A TV is designed for entertainment in mind – bigger screens, high contrast ratio, cinematic and punchy colors, for watching it from a distance.
A Monitor is designed for productivity in mind – higher refresh rates, low response time, accurate colors, best for gaming, for watching it from very close
Wondering what’s the difference between TV and Monitor.
The TV and monitor are almost the same in terms of looks and form factor, both are slim and display some kind of picture. Both have HDMI port which can be used to connect various devices like your computer or laptop
Considering this, many times people for getting a bigger screen with their computer connect their PC to a 32-inch or bigger TV thinking that they are the same
There are many fundamental differences between a TV and a monitor which I will tell you in this post.
This post is all about Monitor vs TV.
Page Contents
TVs are bigger in size
TVs come in very big sizes while Monitors are smaller.
Monitors are available in the size of 19-27 inches in the market while a TV size starts from 32 inches and goes up to 65 inches.
Very few monitors can be seen with 27+ inches in size and are not very common. On the other hand, 32-inch and 43-inch TV is common.
TVs are designed for watching movies, viewing from a distance in a room. It is meant to be watched by many people across the room. That’s why it is larger in size.
While a Monitor is designed to be seen from near. That’s why it is smaller in size as if it was bigger than grasping the entire screen in one glimpse would not be possible.
Monitors are meant for productivity
Monitors are designed for the sole purpose of productivity and gaming while a TV is designed for 100% entertainment purpose.
They are highly interactive – you are using a cursor which frequently changes position on the display.
if you’re a programmer or photo-video editor or write content. The screen needs to change frames fast. Or it will appear laggy.
Also for any kind of productive work you need a screen closer which if you try with a TV the display appears pixelated and blurry – though with high-end TVs it is minimized
So for programming or photo-video editing, it is best to have a monitor.
On a TV the input is pre-recorded, it just has to display the frames while in a Monitor the input is dynamic and continuously processed.
TV picture quality is cinematic and punchy
As I pointed out earlier, TVs are meant for 100% entertainment purposes.
It is used to watch movies, shows.
To get the cinematic feeling – TV display have a higher contrast ratio which means the blacks are more black and whites are more white.
A higher contrast ratio makes the picture appear appealing.
The picture is enhanced and punchy by making colors appear more vivid.
There are Oled TVs, Qled TVs but there are very few Oled monitors or monitors with quantum dot tech.
Nowadays HDR technology is common in TVs which makes the picture look real-life and more amazing. It enhances the picture with more colors and a greater contrast ratio.
On the other hand, colors on a monitor need to be accurate and not enhanced as it is meant for productivity and work.
In photo or video editing, accurate color is more important
Difference in Resolution
Resolution refers to the number of pixels a display packs in it. More the resolution better the picture detail.
Both monitor and TV come in different resolutions.
A TV resolution starts from full HD resolution and in 3rd world countries, HD resolution TVs are still available. It goes further to 4K and 8K resolution.
A monitor comes in full HD, 2K and 4K resolutions. 2K resolution is not available on TVs.
Monitor is Better for Gaming
Monitors are way better for gaming. A TV is not meant for gaming.
Though you can do console gaming on a TV.
Refresh Rate
It is the number of pictures a display can change per second.
In gaming, you need higher refresh rates. A 30-60 Hz refresh rate display will not suffice. The game will appear to lag.
TVs come with refresh rates of 20-60 Hz and monitors are available with a minimum refresh rate of 60Hz. Refresh rate can go as high as 144, 240 Hz in monitors.
For competitive gaming, gamers generally see 144Hz or 240Hz monitors. This refresh rate is not available on a TV.
Response Time
It refers to the time taken by one pixel of the display to change color.
In gaming, this should be low.
With high response time, a display shows motion blur giving a blurred image.
In Monitor, you can get response times of 1ms, while in TV response time is from 40-60ms.
Screen Tearing
It is the misalignment of frames by timing on a display. It can be seen as a line which differentiates two pictures on a display
This occurs when the display refresh rate is not in sync with the GPU and generally it is seen with lower refresh rate display.
To solve this problem, monitors come with FreeSync(for AMD) and G-Sync(for Nvidia) technology that makes the GPU produce frames equal to the refresh rate of the display.
In TV’s, adaptive sync – Freesync & G-Sync is rare to see.
Which is better for Photo or Video Editing
You need accurate color in photo and video editing. Punchy colors and high brightness pictures will not be good for this.
A monitor displays almost accurate colors. An image that appears very vivid on a TV may appear dull on a monitor as it is optimized for showing accurate colors while a TV for showing punchy and colorful images.
A high quality IPS monitor is needed by a photographer.
Wrapping Up
Until now you must have understood the fundamental differences between a monitor and a desktop.
A monitor is for work & gaming while a TV is solely for entertainment.
Though you can also use TV as monitor for your computer.
Now you can judge better as to what to use.
I hope you found this post informative.