Best TV/Computer Monitor

Mitsubishi 30-inch Platinum Series LCD(model No. LT-3020) is among the BEST TV/computer monitor solutions money can buy. This editor has owned over 50 computer monitors over the past ten years, always seeking exceptional size, color and text resolution and never archiving all three until the LT-3020.

Since Plasma pixilation just isn’t small enough yet to render that crisp small text available, the computer crowd rushes to LCD sets. But LCD’s tend to lose pixilation quality by increasing dot pitch, as the sets get bigger. The result is generally unacceptable SVGA or XVGA resolution forcing the computer user to settle for 800x600 resolutions to achieve passable crispness. This defeats the purpose of a large monitor as icons become the size of a cigarette pack and applications wither in the background. The LT-3020 solves this in two ways: First, with both DVI and VGA connections, this monitor allows for flawless representation of screen resolution up to 1280x768 pixels, which is the native pixel array pitch (the pitch without any conversion or interpolation – read this as, “wow! Really good!”) Pixel pitch is .5025mm x 5025mm. As a bonus, the monitor has an adjustable black luminescence providing deep, rich black which becomes a valuable asset for backgrounds and text.

For those seeking a yet higher resolution ground, adding the Mitsubishi MonitorLink HD-5000 box provides an output for digital signals to the LT-3020. The box also converts analog signals from computers to digital signals, again allowing for unrestricted resolution output. The main function of the HD-5000 is a Receiver/Controller which adds true HDTV to the LC-3020. The DVI/Analog/HDTV/Controller features combined are well worth the additional $1,500 street price of the HD-5000.

Our test was with two LT-3020’s connected to a dual head video card with a third card from WinTV providing TV in a movable window which we used to amaze visitors as we passed the TV between the two monitors. We’ve never seen a finer monitor for computing. And the TV ain’t bad either! ($4,500; www.mitsubishi-tv.com)