HD LCD Monitor or HDTV, difference?

[putnampp]

I am looking to buy a new HDTV/ PC Monitor. I have seen that many of the HDTV will take PC input and I have also seen that some PC Monitors will take HDMI input. SO the question I have is: is there a big difference between using a LCD PC Monitor as a HDTV or using an HDTV as a PC Monitor? Is there any difference in the technology used between the two?

I'm more concerned about the performance than the price, right now. Assume that I want to use the Monitor/TV to it's fullest. Meaning that I will play PC games, PS3 games, watch HD Movies, TV, and long hours of programming (reading a lot of text)... Basically, if i buy a LCD PC Monitor, will it die quicker if I also use it for console gaming/ dvd watching?

 

[Markbnj]

I think there's not much difference. It's just a matter of packaging up various combinations of panel, tuner, interfaces, speakers, etc. A "monitor" usually has DVI, VGA, might have component or svid, might have HDCP, no speakers, no tuner, smaller panel sizes. A "TV" often has a tuner, HDMI w/HDCP, component, svid, speakers, larger panel size, etc. There's a crossover point around the 30-35" panel sizes, but I don't think most people really consider 30-ish to be much of a TV anymore. So what seems like a really big monitor looks like a really small TV.