Computer Monitors
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Today the consumer has a large number choices in terms of manufacture and quality of monitors available. The information presented here should prove to be helpful if you are looking to buy a new monitor. We will begin our discussion by looking at the differences between a CRT and LCD monitor. What we have found is that for most people, the advantages of a LCD monitor out weigh the advantages of a CRT monitor. This is especially true if you work at a computer all day. While this may be true for most people, it is not true for everyone. It really depends on the type of work, or play, you will be doing at the computer. Lets compare and contrast LCD monitors with CRT monitors.
Computer Monitors - Advantages of a LCD Over a CRT
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Lower Power Consumption
LCD monitors use less energy then CRT monitors. For a 19 inch display, a CRT typically uses 100 watts of energy, and a LCD with the same size display uses around 45 watts of energy. Because LCD monitors use a lot less energy, they also put out a lot less heat. -
Lighter and Easier to Move Around
Because they are lighter, LCD monitors are a lot easier to move around, and they have a greater degree of allowed movement once in place in terms of swiveling up and down. Because of their ease of movement, they can easily be mounted on a wall or arm which gives you more desk space. Even when sitting on a desk, they give you more desk space. -
An Overall More Clear Display
Simply put, LCD monitors, when in their native resolution, look much more clear then their CRT counter parts. -
Less Eye Strain
If you are using a LCD monitor which has a matte surface, you will not see reflecting light from windows on your monitor. When setting up a CRT monitor, it must be set up so that windows are not behind the computer operator. With a LCD monitor which has a matte surface, you can have windows with light shining through behind you as you work, or play, at the computer. Having less eye strain at the computer is very important for someone who works at a computer all day. If you use a LCD monitor which has a glossy surface, you will see some reflection.
Computer Monitors - Advantages of a CRT Over a LCD
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Lower Cost
Although the price for the LCD monitors have gone down over time, the cost for a comparable CRT monitor is lower. -
Better Color Rendering
In general, colors are said to be represented more accurately with the CRT monitor. Contrast ratio and depth of color is said to be better as well. -
Better Scaling to different Resolutions
Changing to different resolutions does not result in a degradation of the display, as seen in the LCD monitors
So as you can see, while LCD monitors have their advantages, CRT monitors do offer some advantages. So it really depends what you will be doing at the computer. Most people when working, or playing at the computer, are not always changing the resolution. So I really do not believe this is a negative for the LCD monitor. You simply keep the monitor at one resolution, and in the case of the LCD monitor, you would leave it at the native resolution. Also, I believe that most people can not see a difference in terms of greater color rendering in the CRT monitor, compared to the LCD.
When doing research for this article, I noticed that some people are stating that CRTs have a faster response time then LCDs. There seems to be a mixing of terms. LCDs do not have a refresh rate, but have a response time. The response time is how fast a pixel can change color. CRTs have a refresh rate, and that is how many times the screen is refreshed per unit time. So you really can not say a CRT has a faster response time simply because the LCD and the CRT are two completely different technologies. The LCD response time has improved greatly over the past few years, and gamers should no longer see a trailing or ghosting when using a good LCD monitor.
If you work at a computer all day, I believe that the lower eye strain from using a LCD monitor is reason enough to use LCD over CRT. Also, when put in the native resolution, the over all display is much more clear for the LCD monitor. The greater amount of desk space is also advantageous to the individual who works at a computer all day.
If you decide to buy a LCD monitor over the venerable CRT monitor, what should you be looking for when shopping for a LCD monitor. The first question you need to ask yourself is this. Do I need a wide-screen format? If you work at a computer, or will be viewing movies on a computer, then the wide-screen format is the way to go.
For myself, when working at the computer all day, having the wide-screen format offers many advantages. When using the browsers Mozilla Firefox, or IE, I am able to set up a greater number of tabs horizontally across the screen. For example, as I write this, I have 10 or 12 tabs with each providing a separate source of information, and I can easily click each tab to refer to the information that I found.
Other types of work are done more efficiently by having a wide-screen format. It has been shown that the wide-screen format is much better suited to the eye’s natural field of vision, making it possible to work longer without becoming tired. So you really need to ask yourself, what will I be doing at the computer and how long will I be using the computer? The answer to these questions will determine whether or not you want a wide-screen format.
The next question you need to ask is whether or not you want a glossy or matte surface on the LCD monitor? This really depends on your personal preference. But for me this is a no brainer simply because having a glossy surface really takes away one of the main advantages to having a LCD monitor. With a shiny surface, you will get a reflection, and with a matte surface you will not. I believe the matte surface is the way to go if you want to reduce reflection. But it should be noted that with the glossy surface, the colors appear much more vibrant. The black pixels appear much more darker, and the colors are much deeper. So if do not mind some reflection, or you can arrange your monitor so that there is no reflection, and you want more vibrant colors, then glossy is the way to go.
Another draw back to the glossy screen is that it seems like every smudge that gets on the screen seems to be more noticeable compared to the same smudge on a matte screen. With a LCD matte screen you do not need to clean the screen every day. So whether or not you select glossy or matte really is a subjective choice, and depends on your personal preference.
After you have determined whether or not you want a wide-screen format, and whether or not you want a glossy or matte surface, then you need to look at the specific parameters for the LCD monitor. The following list breaks down what you should be looking for.
Computer Monitors - What to Look for When Shopping for a LCD Monitor
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Native Resolution
What is the native resolution of the LCD monitor. Expressed as the number of pixels in a row horizontally, to the number of pixels in a column vertically. The larger the screen size, the greater the resolution. You want the highest possible resolution.
Typical resolutions for different screen sizes are:
* 17 inch = 1024×768
* 19 inch = 1280×1024
* 20 inch = 1600×1200 -
Contrast Ratio
The contrast ration is a ratio between the black and white pixels on the screen. The greater the contrast ratio, the darker the black and the whiter the white. The higher the contrast ratio the better. You want at least a 600:1 contrast ratio. Usually any ratio above 600:1 can not be detected by the human eye. -
Brightness of LCD Display
Typical brightness displays are 250 to 350 cd/m2. The unit of measurement here is expressed as luminance, or candelas per square meter. Anything in the 250 to 350 cd/m2 is consider enough luminance for general work. But for movies or games, you would want a higher luminance. In this case 500 cd/m2 is desirable. -
Response Rate
This important if you will be using your monitor a lot for games or movies. The response rate is really how quickly your pixels can change colors. The lower the number the better. With a fast response time you will less likely see ghosting, trailing, or streaking during rapid image movement on the screen. This number is expressed in milliseconds. For gaming or viewing television and movies without ghosting, trailing, or streaking select a monitor which has a response rate not greater then 12ms-to-15ms. -
Viewing Angle
This has to do with the degree horizontally of vertically you can view the LCD monitor without seeing a change in terms of color or brightness. The higher this number the better. This is something manufactures tend to fudge on, and really the only way to test this is to view the monitor yourself. This really is only an issue with very large monitors, where you want to be able to still see the edges of the monitor clearly, while viewing from a central position. If you had no degradation in viewing at any angle, the number would be 180, meaning you can view clearly up to 180 degrees. Any number greater then 160 here should be fine. -
Flexibility of Monitor
This is simply to what degree you can adjust the monitor horizontally or vertically. Most people do not need to do much of an adjustment horizontally, but vertical adjustment is important. This you can only test by trying it out, but even this I would not worry to much about because most manufactures incorporate a high degree of allowed vertical adjustment. -
Connections Available
LCD monitors are digital devices. CRT monitors are analog devices. Today LCD monitors can have both a VGA and a DVI connector. If you use the same type connector that you used for the old CRT, then the analog signal coming form your graphic card will be converted by the LCD monitor to a digital signal. In this case the graphic card in the computer converts digital to analog, and the LCD monitor converts analog back to digital.But if you have a graphic card which delivers a digital signal, you can then connect to the DVI connector in the back of your LCD monitor. Supposedly, a digital signal coming in without the necessary double conversion would produce a more clear picture. Personally, I think the difference here really can not be detected by the human eye, but if you want to have the option of receiving a pure digital signal, then make sure that the LCD monitor you select also has a DVI connector, along with the VGA connector.
Computer Monitors - Conclusion
We have provided useful information if you are in the market for a new monitor. The most important reasons why a LCD monitor is the better choice over a CRT is lower energy usage, decrease eye strain, and over all a more clear display. These reasons are very important if you work at a computer all day. It is true that LCD monitors cost more then a comparable CRT monitor, but prices for LCD monitors have been steadily dropping. Greater color rendering which is seen in CRT monitors is something we believe is not to easily detected. Also, most individuals when working or playing at a computer do not change the resolution very much. Therefore, having a LCD monitor which remains at the native resolution provides a much better choice.
Here we have also provided a list of parameters you should be looking at when you are looking to buy an LCD monitor. The three most important parameters are max native resolution, contrast ratio, and response rate. When buying a LCD monitor, you want a monitor which has optimized all three of these parameters. Today, LCD monitor manufacturers provide to the consumer pricing which is highly competitive. Therefore, you should be able to find a LCD monitor which fits your need and your budget.
Computer Monitors - Videos
Computer Monitors - Industry News and Articles
The most recent articles from vnunet.com
The most recent articles from vnunet.com (Generated on Saturday 4 July 2009 at 04:57:57)
Review: NEC EA261WM TFT monitor
Will Stapley, vnunet.com, Monday 8 December 2008 at 13:06:00
A high-performing 26in wide-screen display with built-in carbon footprint monitoring
The
NEC
EA261WM is part of the the firm's new line-up of professional business
displays featuring built-in carbon footprint meters to help businesses monitor
their environmental impact. Housing a 26in panel, this display sits at the top-end of the EA series. With
the stand already attached, setting up the monitor takes just a matter of
seconds, which will please IT staff looking to install them across a whole site.
It features adjustment for height up to 110mm, and tilt between -5 to 30
degrees, and the monitor will swivel 340 degrees. Five small buttons sit on the bottom right of the 16mm bezel. One of these is
a four-way directional button for navigating the menus that, due to its size,
requires a delicate touch. During testing, we found that the fluid motion of the
base makes it all too easy accidentally to swivel the monitor when pushing these
buttons. Some form of swivel lock would have helped. VGA and DVI-D inputs are located at the rear. There's no HDMI input, but the
DVI-D socket supports HDCP, so it can be used to view copy-protected HD content
from a compatible player. There's also a line-in socket to make use of the two
1W speakers. These are fine for basic audio, but we did detect a fair amount of
distortion at full volume. On the left side of the monitor sit two USB ports and
a headphone socket. Although perfectly viewable from different angles, brightness does lose its
uniformity somewhat if you're not viewing it straight on, but this is something
in common with most large displays. Thanks to the native resolution of 1,920 x
1,200, squeezing in three windows side-by-side is perfectly possible. Other core
specs are in line with NEC's competitors, including a 5ms response time and
1,000:1 contrast ratio. NEC makes much of the EA261WM's green credentials, and calculates its annual
carbon footprint at approximately 75.3kg. It's difficult to ascertain just how
accurate this is, since part of the figure is calculated using an algorithm
developed by NEC. At full brightness (the monitor is rated at 400cd/m2) we measured it drawing
a pretty hefty 89W, but if you're sitting within one metre of the display it's
unlikely that you'll want it this bright. Switching to Eco Mode limits the
brightness to 50 per cent and also tells you how much the monitor's carbon
footprint has been reduced as a result. When we turned Eco Mode on and pegged the brightness right back to zero, the
carbon footprint dropped to 75 per cent and power draw to just 36W, but at this
setting the display will be too dim for most applications. We found 50 per cent
brightness to be the best for close-up operation, which draws 51W. According to
the NEC, its carbon footprint is also reduced to 85 per cent at this setting.
Flick to the Information menu and you'll see a running total of how much
carbon your reduced brightness settings have effectively saved. And, with Eco
Mode activated, whenever you turn the monitor on or switch inputs, a message
will appear congratulating you on 'saving the environment', which does seem a
little over the top. Companies serious about limiting their carbon footprint will be disappointed
to discover that, although it's possible to disable access to certain menu
functions, including switching Eco Mode on and off, it's just as quick and easy
to re-enable them without the need for a pass code. With similar 26in models, such as the
Samsung
2693HM and
Viewsonic
VP2650WB, available for under £400, the NEC EA261WM is fairly expensive, but
it's also a decent performer. However, although it's admirable that NEC is taking a keen interest in
letting businesses keep an eye on their environmental impact, there's actually
nothing special about this display in terms of its power consumption. The fact
that it indicates how much of an effect even a small reduction in brightness can
make is commendable; it's just a shame that IT departments won't be able to lock
the monitors into Eco Mode.
Compaq TFT8030
Paul Rowlingson, vnunet.com, Thursday 28 March 2002 at 15:35:17
A chic monitor with plenty of features, but at a price.
A lot of hype surrounding Thin Film Transistor (TFT) monitors focuses on the fact that they are much thinner and have a larger viewing area than a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor of equivalent screen size. The Compaq TFT is no exception, offering a comfortable 18.1inch edge-to-edge viewing area and a slim, 75mm deep screen, all on a tiny footprint. This monitor certainly looks nice, with a cool silver casing and a carbon base. Buttons are kept to a minimum and blend nicely into the casing to preserve the sleek look. All connected leads at the back of the unit are kept tidy behind a clip-on panel, helping to create a clutter free desk. Complete with two VGA, 2 DVI-D and two Video (S-video & Composite) inputs, a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 and a multitude of on-screen display options, this is a monitor for business rather than home use, particularly given the price. If you can afford it, however, it would make a nice addition to any home PC. TFT colour representation is not quite the same as with CRT monitors, simply due to the different methods of producing colour. And like all TFT screens this one lets itself down with some colours. These problems are concentrated in colours with subtle nuances. The screen itself can be rotated 160 degrees both horizontally and vertically, although during our use vertical rotation was a little stiff and accompanied by a worrying clicking sound. Its manoeuvrability does allow for a completely comfortable viewing angle though which, in combination with a good desk position, will virtually wipe out any ergonomic problems. The screen did flicker for a little while after power up, irrespective of which refresh rate was used. This flickering also occurred when brightness was reduced to under halfway, but this cleared itself up within a few days and didn't reappear. Instructions are non-existent although, to be fair, unless you have never used a monitor before there is little need for them in order to set it up. However, some kind of guidance to the on-screen menu would have been helpful, as trial and error is not the best way of figuring out each one's function. Contact: Compaq 0845 270 4000
www.compaq.co.uk
NEC Multisync LCD 1525S
Jim Martin, vnunet.com, Wednesday 12 January 2000 at 16:01:01
Slim, lightweight and taking minimal desk space, this flatplanel has the looks to match good-quality results. For the ordinary consumer, however, the price is prohibitive.
Until the price of flatpanels falls significantly, their sales will be mainly confined to financial, medical, manufacturing or corporate workplaces. The MultiSync LCD1525S from NEC is yet another TFT (Thin Film Transistor) display in the 15" bracket. It delivers an unusually high native resolution of 1280 x 1024 for a monitor of this size. The tiny footprint of 360mm x 158mm means the 1525S takes up very little desk space compared with a CRT monitor. Also, as with all flatpanels, it uses 30 per cent less power, weighs less and produces less heat than an equivalent CRT. NEC has built a four-port USB hub into the base, along with two upstream ports, to provide easy connection for USB peripherals. Dual analog VGA inputs allow you to connect the flatpanel to two PCs, giving access to multiple information sources. These inputs, along with the upstream USB ports, can be switched between via a button on the front panel. The 1525S sits very low on its stand, and there's no height adjustment so you'll probably find yourself reaching for a couple of phone directories to raise it up. The tilt and swivel base works well, giving a good range of adjustments there at least. Also, the bezel surrounding the screen is one of the slimmest we have seen, making the display even less imposing. NEC calls its OSD an On Screen Manager, and we found it easy to use thanks to the four direction buttons used for navigation and adjustment. The OSM itself is as comprehensive as it should be, letting you alter its physical position as well as the actual size and position of the displayed image. We felt that 1280 x 1024 pixels was a little too high for a 15.4" display. Standard text in Windows was tiny, and people with anything less than perfect eyesight will probably find it too small. Increasing the font size in Windows corrected this, so it wasn't a major problem. After running our LCD tests on the 1525S we found that it performed quite well. We couldn't completely eliminate horizontal interference, even with the 'fine' adjustment control. This interference wasn't noticeable in normal use, so it's not disastrous. Overall image quality and focus was very good in the native resolution, but the same can't be said for other resolutions. We would, as of course would all flatpanel manufacturers, recommend that LCD displays are only used at their native resolution to avoid them having to interpolate to achieve other resolutions. Luminosity was consistent across the whole display, ensuring there were no patchy areas.
mermaid ventura
Jim Martin, vnunet.com, Monday 10 January 2000 at 17:30:07
The instantly attractive flatpanel technology is run past some Scandinavian designers to produce a fantastic looking monitor that would sit comfortably beside a stylish Scandinavian hi-fi!
It's not often we get excited about monitors, but the new mermaid ventura captured the attention of everyone in the office as soon as it was unboxed. Looking more like an extension of a slim Bang & Olufsen hi-fi than a PC peripheral, the Danish-designed ventura is smart and stylish. There are no logos or buttons to interfere with the lines, and no dull beige casing in sight. The black bezel is easy on the eye, and the large display sits on an elegant aluminium stand which cleverly keeps unsightly wires hidden away. Unusually, the ventura we tested had a visible area of 17", and there's also a 15" model, with 18.1" and a massive 21.3" to come. You can opt for an analogue or digital version of either size, but obviously you'll need to use the digital graphics card that ships with the digital panels. With a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels (SXGA), the 17" ventura is more suited to users who have limited desk space but need a display bigger than 15". It will run all the usual resolutions from 640 x 480 right up to 1600 x 1200. One useful feature is height adjustment, made possible by utilising a hydraulic strut built into the stand. The panel can't be wall-mounted, or rotated to give a 3:4 form factor, which is a shame. Two tiny speakers are hidden in the stand and provide tinny sound, only really useful for 'business audio'. If you really want to go to town on styling, mermaid also manufactures a matching black keyboard and mouse to complete the effect. We tested the ventura using our usual LCD flatpanel tests and found that the image at its native resolution is impressive. Colours are rich and vibrant, text is sharp and readable, and images are flicker-free. Using the clock and phase adjustments we were able to eliminate any horizontal or vertical interference, making the panel a pleasure to work with. The On Screen Display (OSD) is one of the most comprehensive we have seen on a flatpanel, with adjustments such as sharpness, keystoning, zoom and image position possible. The OSD itself is easy to use via the four hidden buttons underneath the display, and it's transparent, allowing you to see the images behind it. At resolutions other than the native 1280 x 1024 text isn't as crisp, but the ventura does an admirable job of resizing the image at any resolution - something many flatpanels can't manage. The only feature we didn't like was the sheet of anti-glare glass that covers the entire front of the display. It protects the LCD well, but it removes one of the major benefits of flatpanels - the fact they are non-reflective. Glass, of course, reflects everything in view.
Viewsonic VP151
Jim Martin, vnunet.com, Monday 13 December 1999 at 16:06:22
This 19" TFT flatpanel is the essence of versatility - it can be viewed portrait or landscape, it's wall-mountable, and it's easy on the eye for extended use.
As we've always said, flatpanels are expensive. Consider a 19" CRT monitor, which has an equivelent viewable area to an 18" LCD display. The CRT costs around £500, whereas the LCD will set you back around £3000. There's not much competition in our minds which one we would choose. Viewsonic's VP151 is a 15" active matrix TFT monitor which has a couple of tricks up its sleeve to make it more appealing. Firstly, it pivots from landscape to portrait mode, allowing you to view documents 'full page', using the software drivers provided. It's also wall-mountable and has two USB hubs, letting you easily connect up to five USB peripherals. The VP151 will accept composite and S-video inputs, so you can watch DVD movies, videos or film from your camcorder. Built-in speakers provide the usual 'business audio' and two separate audio sources can be connected via the 3.5mm minijack sockets. More importantly, there are two 15-pin D-sub connectors on the base, and two digital DFP connectors on the display itself. These allow you to switch between two different PCs (or Macs) via a button on the front. In terms of buttons and the OSD, there are the usual Viewsonic four-button controls with an extra three for controlling the audio volume. As with the mermaid ventura, we noticed that the quality of the menus had improved from older user-unfriendly versions to a colourful and comprehensive system. Advanced controls allowed us to adjust scaling, zoom, sharpness and PIP (Picture In Picture) settings. With a native resolution of 1024 x 768, the image on the VP151 looked crisp and text was easily readable. In other resolutions, the display did an admirable job of scaling to provide an adequate picture. In our flatpanel tests, we found that the auto adjust option worked extremely well. After invoking this option the image was practically perfect. Apart from filling the screen completely and being flicker-free, the image had no horizontal or vertical interference. This meant that the display was pleasing to use for long periods, aided by the anti-glare coating and the fact that flatpanels are naturally non-reflective.
Tatung C7B
Jim Martin, vnunet.com, Monday 13 December 1999 at 15:23:31
Many PC owners are still squinting at their 14 or 15 inch monitor, trying to decipher blurry text and generally putting up with poor quality for the sake of spending a couple of hundred pounds on a replacement unit. Let's face it, every time you use your PC, you look at the monitor all the time, so it's important to have a high-quality model that does the job properly. Often you will find that there is a big price difference between the same size monitors, and this is usually down to differences in quality and features. Tatung's new C7B falls at the lower end of the scale, aimed at people on a budget who want to buy a bigger monitor than their current one. It doesn't have many features to shout about, but it does have an on-screen display. This was quite frustrating to use as you cannot cycle back through the options if you miss the option you want. The actualy adjustments you can make are limted to colour, geometry and size/position. We were disapointed to find no moire reduction control, since our testing revealed a fair amount of it. Unfortunately the top resolution of 1280 x 1024 is only provided at a refresh rate of 60Hz, which is less than usable due to the clearly visible flickering that this causes. The recommended resolution is 1024 x 768 @ 85Hz, which should be enough for most Windows applications. There is no anti-relection or anti-glare coating on the screen, and not a USB hub in sight. As usual we ran our tough obstacle course of tests on the C7B to see how it would fare. The first thing we noticed, and the big failing point of the monitor, was the extremely reflective screen. Every small detail of your surroundings is clearly visible on the display, which is distracting at best and downright annoying the rest of the time. Geometry was one area where the C7B shined, with the edges of the image being straight and parallel. Focus wasn't too bad, but around the edges and in the corners it was noticeably worse. Colours were not the best we've seen, but the horizontal and vertical convergence was actually quite good. This means that images with fine lines in them will not look as if edges don't meet up. Overall, the tests resulted in the C7B attaining a score of just over 70 per cent, which isn't too bad.
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