**Whole New System Advice Please**

[bobaneena]

The time has come for a new system, and to be honest I'm struggling...

What I know is that I am going to get an HD LCD TV (not sure which one yet, maybe the Sony KDL-40V2000), and a Mac Pro. The problem is that I want to be able to watch Freeview TV through my Mac and have it act as a PVR. I don't want to get a seperate Freeview box, so if possible this should be via an internal PCI card, but again I am confused about which one to get.

The solution needs to be able to handle HD broadcasts as and when they become available...

If anyone already has a system that they are pleased with, then step up and blow it's trumpet!

Any advice greatly received

[fryke]

You want to use an HD LCD TV as your main display on the Mac? That'd be awful, since the resolution on those usually is much too low to really work on them, also, they're not exactly "true colour". If you only want to watch TV on that, that's okay, though...

[sinclair_tm]

check out elgato for dvr mac solutions.

[bobaneena]

Done some more research, and if I use a 1080p screen (like the Westinghouse LVM-42w2) at it's native resolution then it looks very good as no stretching etc. needs to be done. I also think the an EyeTV product will fit the Freeview bill nicely. Has anyone used one of these? How about the Westinghouse TV?

[MisterMe]

It's still a TV set. That 1080p is 1080/30p with a refresh rate that is just a bit lower than you are used to. Not only is it a TV set, which means that it is a lower quality display than a computer monitor, it is also a Westinghouse, which means that it is a lower quality display than most TV sets.

[SASouth]

Originally Posted by MisterMe

It's still a TV set. That 1080p is 1080/30p with a refresh rate that is just a bit lower than you are used to. Not only is it a TV set, which means that it is a lower quality display than a computer monitor, it is also a Westinghouse, which means that it is a lower quality display than most TV sets.

Bobaneena,

Don't listen to bull like the above, because that's just what it is. Bull.

I'm using my PM G5 on my Westinghouse LTV-19W3 19" Widescreen LCD at @ 1440 x 900 on the DVI input and it looks beautiful. I also use my HP Media Center PC on the VGA input it it looks great too. It plays games perfectly without ghosting. Oh yeah, I've got my Xbox 360 hooked to the component inputs too. Beautiful!

A co-worker has the Westinghouse LTV-32w6 and uses it with his PC @ 1366 x 768 and it looks great too. He's quite happy with it and plays Call of Duty 2 on it all of the time.

The point here is that every LCD has a native resolution, even an LCD TV. If your Mac is set to that native resolution it will display the best picture possible for that LCD panel.

Most new LCD TV's come with either a DVI port or a VGA port, sometimes both, expressly to support a computer.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Westinghouse LCD TV. They're a great value.