24 inch HDTV as monitor

[NickC]

I know in the past that TVs made very poor monitors. I was hoping with the current generation of HDTVs running 1080p (1920x1080 resolution) they would look as good as dedicated monitors. I tried one out - a 24" 1080p HDTV - and it did not look too nice. Even though it was running 1920x1080 - same physical size & resolution as our monitors at work, the texts did not look as crisp and it was difficult to get the colors just right.

Is there some other parameter that would indicate if a TV would work well as a monitor? Or is there just something inherent - unmeasurable - that would not allow any HDTV to look as good as a dedicated computer monitor even at the same physical size and resolution? I guess what I'm trying to find out is whether it's worth trying a different brand or just give up the idea of having a combo monitor + TV.