Lcd Monitor's

[Mick Johnson]

[Ian]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

[Mick Johnson]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

But you need to calibrate the monitor and your printer, ideally, regularly. Do you actually calibrate your monitor?

Good LCD monitor brands are Samsung, Sony, NEC, Eizo and iiyama. I rate Fujtsu-Siemens too. The main spec. feature to look out for is the contrast ratio - you can't get enough of this as LCDs are very deficient in contrast ratios compared to CRTs. You should be aiming for 1000:1 or more. Next is the viewing angle, though this is more important for TVs as you will probably be sitting in line with the screen. The update rate in ms is only really critical for game enthusiasts.

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

Are you confusing brightness with contrast ratio? Max brightness of under 500 cd/m2 is typical - normal range is 300, but the better LCDs are now all at 1000:1 contrast ratio.

You always want as much contrast ratio as possible as this is the limiting factor for reproducing the dynamic range of your image. Good LCDs are 1000:1 but CRTs and plasma displays are more like 10,000:1. Next time you are in a TV shop, try and find an LCD next to a plasma panel showing the same feed - the difference is astonishing and one reason why, when our CRT TV eventually packs in, I'll probably be speccing a plasma rather than an LCD.

The spec. that is not important unless you are gaming is the response time - which is the time the pixels take to alter state, measured in milliseconds.

Ian

[Patrick]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

[Ian]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

Are you confusing brightness with contrast ratio? Max brightness of under 500 cd/m2 is typical - normal range is 300, but the better LCDs are now all at 1000:1 contrast ratio.

You always want as much contrast ratio as possible as this is the limiting factor for reproducing the dynamic range of your image. Good LCDs are 1000:1 but CRTs and plasma displays are more like 10,000:1. Next time you are in a TV shop, try and find an LCD next to a plasma panel showing the same feed - the difference is astonishing and one reason why, when our CRT TV eventually packs in, I'll probably be speccing a plasma rather than an LCD.

The spec. that is not important unless you are gaming is the response time - which is the time the pixels take to alter state, measured in milliseconds.

Ian

I had a look at a high-end (CG221) Eizo specs and, indeed, the the contrast ratio is declared surprisingly lowat just 400:1. The maximum brightness is also low at just 200 cd/m2. My hunch is that these monitors are designed for use in very low ambient light conditions, so the panel is being viewed optimally. This means you can get away with lowered brightness and not have to over-do the lamp brightness to get a high contrast ratio. In other words, Eizo is probably being more sensible with the set up of its panel than others flogging cheaper monitors.

Ian

[Mick Johnson]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

Are you confusing brightness with contrast ratio? Max brightness of under 500 cd/m2 is typical - normal range is 300, but the better LCDs are now all at 1000:1 contrast ratio.

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

Hi Patrick,

I think you say a lot of good sense there. My main issue with LCDs is that the pixels are too big and so I see pixellation and aggravated noise artefacts on average LCD displays compared to a CRT. The view, to me anyway, on a good CRT is smoother and the depth of tone better. But it's almosy academic as decent quality CRTs are practically unobtainable any more. My 22" iiyama CRT, bought at the beginning of the year, was part of iiyama UK's last batch and an ex-demonstrator. I get LCDs in to review from time to time and my CRT is still demonstrably better compared side by side. As soon as 20 inch 1600x1200 LCDs are affordable, I will just about be ready to retire my iiyama CRT

Ian

[Mick Johnson]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

Hi Patrick,

My main issue with LCDs is that the pixels are too big and so I see pixellation and aggravated noise artefacts on average LCD displays compared to a CRT.

Ian

Think I'll wait till my CRT dies.

[JSR]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

So my Philips 19" with contrast of 500:1 and brightness of 250 cd/m2 isn't anything to write home about then? Pictures looks great on it, though.

My main issue with LCDs is that the pixels are too big and so I see pixellation and aggravated noise artefacts on average LCD displays compared to a CRT.

I know what you mean, but can't you tell this from the optimal resolution? A colleague's old IBM laptop had a 14" screen with 1024x768 resolution - and you could see the pixels. My laptop had a 15" screen with 1400x1050 resolution - and you could not see the pixels. My current Philips 19" LCD has 1280x1024 resolution so you'd expect to see pixels, but you don't unless you glue your eyes 2" from the screen.

Previously I had (still have it somewhere) a Sharp 15" LCD with 1024x768 resolution. You could see the pixels on that, but the picture quality was still pretty fantastic.

[Ian]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

It does depend on viewing distance. I'm using a 17" WSXGA screen on a desktop replacement notebook as I type this, which is 1440x900 and I can see the aliased outline of the characters quite clearly. I can't on my 1600x1200 22" (20" visible) iiyama CRT. I can't see the pixels on the 8.9 inch 1280 pixel wide screen on my old Vaio PictureBook, unless I peer real close

Ian

[Ian]

Re: A good LCD monitor group test in PC Pro mag

There is quite a good 19 inch monitor group test in PC Pro - the issue just coming out (front cover features Web 2.0).

There is some explanation of the relative quality variables to consider.

Ian

[tarzieboy]

Re: Lcd Monitor's

hi, my son in law has a Sony 21 crt, & everytime i see it i have reckoned it is smoother, & looks better than my samsung, not that i,m an expert by any means, a friend showed me some photo,s taken by another abroad, & i said, i bet they were taken with film & not digital, just seem to see a difference,,,, john

[Mick Johnson]

Re: A good LCD monitor group test in PC Pro mag

There is quite a good 19 inch monitor group test in PC Pro - the issue just coming out (front cover features Web 2.0).

There is some explanation of the relative quality variables to consider.

Ian

[Ian]

Re: A good LCD monitor group test in PC Pro mag

I think their tests do end up on the Net eventually, at pcpro.co.uk. There are also monitors tested in PC Plus magazine this month.

Ian