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. 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.
Many thanks.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by 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. 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.
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!

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

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by 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. 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.
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! That is one bad *ss monitor!

-S

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

[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. 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!!
Jim, do you meangood or bad.
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 .

[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.