Doubts about a LCD monitor...

[sapo]

Hi fellows... i just saw some LCD monitors out there and "looked" at some.. but never used them...

Btw... i stay more than 8 hours/day in front of the screen.. so i heard that LCD doesnt hurt the eyes.. so i m thinking about buying one.. but my doubts are:

1 - I heard that in LCD monitors you see "ghosts" in games and things that are too fast... i play ut2k4, so seeing ghosts isnt a good idea...

2 - What specs i need to look at before buying a LCD monitor?

3 - I use my 17" monitor to watch my animes and movies.. watch it from my bed, LCD monitors are good to watch this kind of stuff or is it better to buy a 19" CRT?

Thanx for helping :grin:

[teapot]

I use a 22" CRT because LCDs just don't cut it yet, IMO. But then I'm real picky about colors but not so picky about how much the thing weighs and how much space it takes up. Its a monster.

[Stormy Eyes]

1 - I heard that in LCD monitors you see "ghosts" in games and things that are too fast... i play ut2k4, so seeing ghosts isnt a good idea...

If you buy a crappy LCD, you might see ghosts. I have a 21.3" Samsung SyncMaster display, and I play games like Devil May Cry and Ikaruga through a TV tuner card. I don't see any ghosts when I play.

[WirelessMike]

Thought this might interest you:
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/display/20030902/

Tom's Hardware does some excellent impartial reviews, and this review compares several fairly affordable LCD monitors with benchmarks for UT, among other games.

Probably worth your time to check out.

[xequence]

I wouldent buy an lcd monitor. It costs much more then CRT and ive heard CRT are much better for going out of their native resolution. But im not sure :P

[Stormy Eyes]

I wouldent buy an lcd monitor. It costs much more then CRT and ive heard CRT are much better for going out of their native resolution. But im not sure :P

I buy LCD because they don't take up as much room, and give a clearer picture. I've also heard that LCDs draw less power than CRTs, and don't throw off as much radiation.

[Buffalo Soldier]

LCD monitor, as with most of other things in this world, has both pros and cons.

As others have shared the advantages of LCD monitor, I would like to share with you one of its disadvantage.

According to a computer review site (http://www.bang.ro/hardware/LCD_displays.htm):

"LCD displays are capable of showing vivid colors with extremely high contrast. This is nice because the images show up so beautiful on a LCD screen, but it may also be a problem. The eye is not really familiar with such high contrasts, since natural images are more of shades than extremely sharp contrast, white near black colors. So the advantage of having an excellent display can cause troubles to your eyes if you are using high contrast on a LCD display, especially if using your display for hours at work or at home each day."

Another site on LCD discomfort: http://cloanto.com/users/mcb/19960719lcd.html

Sad to say :( I'm one of the few that is 'allergic' to LCD monitor.

[Lord Illidan]

I've been using an LCD and I have seen no ghosts what-so-ever for the past 2 years in games like Quake 3, Unreal Tournament and the like. They are slim, smooth, stylish, and not prone to flickering like a CRT. However, be careful of what you buy.. don't buy the most expensive one with a refresh rate of 4 ms, because it will not be as good as the one with 12 ms refresh rate which the manufacturer has taken care to improve the graphics rather than one specific feature...

[Lowe]

LCD monitor, as with most of other things in this world, has both pros and cons.

As others have shared the advantages of LCD monitor, I would like to share with you one of its disadvantage.

According to a computer review site (http://www.bang.ro/hardware/LCD_displays.htm):

"LCD displays are capable of showing vivid colors with extremely high contrast. This is nice because the images show up so beautiful on a LCD screen, but it may also be a problem. The eye is not really familiar with such high contrasts, since natural images are more of shades than extremely sharp contrast, white near black colors. So the advantage of having an excellent display can cause troubles to your eyes if you are using high contrast on a LCD display, especially if using your display for hours at work or at home each day."

Another site on LCD discomfort: http://cloanto.com/users/mcb/19960719lcd.html

Sad to say :( I'm one of the few that is 'allergic' to LCD monitor.

I've been getting something similiar, not headaches but a tingly feeling over my head and it seems to go away when I don't use the computer, I never had this problem with my old CRT monitor, ack maybe I should just dump the LCD.

[Buffalo Soldier]

I've been getting something similiar, not headaches but a tingly feeling over my head and it seems to go away when I don't use the computer, I never had this problem with my old CRT monitor, ack maybe I should just dump the LCD.What I experience is the tingly feeling will develop into headache and neck pain after a few hours.

[KiwiNZ]

I use both ,I have a 17"LCD that I use to any text based work and the WWW etc they are simply superior for that and very kind to the eyes.

I use a 19" super flat CRT for gaming , video editing and working with digital photos. The colours are more accurate and the screen write better.

However having said that LCD is getting there and the next 12 months will see them match or better CRT .

My advise would be to wait 12 months if you are a gamer or into digital photography

[Skel]

I have a 19 inch LCd and it looks amzing was about 279$ on Newegg it looks amazing but then again i dont use it for gaming :)

[WildTangent]

if you dont want to see ghosts you need a LCD with a fast response time, 16ms or less. expect to pay alot for one of these.

-Wild

[xequence]

I buy LCD because they don't take up as much room, and give a clearer picture. I've also heard that LCDs draw less power than CRTs, and don't throw off as much radiation.

Yea, CRTs are worse on power. I think the radiation comes out the back, not the front though for CRT. Not sure about LCD, im guessing its the same.

[sapo]

I use both ,I have a 17"LCD that I use to any text based work and the WWW etc they are simply superior for that and very kind to the eyes.

I use a 19" super flat CRT for gaming , video editing and working with digital photos. The colours are more accurate and the screen write better.

However having said that LCD is getting there and the next 12 months will see them match or better CRT .

My advise would be to wait 12 months if you are a gamer or into digital photography

Hum.. thanx.. i think i m gonna wait.. i m not itching to get a LCD.. i m just worring about my eyes.. sometimes it looks like that my eyes are with a natural motion blur after staying for long hours in front of the pc... :grin:

[wmcbrine]

No radiation (well, besides visible spectrum) from an LCD. The worst thing in it is the flourescent lamps for the backlight.

I watch video on my LCD all the time (I'm not a big gamer though). No ghosts, but it does give a somewhat different picture than a CRT. I had to get used to it (in general, not just for video), but now that I have, I don't think I'd go back. One advantage I haven't seen mentioned yet is the complete lack of misconvergence and distortion that you get with CRTs -- i.e., straight lines that aren't straight, smeared colors, images that change size depending on the brightness, etc. Some pixel smearing is still possible with LCD, depending on your video card, mode and interface -- DVI is better, and always use the monitor's native resolution for best results. Also, I recommend turning the brightness way down from the default if you want to avoid the aforementioned headaches.

Why not check out some monitors in a store? It won't give you the full experience (for one thing, the store lighting is usually very different from that in your home or office), but you might at least be able to tell if you'll see ghosts. I haven't seen them except on very old LCDs.

[Buffalo Soldier]

The worst thing in it is the flourescent lamps for the backlight.From what I've read, that's the main reason for the headaches. But I believe the majority users are not affected by this.

But kinda wish I knew about this earlier and knew of certain kinda test to determine whether I would be affected or not :(

[Lowe]

From what I've read, that's the main reason for the headaches. But I believe the majority users are not affected by this.

But kinda wish I knew about this earlier and knew of certain kinda test to determine whether I would be affected or not :(

Just curious, do you still use a LCD or did you go back to CRT?

[Copter]

i have 15" LG LCD screen and it is one of the best things i bought for my computer. i think it has something like 20-25 ms refresh time and i dont see ghost or anything that could distort my view. nowadays all LCD monitors are in TFT technology (active martices) so one doesnt have to worry about ghost,

i use my computer for music, programing, movies and web surfing. i used to play only 2 games from couple of years - NFS Porsche and Diablo2 LoD :D. for me everything looks way better than on 15" and larger CRT monitors. i would never change back to CRTs.

copter :]

[GreyFox503]

Unless you really need to save space, I would buy a CRT because they're cheaper, and better quality overall.

That said, I do need the space, and I have a Samsung Syncmaster 710t. Its a 4:3 17" monitor with a 12ms response time (that's an important number) I play UT2004 and it doesn't streak or ghost at all.

[benplaut]

CRT FOREVER!!!!


:grin:

i really dislike LCD... i think the picture and color quality is horrible

the one thing they do right is come fully maximized from the box... sweet :)

is it possible to get a DVI CRT, btw?

[wmcbrine]

There'd be little point to a DVI CRT, since the display itself is intrinsically analog. It would cost a lot more but wouldn't do much to improve the picture.

[AllenGG]

Well, both posts above are correct ! CRT's are analogue. Some LCD's are digital, some both.
My 19" LCD is "both", but is much better on the DVI plug, digital. And Ubuntu has support for NVidia's GLX system.
Colours are great, 3D is very good. response time is great (on digital)
no "ghosting"
But the contrast and brightness (settings) are high,
Great for movies.
Good for business apps. I've gone through maybe 8 CRT's