only)

I'm VERY happy with this setup ;-)

 

[jmartino]

Thanks!!!

Thanks, my friend. I think the deal is that I am trying to use the TV as
a "Plug and Play Monitor" which is what WinXP detected. Instead I will download this utility that clearly has a setting specifically for HDTV.

I've only had the TV for three days, yesterday I watched the Matrix again and Oh, boy! I'll never watch regular tv again I tell you!

 

[atari8472]

no problem ... take time to read the messages on the screen when setting up Powerstrip, it could be a bit confusing, but it works great at the end. You might also want to pay them some money to get rid of the annoying startup message, but I think it's well woth it.

This site http://www.digitalconnection.com/Support/cliffnotes_17.htm has helped me to understand the terms, but I did not have to create new resolutions or timings. I've tried about 5-6 of the ones that were preset by PowerStrip people until I got the one that wes PERFECT.

As soon as you stumble on the right one, you'll know right away ... it will blow your mind, how great the picture is. And then when you think it's perfect, go to your TV's system menu and select "auto adjust" it will position/synch the screen even better ;-)



I found this setup extremely pleasing for watching PAL DVDs, DivX files etc ... there are no limits to software decoding/formats supported

 

[jmartino]

Awesome!

Got it! Downloaded Pstrip, also found how to display scan type on the list of supported resolutions and as soon as selected 1280x720 P-SCAN, clicked "Apply" and got an INCREDIBLE picture quality. THANK YOU very much, I simply was not using Progressive scan.

 

[oicurpn]

My LCD

Hey there I just bought one which will arrive on the 21; any of you have any suggestions in regards to setting this thing up right. I have a dell with a new vid card 5500oc 1g ram pentium 4 2.4gig.

let me know what i should do to make this lcd kick ass.

 

[atari8472]

any of you have any suggestions in regards to setting this thing up right.

when you get the TV ... read through this thread and look for my tips what to do. then if you have any questions, fire away, I'll be here to help you out ;-)

Atari

 

[oicurpn]

Got my Prima today

ok i just hooked up my prima 27 lcd and adjusted the property's of my desktop to 1280x720 but its a little fuzzy i downloaded the powerstip but i cant figure out where to begine any ideas?

 

[atari8472]

in powerstrip:

go to Display Profiles | Advanced Timing Options | Custom Resolutions | on the left side scroll down to 1280x720p (LCD) and highlight it, then click Add new resolution on the right ... that should do it ... you probably will have to confirm the resolution with OK or something. ... save the setting after you go back two screens ...

Then go to your TVs menu and under System choose Auto Adjust

 

[oicurpn]

Wow

Holy crap what a diferance. thanks you so much for your help this has been the bet buy i have made.

Thanks again.

 

[jfdube]

I bought this TV 2 wks ago. I'm amazed at the picture quality. It really is an outstanding HDTV in the 24-30" range. Extremely happy with this purchase. Will try hooking it up to my Toshiba notebook via VGA tomorrow and use PSTRIP and see what it can do. Did any of you find that watching DVDs from the PC in 1280x720p (PowerDVD, WinDVD, etc.) is any better looking than a p.scan home DVD player via component out?

Thanks!

 

[atari8472]

I tried to compare Monsters Inc. via 480p and 720p, but I couldn't really see any differences. Mind you, it wasn't a very good test as I had to switch the DVD between the DVD player and the computer.

Next time I'm planning to make two DVD-RWs with the identical content, and will flip between the component and VGA inputs...

Which movie do you think would be the best for the test ? I guess a scene showing a lot of details but not changing much ... or maybe one of those THX test screens ?

 

[jfdube]

I'm going to try some pattern/resolution tests from the AVIA test DVD as well as some good anamorphic DVDs i've got in my collection for A/B comparisons. My initial thought is that any fixed-pixel displays such as an LCD TV would normally do a better job with a "native resolution signal" than anything that it needs to scale (eg 480i, 480p). Of course, on the Prima TV, any input signal other than 1280x720p needs to be scaled.

Anyways, I really enjoy this TV and have recommended it to several friends and co-workers.

 

[atari8472]

good idea ... let us know how it went ...

 

[atari8472]

this is an interesting reading on how to test LCDs:

http://cnet.nytimes.com/Labs/4520-6603_7-5098394-1.html?tag=dir

 

[jfdube]

One thing though I noticed with this TV. On dark material/black screens, I can clearly see the backlight "leaking through" the four corners of the screen. This makes the four corners brighter that the rest of the screen. Anyone else noticed this?

 

[atari8472]

yup ... I can see the leaks there too ... nothing we can do about them, so I guess we'll have to learn to ignore them