Re: Some new monitors

Thanks for all of the great input! But specifically regarding what I am up
against and the info provided in the links.... what are your thoughts?

Thanks again.



"Paul" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:gcscgq$psu$1@xxxxxxxxxxx
Mark G. wrote:
So I have been running my trusty old 21" Sony Trinitron Multiscan G500
for the last 6-7 years. When it came out, it was very high end and even
at today's standards, it does well. But this monitor is HUGE! About 100
pounds to boot. Anyhow, got a couple of free monitors from work as they
were upgraded. One 19" and one 21". Both LCD's. Would like to go to LCD's
now and will run the 19" between 2 computers with a KVM switch. Anyhow, I
was double checking the specs between my old Trinitron against the two
newer Viewsonic LCD's and while I know they are different technology, it
seems that maybe my Trinitron may still out perform the larger Viewsonic
that was going to replace it. Below are some links for the 3 monitors. Am
I reading them correctly? What I am trying to figure is this. I use my
computer/monitor for photo editing, games, internet, and other general
items. Will the larger Viewsonic perform as well if not better than my
old Trinitron? Seems that the response time for the larger Viewsonic is
16ms. Old CRT's don't measure in those units. But it does seem that the
resolution 'could' be better, but will it be as fast or faster? I know
these are free so that is a good thing and I know I can just see how I
like it after the switch, but I wanted to see if I could get some input
from here on the board as to your alls thoughts on this? Here are the
links for the specific monitors and sorry about the long post:

Smaller Viewsonic:

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/lcddisplays/proseries/vp920b/

Larger Viewsonic:

http://www.viewsonic.com/support/desktopdisplays/lcddisplays/proseries/vp201b/

Sony Trinitron:

http://multi-com.stores.yahoo.net/sonmul21in24.html

Oh, one thing I should add. These Trinitrons always had 3 distinct
horizontal lines at the 'thirds' of the monitor. But in the past 3-4
months, I notice mine now has about 15-20 diagonal (about 15-20 degrees)
lines too when viewing black or darker screens. Is this a tell tell sign
that it 'may' be going out or something?

Thanks much for all the input you can provide and again, sorry for the
long post!

I wish I could get some aspects of both display types.

I'd like my CRT, to have the mechanical precision of my LCD. There is
no swimming, jiggle, jitter, pincushion, distortion of the image with
the LCD. The CRT on the other hand, likely has a "blacker black" color
to offer than the LCD. I've also found the LCD tiring to look at, and
in the case of mine, it cannot be turned down enough for comfort.

The larger LCD is a 4:3 aspect ratio, so you get to keep a decent
sized screen. If you went to the store today, the trend is to
"wide screen", and that is not my choice in a monitor. It really
all depends on what tools you use, and whether the real estate
can be used effectively in each case.

The best quality panels, happen to be the ones that have a
wide viewing angle. If the viewing angle is narrow, as you
move your head from side to side, or up and down, the color
of the image shifts. If your new monitor had a narrow angle, you'd
tend to keep your head centered in a particular spot, so that
the screen color from edge to edge was decent. Since the larger
monitor is 176 degrees (four degrees short of 180), with a
contrast ratio of 10, it should be decent in terms of the
ability to move your head a bit. I think mine is 178, but I
don't remember right off hand, what CR was used for that
measurement.

The finish of the panel (glossy glass-like on the front, or
otherwise), also affects perceived image quality. Mine has a
glossy finish, and text is almost readable on it. When I
was reviewing LCD monitors at big box stores, the non-glossy
ones had some parallax, and I couldn't stand it. So I hope
that your new screen is glossy, and easy to clean. (The description
says "anti-glare" and that makes me wonder whether it is the
other type.) For glossy screens, you should have control of your
ambient lighting. I would not recommend a glossy screen, for
a factory environment with fluorescent lights all over the
ceiling. But if you can move your desk lamp around, to
avoid glare, the glossy finish is great.

In terms of color gamut, the best LCDs might be the ones with LED
backlights. Most monitors have CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent)
lighting. Only a few use LEDs, as they're more expensive to
make. CCFLs have limited lifetimes, but based on the
posts to these newsgroups, it seems the inverter that powers
the CCFL, breaks before the CCFL tube does. So if you see
a 25000 hour life quoted for the CCFL, chances are a cheap
inverter will end the life of the monitor, before the tube
does. (The inverter makes 700 to 1000 volts AC to run the
lamps. The inverter frequency should be high enough, so it
is not audible.)

There are so few LCD monitors with LED backlighting, I've never
seen a post from someone who owns one. So it is hard to tell whether
they have observable failure modes or not.

As long as you don't toss the CRT, you can always go back. Just
remember to leave room on your desktop, so you can put it back.
Where my CRT used to be, is now filled with junk :-)

I also had to build a stand for my LCD. The top of the LCD
roughly lines up with my eyes. To do that, I bought pine
board in 1 foot by 1 foot by 3/4" thick pieces. I stacked
those, until the LCD was at a comfortable level. It took
seven pieces of board to build the stand. Each board is screwed
to the adjacent one. So the block is solid and doesn't wobble.
My LCD built-in stand has no vertical adjustment to speak of,
and could not accommodate that kind of lift.

Good luck,
Paul


.

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