Some advice please - LCD Monitor

[Reece]

Hi, I currently have a 19" LG VGA CRT Monitor & am thinking of getting a new LCD monitor, understanding that the image quality is never as good, but, prices have come down on LCD & this monitor is quite a few years old now.:yep: I don't know whether to stick to a square or go for wide, my number one game is SH3 but as soon as patch 1.4 is released I intend to re-install SH4 and give that a good go. For most of the current games square would possably be best but the future is likely to be wide.:)
I don't want to go overboard price wise so I would appreciate any advise on the above as well as possable resolution differences & things to watch out for etc.:D
Many thanks.

[Fish]

Hi, I currently have a 19" LG VGA CRT Monitor & am thinking of getting a new LCD monitor, understanding that the image quality is never as good, but, prices have come down on LCD & this monitor is quite a few years old now.:yep: I don't know whether to stick to a square or go for wide, my number one game is SH3 but as soon as patch 1.4 is released I intend to re-install SH4 and give that a good go. For most of the current games square would possably be best but the future is likely to be wide.:)
I don't want to go overboard price wise so I would appreciate any advise on the above as well as possable resolution differences & things to watch out for etc.:D
Many thanks.

Be wise, stick with your monitor as long as it is ok.;)

[Skybird]

Yes, like Fish said - as long as it works okay, stick with your CRT. I thought about getting LCD twice or three times in the past two years - and then my current CRT decided to live on a bit longer every time.

19", bought in 1998, i think.

[Peto]

Well--I'm a Geek--fix/build/sell computers fer a livin' and I recommend getting an LCD. The image quality has gone way up in the past couple years. I picked up a 19" ViewSonic (VX922) about a year ago and I'll never go back to a CRT.

As far as what to buy? Go to a store that has many on display and see what you like. Then go to a site like newegg.com and check customer feedback. You can get good 19" LCD's now for very little cash. And remember this: a 19" LCD has a larger viewable display size than a 19" CRT does.

Watch out for the widescreen though. You may have a lot of programs that won't display correctly (they'll be stretched) on a widescreen.

When it comes to monitor's, beauty is in the eye of the owner, so I won't make any specific recommendations.

Cheers!

[Chock]

If it were me I'd stick with the one you have that is working simply for one reason, the longer you hold on to it, the more newer monitors will improve and get cheaper, so the longer you wait with one that is doing the job, the less you'll eventually pay for a replacement at better quality. With regard to widescreen, as far as playing older stuff goes, most widescreens have the ability to alter the aspect ratio, so you can adjust it from the letterbox shape to a more traditional shape if the image is distorted in your old software, so not a big deal on that score. The important thing to look out for on TFT monitor types is the contrast capability, compare a few and you will see that the higher the numbers, the better it looks, so weigh that up too if you are going to get one now.

Personally I am dreading the day my big CRT monitor dies, as I'll have to use a more modern one to replace it, and while it is true they are improving in color repro, currently TFTs are nowhere near as good as the big old CRTs. TFTs are awful for training people on too, for the simple reason that if you are training a room full of people all on TFT monitors, you have to walk right up behind them to see that they are using the correct things if they get in trouble with what you are talking about, because you can't see the screen display properly at oblique angles from a distance, which you could when it was CRT monitors. One walk around a TV shop that still has a few CRT TVs on display will confirm that, as will the fact that ICC colour profiling in programs such as Photoshop actually now has an advanced saturation correction option, to allow for the crappiness of TFT monitor colour display.

In complete fairness, I will say that the water in Dangerous Waters looks better on my laptop's TFT than is does on my big old CRT though, not quite sure why, but it does!

:D Chock

[Jimbuna]

I've always been loyal to the CRT cause.......about a year back my 19" finally packed in (6 years service) and I took the plunge and purchased a 22" LCD.....Boy, what a difference to my visual gaming experience it made http://imgcash1.imageshack.us/img265/4009/shockedyi3.gif

[Onkel Neal]

I bought my first LCD last spring, a square 19". I looove it! Very crisp, bright, and works flawlessly for games, even fast-paced shooters. It's a
19-inch Samsung 931B. (http://www.subsim.com/1__store4.html)


It let me reclaim a lot of desktop space, and the whole desk looks cleaner. I considered a 21" or 24" but decided to go with the 19"., it's just the perfect size for a screen that is only 16 inches from my face... and $169, very good deal. :yep:

Neal

[Venatore]

I bought my first LCD last spring, a square 19". I looove it! Very crisp, bright, and works flawlessly for games, even fast-paced shooters. It's a
19-inch Samsung 931B. (http://www.subsim.com/1__store4.html)


It let me reclaim a lot of desktop space, and the whole desk looks cleaner. I considered a 21" or 24" but decided to go with the 19"., it's just the perfect size for a screen that is only 16 inches from my face... and $169, very good deal. :yep:

Neal

Thanks for sharing Neal, I'm getting this bad boy ! :up:

[RickC Sniper]

I like the LCD. I have a Samsung 22 inch widescreen.

They need to run at their native resolution to look good so don't buy one that has a native res higher than your pc can run your games at. Mine is 1680x1050 and that looks great.

As for widescreen vs square......older games run in a square on my widescreen and not stretched. (You can set this in your video card) The size then is almost identicle to what my old 19" crt was.

[mookiemookie]

I had this one before it got stolen from me when I got broken into, but it was beautiful: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824002129

[kiwi_2005]

@ Reece
CHIMEI 222H 22" Widescreen LCD $499 Aussie $. The latest model with HDMI and a classy chassis too!

According to the best PC gamers mag ever 'PCPowerplay' you should of heard of it as its an Aussie mag, ive been buying PCPP since issue 2, something like 10 plus yrs now. :)

^ The CHIMEI is the best monitor for the PCPP Beastie PC setup they recommend.

For the Beast Setup the Dell 3007WFP-HC LCD Monitor Ahh but price is hefty $1000 +

[seafarer]

A few months ago I replaced my 10yr old CRT with an LCD and it was a superb move for me. I picked up a Samsung 216BW (21.6" 1680x1050 widescreen) on sale for around $250US and just could never go back to a CRT again. Of course, actually using the DVI output on my video card is a nice step up too.

[SUBMAN1]

Hi, I currently have a 19" LG VGA CRT Monitor & am thinking of getting a new LCD monitor, understanding that the image quality is never as good, but, prices have come down on LCD & this monitor is quite a few years old now.:yep: I don't know whether to stick to a square or go for wide, my number one game is SH3 but as soon as patch 1.4 is released I intend to re-install SH4 and give that a good go. For most of the current games square would possably be best but the future is likely to be wide.:)
I don't want to go overboard price wise so I would appreciate any advise on the above as well as possable resolution differences & things to watch out for etc.:D
Many thanks.If it is an LG 995E, I'll help you buy your LCD monitor if you will give the old monitor to me! :D That is one bad *ss monitor!

-S

[darius359au]

LG LCD's are great , Ive got an L1719s which is a 17" model ,but you can pick up its big brother L1919 (19inch) for $399 au at BigW :D

[Reece]

Hi Darius, actually Compuzone has the LG L1919S-SF monitor in stock for $250, just happens to be the one that caught my eye in the first place.:yep: The CRT I have is an old LG Studioworks 900B, not true flat, but has been very reliable, not one flicker in atleast 5 years.
Thanks Neal & all for the response & advise, I will probably go for the square screen but sorry Subman, the cost of freight to England would be horrendous, plus if I don't like the LCD I may have to put the old CRT back into service!!:lol:
Jim, do you meanhttp://imgcash1.imageshack.us/img265/4009/shockedyi3.gifgood or bad.:D
I have looked at a few in the shops, sometimes I walk out and think wow! other times not impressed, it probably is the contrast that makes a lot of difference.

I'll check up on the others recommended by Kiwi, Neal, Subman, Mookiemookie (sorry about your loss, hope you had insurance!), Peto, & thanks Fish & Skybird, I will keep the old CRT just incase I don't like the TFT ones!;)
Now what ever happened to plasma??:rotfl:
Cheers.

[Peto]

Plasma leaks out :nope:.

:up:

[Reece]

One thing I did notice is that if I do a search for TFT monitors I get nothing only if I do a search for LCD, I even went to the LG site & TFT is not mentioned in any specs, not even in FAQ section, how do you know if it's TFT, is that the screens with the squishy film on it?:-? Thanks, as I said I really don't know anything about them.:88)

[Peto]

This might help you Reece. :up:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tft-monitor.htm

A typical active TFT panel capable of resolutions of just 1024x768 is made up of nearly 2.5 million transistors (commonly known as small 3 legged lumps of silicon found in TV's and most other electronics) eccept in this case, the transistors are etched onto glass, to microscopic precision hence the name "Thin Film Transistor". A normal LCD basicaly has two layers of glass, one with rows, one with columns, this makes up a grid that can be referenced to control each pixel. The control is done with an IC (integrated circuit or silicon chip) on the LCD's circuit board/s. TFT's tend to be quicker ( response time) and nicer to look at in general. An old quote from somewhere I don't remember...

Basically, LCD is now the standard and has shortened it's response (refresh) time to be competitive with CRT's.

That's about as geeky as I get at this hour!!!

[Reece]

Actually Peto, I am a retired Electrical mechanic & completed courses in industrial electronics, and studied digital electronics, but that was way back in the late 70's, I have been retired for over 20 years now!:dead: I know a lot about CRT's but LCD's are relatively new & wouldn't know the difference by apearance between LCD & TFT LCD screens.:oops:
Interesting read about dead transistors though, has anyone had any & does it look obvious?:doh:
Thanks.

[Jimbuna]

I've always been loyal to the CRT cause.......about a year back my 19" finally packed in (6 years service) and I took the plunge and purchased a 22" LCD.....Boy, what a difference to my visual gaming experience it made http://imgcash1.imageshack.us/img265/4009/shockedyi3.gif

Forgot to post a link to the model :oops:

http://www.new-monitors.co.uk/fulldetail.asp?ID=208

[Reece]

Nice monitor Jim, I think the response time is important for gaming, the one I was looking at (LG L1919S-SF) is 8ms, the more expensive ones are 5ms, is there really any notable difference, is this important for gaming?:-?

[Rotary Crewman]

(Probably only worthwhile for UK viewers of this post and those who have seen Fonejacker)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Mrdoovde.jpg

'Will the puk Loocde Tuv be ready for de hood?'

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fEk6Hkdtquw < Taken from this, around 1:20 in :D

[U49]

I just replaced my last CRT with a LG Flatron.

Most important thing for me was that I gained a LOT of space back in my little office corner :up:

[Jimbuna]

Nice monitor Jim, I think the response time is important for gaming, the one I was looking at (LG L1919S-SF) is 8ms, the more expensive ones are 5ms, is there really any notable difference, is this important for gaming?:-?

IMO no...certainly not for a game as sedentary as a sub sim, but I don't profess to be an expert :lol:

[Peto]

Actually Peto, I am a retired Electrical mechanic & completed courses in industrial electronics, and studied digital electronics, but that was way back in the late 70's, I have been retired for over 20 years now!:dead: I know a lot about CRT's but LCD's are relatively new & wouldn't know the difference by apearance between LCD & TFT LCD screens.:oops:
Interesting read about dead transistors though, has anyone had any & does it look obvious?:doh:
Thanks.

Point taken Reece :up:! When Flat panels 1st started to roll out, Dead Pixels were a big issue. The company I worked for had set tolerances of how many dead pixels were considered normal (I think 8 was the number). That was actually a better policy than most Big Box manufactures at the time. And, Yes--they were visible if you looked hard enough for them.

In the last year or so, I've sold quite a few LCD monitors. I have had Zero complaints about dead pixels--regardless of the monitor manufacturer. No one has asked for a TFT display and--frankly--I hadn't thought about the term for a long time until you brought it up here. And if I don't use a computer term, I forget it quickly because there are so many new ones I have to learn to keep up :shifty:.

In a nutshell--the TFT's were faster. LCD's these days are also fast--fast enough for my gaming customers who are typically the most demanding. The only person I know that won't make the change is an engineer who does some major AutoCad work--and he's probably better off with his CRT (a Very high end one).

Seriously--I believe a LCD will meet the needs of 99% plus of computer users out there today. The technology has matured and the main issues of dead pixels and response times have been over-come.

If you'd still like more info, I'm sure I can dig some up when I'm at work. But that won't be until Monday or Tuesday.

Cheers!!!

Peto

[SUBMAN1]

What is your old LG CRT? Is it a 995E? If so, I can get you a buyer. Also, I wouldn't trade that monitor in for an LCD if it is. The 995E probably has one of the best color profiles of any monitor ever made, which makes it an ideal gaming monitor. You will not get that much richness on an LCD ever. Maybe when AMOLED is more widespread, you will have a better chance, but today you don't.

By the way, TFT is a way of stating Active Matrix. Almost all LCD monitors will be TFT these days, since the alternative is very slow and ugly looking. The point being, to get an 8 ms Rise or Fall time in a pixel is not possible with a Passive Matrix system.

What you should be more concerned about is it's color output. To put it into simple terms, faster LCD monitors cheat by only using 256,000 true colors, and they mix and match that and then claim it is a 16 Million color monitor when in fact it is only 256,000. It slows your rise and fall time down to make the full 24 bit true color, so this is not desirable when gaming, and to make matters worse, no one will tell you in their spec if it is a 6 bit or 8 bit per pixel monitor (Since your an old CRT person and undestand this terminology - think three together for RGB for 18 bit or 24 bit respectively)! :down: You sort of have to figure it out from the clues given. Marketing people drive me nuts sometimes.

-S

[JSLTIGER]

Actually Peto, I am a retired Electrical mechanic & completed courses in industrial electronics, and studied digital electronics, but that was way back in the late 70's, I have been retired for over 20 years now!:dead: I know a lot about CRT's but LCD's are relatively new & wouldn't know the difference by apearance between LCD & TFT LCD screens.:oops:
Interesting read about dead transistors though, has anyone had any & does it look obvious?:doh:
Thanks.
Point taken Reece :up:! When Flat panels 1st started to roll out, Dead Pixels were a big issue. The company I worked for had set tolerances of how many dead pixels were considered normal (I think 8 was the number). That was actually a better policy than most Big Box manufactures at the time. And, Yes--they were visible if you looked hard enough for them.

Seriously--I believe a LCD will meet the needs of 99% plus of computer users out there today. The technology has matured and the main issues of dead pixels and response times have been over-come.

If you'd still like more info, I'm sure I can dig some up when I'm at work. But that won't be until Monday or Tuesday.

Cheers!!!

Peto

I have a single dead pixel on my LCD screen, and while it is very annoying at times, for the most part, it is of little consequence. However, I will admit that having this bright yellow dot on the screen during dark sequences in games is annoying. That being said, I do not intend to go back to a CRT - ever. The space savings far outweigh any inconvenience caused by dead pixels.

[The WosMan]

I have a 19" ViewSonic VX922 and I will never go back to a CRT again. I think they are easier on the eyes too, especially if you dim the brightness on them to about 50% or so. At my office everyone has dual LCDs and it is great. Being able to see the refresh rate on the CRTs I wanted to throw up whenever someone would ask me for help and I would go to their desk and their monitor was on 60hz and I could see that damn flickering. Now that everyone has a LCD it is beautiful.

[Reece]

Thanks for the explanation Peto, I must assume that a dead pixel is not really noticable although JSLTIGER just pointed out:
I have a single dead pixel on my LCD screen, and while it is very annoying at times, for the most part, it is of little consequence. However, I will admit that having this bright yellow dot on the screen during dark sequences in games is annoying. I will just have to take a close look at a few I think to see if it really is noticable, JSLTIGER's problem could be dead video ram.:huh:
Subman1, my monitor is not a true flat screen, it is the cheaper 900B.
What you should be more concerned about is it's color output. To put it into simple terms, faster LCD monitors cheat by only using 256,000 true colors, and they mix and match that and then claim it is a 16 Million color monitor when in fact it is only 256,000. It slows your rise and fall time down to make the full 24 bit true color, so this is not desirable when gaming, and to make matters worse, no one will tell you in their spec if it is a 6 bit or 8 bit per pixel monitor This is a little worrying, I will have to do more research on a particular monitor, need to find some reviews relating to gaming aspect!:yep:
Thanks The WosMan, the ViewSonic VX922 is quite popular & relatively cheap, ViewSonic CRT monitors back in my days were very poor, seems they got their act together.;)

[SUBMAN1]

Hey Reece - it is much more annoying when your stuck pixel is GREEN! :D Buy from Fry's - they will take back a monitor without question. Newegg has a 6 pixel policy before you can return it, and TRUST ME when I say - 1 dead pixel sucks. Maybe not when it's yellow, but i have seen GREEN stuck pixels (Green seems to be the standard of stuck pixels. I have not seen really any red or blue, but I tell you green is a really bad color to get stuck pixel on) and they stand out like a SORE THUMB!

The moral of the story is, buy from a place that accepts returns without question from.

-S

PS. Too bad it wasn't a 995E - I probably would have picked that up from you myself. I do have one 995 E in this house, and people can't believe the difference between the picture quality of the 995E, and say a Sony tube (There are six monitors in this room I am typing in - 3 LCD and 3 CRT - one LCD is even an expensive Samsung, and one of the CRT's is a 20" Sony Tube). The 995E stands heads above any of them. The Samsung LCD is not half bad though, but it can't hold a candle to the 995E - Ever! I wish you could see the difference. CRT will remain the superior picture at the expense of Size and Power consumtion however. I guess if you want to get technical, most people probably bought a cheap CRT, so a decent LCD may actually end up looking better in that case.

[Reece]

Thanks again Subman1, maybe I will hunt around for a 995E, and give the LCD a total miss, the main reason for an upgrade is get a true flat monitor, this one has a slight curve images curve noticably at the corners.:x
For some reason I was under the impression you lived in the UK, although from your signature I would guess U.S.A.!:yep: I live in the Clare Valley of S.A.:D
Cheers.