I've been looking at field monitors to check framing and focus for my Sony A1U (HDV). As with most things in this arena all I'm doing is getting confused.

The ikan V8000HD looked promising but then I saw the ikan V8000W for $250 less than the V8000HD. I also read reviews that trash the V8000HD as well as reviews that seem to like it.

Basically I'm shooting a small how-to video in HDV that will feature a lot of close ups of paintings. I don't need another production monitor (already have one) but I do need a good option for focus on site. Size and weight are not concerns really but a CRT is way too heavy.

This got me thinking. Could I use one of these instead?
-Samsung 19" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Model: LNT1954H
-Philips 19" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Model: 19PFL5422D

Neither seem to be 1080i. Will that hurt me for focus and framing?

No responses yet but that's OK. So, in the FYI mode:

I went to Best Buy and looked at the Samsung 19" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Model: LNT1954H. The store's display card for the TV said 1080i even though I've yet to find mention of it on the web. Anyway, I hooked my Sony A1U up to it in the store through the component outputs and WOW! It looks great. Very sharp focus. The color was a little off but I think it's the TV adjustments. The sales guys said he was not allowed to mess with the adjustments. I'm going to another store this week to check their model just to make sure.

All in all I think I'm going to try this TV for focus and framing. It's way too big and heavy to lug around much but for an indoor location shoot like I have to do, I think it's perfect. It's only 10 pounds and the packaging box has a handle.

Edit:
Here's a little snippet from the online manual:
-HD (High Definition)
16:9 - 1080i (1920x1080), 720P (1280x720)
Seems that it really is 1080i!

Edit2:
More snippets:
-Just Scan
Use the function to see the full image without any cutoff when HDMI 720p/1080i signals are input.
and
-You can select only the Wide, 16:9 and 4:3 screen sizes in the DTV Component (720p, 1080i) or HDMI (720p, 1080i) mode.