Big screen for home theater but no tuner? Can I get it?

January 4, 2013 3:54 PM

I just want a 60" screen that just shows the video from the home theater and devices like Roku. Does it exist?

I have a hard time understanding why I can't just buy an HDMI "screen". I don't need speakers as I have a home theater system. I don't need a tv tuner as I have a PC with a tuner connected. Why oh why can't I get just a big screen? Or can I?

posted by usermac to home & garden (18 answers total)

Would an HD LCD monitor work? B+H Photo sells one, at least.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:58 PM on January 4

They make such screens, but they are for professional usage, so cost tons more than consumer tvs.

A Tv tuner & speakers are probably among the cheapest things on the materials included, just buy a regular consumer tv.

Why don't you want them? to save money? or something else?
posted by TheAdamist at 4:03 PM on January 4 [5 favorites]

You can indeed buy a large monitor, but since it qualifies as professional gear, it's going to be more expensive than a regular TV with speakers and tuner and whatnot.
posted by kindall at 4:03 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

You want a large format monitor, like this one at NewEgg. Be forewarned: They usually cost more than their HDTV cousins, because they're aimed at the pro video market.
posted by jrchaplin at 4:05 PM on January 4

Or hook them straight up to a projector and a really big screen!
posted by platinum at 4:24 PM on January 4 [2 favorites]

A 60" Panasonic Commercial Plasma will set you back about $2500, but you'll love the picture quality.
posted by nicwolff at 5:07 PM on January 4

A regular tv is the best way to get what you want.

I just bought a 50" plasma for $600 bucks. Two hdmi inputs and a component input. It also has usb & sd ports. It does everything you want, easy peasy.
posted by gnutron at 5:42 PM on January 4

Forgive me as I don't know how to reply individually. Thanks for all the answers as I now have learned of the professional mature of my request. To answer some question:
1) Why do I want them? to save money? or something else? Answer: I feel it is no longer the 1960's and we just don't need a tv in the classical sense.
Oh, just one question but let me add, I have a 60" plasma now by LG and I have a Panasonic home theater. Well, I can *never* get the home theater right for sound from the tv. Now that I think of it it might be trouble, equal trouble, with only a monitor because I'd need the sound anyway to come out. Oh well. Thanks to all for the quick and helpful responses.
posted by usermac at 6:33 PM on January 4

The market for bare 60" displays is likely small enough that the price for the products would be equal to greater than the price of 60" TVs in a much larger market.
posted by Good Brain at 6:36 PM on January 4

Sometimes it costs more to buy something *without* something because the economies of scale are oriented toward what sells the most. Most people want tuners and speakers on their TVs, so that's going to be the consumer price point, with every variation on those ingredients costing more.
posted by rhizome at 7:11 PM on January 4

It sounds like you don't want a TV, but a projector.
posted by Sphinx at 7:17 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

Cable TV tuners are pretty much on the path to obsolescence because the cable industry won the right to encrypt must-carry stations. OTA tuners are .. well, you need a good antenna. Just get 3 HDMI inputs.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:32 PM on January 4

The line between the pro monitors and consumer televisions is mainly just price. I work at a TV station, and we only use consumer plasmas for our monitoring. We made the switch when we saw a price difference of about $10k between monitors and TV's, with no picture difference. The salesman told us "those TV's won't last as long, they aren't made for 24/7 use." We didn't care, we can afford to replace them. Haven't lost one in 6 years, and the two pro monitors we do have have been monster service problems.
posted by Marky at 9:16 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

"Oh, just one question but let me add, I have a 60" plasma now by LG and I have a Panasonic home theater. Well, I can *never* get the home theater right for sound from the tv. Now that I think of it it might be trouble, equal trouble, with only a monitor because I'd need the sound anyway to come out. Oh well. Thanks to all for the quick and helpful responses."

I'm not sure exactly how you have things setup, but if you have a home theater sound system, you should have NO sound going into your TV. It should go from your DVD player or TV tuner or whatever into the theater system (Which I'm assuming is how you are switching between your sources). If you are plugging your video sources straight into your TV and then from that into the theater system, you are connecting things the wrong way.

We have a consumer TV, and the only plugs going into it are the 3 composite video plugs. No audio gets plugged in at all, and we just leave the TV volume at 0. All of the video sources go into the receiver, which switches the audio and video. The TV remote is only used to turn the TV on and off.
posted by markblasco at 9:27 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

As markblasco said, you should be able to use your TV in pretty much exactly the same way you’d use a monitor. Just turn off what you’re not using, If it doesn’t work right for you it wouldn’t work right with a monitor either.
posted by bongo_x at 9:50 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

My TV has never shown "TV", only movies and as a computer monitor. Just don't plug in an antena or cable, that's all there is to it.

Make sure the TV you buy has enough of the right inputs and outputs to plug in all your stuff. (And a few extra ones for future stuff is good too.)

Can't help with your audio without knowing more about what the inputs and outputs of your equipment. One way to do it is to run all your audio into the receiver and video to the TV, but you have to change the receiver to match the TV input. Another way is to run them all to the TV and then TV-OUT into the receiver, or just a simple amp. Then the audio will be to what you're looking at. Which way works for you really depends on equipment and personal preferences.
posted by Ookseer at 12:21 AM on January 5

The fact I can't simply turn on my tv and get sound from the home theater automatically is frustrating. Sometimes it picks up audio right away and other times I must change the input to the home theater on the tv and then reset the audio on the home theater ( the input to digital ). It could be because the tv is not the brand of the home theater but now that I've learned about monitors I'll just live with my first-world problem.
posted by usermac at 7:16 AM on January 6

The fact I can't simply turn on my tv and get sound from the home theater automatically is frustrating. Sometimes it picks up audio right away and other times I must change the input to the home theater on the tv and then reset the audio on the home theater ( the input to digital ). It could be because the tv is not the brand of the home theater but now that I've learned about monitors I'll just live with my first-world problem.

The good news is that first world problems often have first world solutions. My parents had a similar issue - they had a cable box, a dvd player, and a receiver. The receiver needed attention anytime they switched sources, and had a terrible, terrible remote. I bought them a Logitech Harmony remote, and after a brief adjustment period, they loved it.

You set it up on a computer via usb cable, and then when you use it to turn on your tv, it sends the right commands to all the various pieces, and you get the result you want. There's a good write-up of it at the wirecutter. I mentioned an adjustment period, and there was one, but there's a little help button on the remote you hit when things get wonky and it is pretty good about getting things back on track. They virtually never need to use that button anymore.
posted by averyoldworld at 11:23 AM on January 6