LCD TV for editing?

Discussion in 'Photography 101' started by jtrain75, Sep 9, 2009.

  1. jtrain75

    jtrain75 Member

    Does anyone here use their TV for photo editing? Is it recommended? I have my PC hooked up to my Vizio via a DVI to HDMI cable, but wondering if there would be any drawbacks to photo editing this way. I love having the photos on the big screen, and the color looks accurate. Please let me know your experience and suggestions.
     
  2. Grumpwurst

    Grumpwurst Member Staff Member

    At least when it comes to my HD TV, the resolution supported isn't very high 1080x1200 while my 24" monitor supports 1920x1200. ; So, I'll defer to my LCD computer monitor
     
  3. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    What Ray said....although there are plenty more LCD screens that will accept HDCP HDMI connections now, so it may be possible for it to exceed HDTV resolution.

    But you'll probably have to spring for one designed for computer work.
     
  4. Dan

    Dan Member

    I'm not buying that resolution... those numbers sound all wrong. ; That's far more square than any TV I've ever seen.

    The standard full HD resolution is 1920x1080.


    I have no idea if a larger screen might be good or not.. I want to say not, but I'm just used to using a desktop sized screen. ; Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't, I can't say. ; I will suggest that you at least turn off any special image settings. ; ESPECIALLY turn off any sort of dynamic contrast mode. ; I have no idea what it might be called, different monitors will probably call it different things. ; But the point is, that sort of mode changes the display settings based on the type of image displayed. ; It's how they can use the ridiculously high contrast range numbers to promote their sets. ; Also turn off any other custom modes, don't use anything like a sports or movie mode. ; You want a basic vanilla setting.

    Also be aware of viewing angles. ; I assume you've got a setup so you can use your computer and view the TV at an appropriate angle, but my mental image of trying this out, the way I'd do it if I was trying it, is of plugging my laptop into my TV and sitting on the floor in front of it. ; If I did that I might be viewing it from too low an angle, and that might change the way the image looks.

    Dan
     
  5. Tim

    Tim Administrator Staff Member

    In order to ensure proper editing, you MUST calibrate your monitor with a spyder or similar product to make sure the brightness, colors, and contrast are at the proper levels. ; Can you do that with a TV?
     
  6. zackiedawg

    zackiedawg Member Staff Member

    Actually...some TVs you can. ; My hi-def Mitsubishi has manual adjustments for color tuning on 3 different bands, contrast, brightness, luminance, tone, B&W points, etc, along with a standard color bar/focus/black and white scale test page. ; The Spyder can't talk to it and make adjustments, but a good eye and some practice can.

    That said, 1080i doesn't quite match up resolution-wise with a decent 1920 monitor...and considering how much larger the TV often is (65" in my case), I'd need 10x that resolution to have it look as sharp and pixel-free, or have to sit 20 feet away! ; I love viewing slideshows on the big screen for friends and family...but I wouldn't edit off it.
     
  7. Dan

    Dan Member

    Well if you're plugging your computer into the TV the TV doesn't need special controls. ; You just set up a profile for it the same as you would with a monitor. ; You just can't use that to calibrate the TV for viewing television signals, for that you'd need to try to manually adjust it to get the color curves to line up right.

    Also I think related calibration products are made for TVs, but I don't know how they work. ; I know Best Buy has a service where they send someone to your home with some sort of supposedly very expensive calibration hardware, and they use various special menus that you often might not even know about in your TV to adjust the settings.
     

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