Which Display is Right For Me?

Well, we’re afraid that on that front, we can’t help too much. Since a person spends most of their computing time staring at a screen, a monitor – much as with a mouse or a keyboard – is a very individual thing. The best we can do is explain which monitors we like and why. Everyone will prefer one company over another, so brand name can play a role, as much as – or more than – specifications or style.

For a general rule of thumb, find the screen that offers the best mix of response time and colors for you. Many panel technologies trade features such as 8-bit color for pixel response time. The res and size of a screen is up to the individual, although in our opinion (and in the words of that terrible Renault advert), “Size matters!” The larger the diagonal and the higher the resolution, the better. Within reason, of course – pixel ‘pitch’ plays an important role in image quality. 1680×1050 or 1920×1200 is the ideal resolution for many.

Reviews of Widescreen Monitors

Reviews?

Don’t trust them. Though they can give you an indication of the product, the review is usually subjective and you could feel the diametric oposite. Some companies live on others paying for rankings and so on, so their review can be colored by money.

Personal reviews? Good for an indication, but usually its a subjecive opinion that can be colored from everything between service and loyalty to certain brands or just have bad luck receiving a bad piece. In the end; hard facts are the closest one can come to objectivity.

Use these links below to get a general idea, but don’t follow what they say blindly. WSGF User Reviews

Color Depth

Finally, color depth of most LCD monitors these days are either 6-bit or 8-bit. The more colors a LCD monitor has to display, the slower the pixel response rate is bound to be. Colors are comprised of three layers of dots that make up the final pixel. For each color to display, a current is applied to each color layer to give the desired intensity which generates the color that is needed. What does all this mean? While most of all this take place in milliseconds, it all builds up and the more colors being used, the longer it can take to display the proper image on your monitor. Most LCD monitor manufacturers sacrifice color for speed, so most cheap LCD monitors tend to be 24-bit instead of True Color of 32-bit.

So what is this 6-bit vs. 8-bit nonsense then? Well LCD monitors work with a number of levels that each color can render. Only mathematics can explain how it works, and the equation goes as thus for 8-bit:

2⁸ x 2⁸ x 2⁸ = 256 x 256 x 256 = 16,777,216 (Also represented as 2²⁴)

That is a True Color display of 24-bits. Most LCD monitors that sacrifice color for speed get this for 6-bit:

2⁶ x 2⁶ x 2⁶ = 64 x 64 x 64 = 262,144 (Also represented as 2¹⁶)

Which is a 16-bits color depth. For most professionals that work with images and art a lot, this is unacceptable, but for gaming and movies, manufacturers considered it acceptable. However, the whole thing is entirely subjective, and it all depends on how sensitive you are to colors, but the average consumer is not likely to notice much of a difference, if any at all between 6-bit and 8-bit.

So how do you tell whether a monitor is 6-bit or 8-bit? Unfortunately most manufacturers do not list the color depth for their display unit, and some that do do not list the actual color depth. Usually if they list 16.7 million colors, then that mean it’s 8-bit. Anything lower than that is likely 6-bit. If they do not list anything, a pixel response of 12ms or lower will likely be 6-bit, and those with higher pixel response times will likely be 8-bit.

DVI vs. VGA

DVI, which stands for Digital Visual Interface, allows a digital-to-digital connection between the monitor and the graphics card. In fact, the DVI cable is the only cable that can create a digital-to-digital connection (although it can support analog as well). A digital connection is required for image scaling on the panel. DVI is the obviously the superior technology. The one caveat was the original TripleHead2Go by Matrox, which only supported VGA connections. Matrox has recently released the TripleHead2Go – Digital Edition, which provides for DVI connections.

VGA, or Video Graphics Array, has been the standard monitor connection for many years. It’s analog, which wasn’t a problem with CRT’s since they are analog displays. With digital TFT’s, though, an analog signal means that detail is lost: the conversion from digital to analog and back to digital again lowers the quality.

For those interested in a history lesson, the earlier graphics standards (CGA, EGA etc…) were digital, and VGA was analog. So it was a case of ‘one step forward…’

The Cold, Hard Facts (Specs and Techs)

This is meant to be general info about TFT and not about spesific monitors or brands – as objective a view as possible. Among other things, I will include a section about the different panel technologies and their pros and cons.

A quick recap of terminology for techs and specs. Explanations and what they mean put to practial use:

Brightness
Brightness is measured in candelas per meter squared (cd/m2). High brightness capabilities can be good for viewing video, playing games and general use. However, too high brightness can also increase stress level, give poor focus and loose some image contrast. Brightness is especially useful when adjusting the screen to the enviroment. Very bright enviroment tend to dim out the screen. Adjusting brightness is usually best to do by hardware (OSD) then through software to reduce washing out the colors. The importance of brightness is mainly determened by your enviroment. Brightness should be adjusted in conjunction with contrast.

Contrast ratio
Contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black. 500:1 means its 500 times darker then white. Higher number usually means better image and easier to read text. However, you must take into consideration that the contrast sensitivity of your eyes are about 300:1. Still, the enviroment plays a big part here and higher ratio gives more oportunity to adjust accordingly. Contrast should be adjusted in conjunction with brightness.

Diagonal size
Measured in inches diagonally. Bigger is NOT nessesarily better! It all depends on what you will use it for and the distance you will have between you and the TFT. When far away, big is best. Closer up you will want high resolution and small pixel pitch.

Pivot
The ability to rotate the monitor from landscape to portrait view. Very useful for reading/editing a lot of text.

Pixel Pitch
The pixel pitch is measured in mm and the size depends on the resolution used. Lower number means sharper image. Since TFT has a fixed number of pixels, all TFT’s at the same size and resolution has the same pixel pitch. So, why do they write the size on the specs?

As an example: Brand A is a 23″ TFT with a native resolution of 1920*1200. Brand B is a 23″ TFT with a native resolution of 1920*1200. Both have a pixel pitch of 0.258 mm. Brand C, however is a 24″ TFT with a native resolution of 1920*1200 and its pixel pitch is 0.270 mm. For you this will mean that the 24″ will give you a larger screen at the cost of picture sharpness. On bigger screens, the pixel pitch would play a much larger role.

Refresh rate
Unlike CRT which need a constant redrawing of the picture, the TFT’s refresh rate isn’t so much of importance. This is because the pixels stands still until they are asked to be moved. On TFT you need to look for lower response time instead of higher refresh rates.

Resolution
Resolution is described by the columms and rows of pixels that can be displayed. (1920 columms * 1200 rows of pixels). TFT’s are a fixed-matrix display. That means they have an exact number of pixels on a screen, unlike CRT which adjust the size of the pixel according to need. This gives the TFT an advantage over the CRT in providing a crispy clear image at native resolution.

However, at non-native resolutions, the TFT needs to use complex algorithms by doubling and dividing the pixels in different ways in order to display the selected resolution. This might result in different degrades in the picture at none native resolutions. Usually higher resolution is better, provided that your machine is capable of running such resolutions.

Response time
Response time is measured in milliseconds. There are two parameters quantifying the response time: gray to gray and black to white. Unlike CRT, the TFT pixels stays put until they are asked to change. The gray to gray measures how fast one pixel turns from one color shade to another of the same color. The black to white measures how fast one pixel can turn to another color. Lower response time is better. This is very important when using the screen to watch video and play games, and has been one of the factors the hard core gamers consider when going from CRT to TFT. Be very careful when reading manufacturer specs on response time. Many will not indicate whether they are measuring gray to gray, or black to white. Also, there is no consistent way to measure response time, so one manufacturers 8ms will not necessarily be the same as another. Your best bet is to see the panel in question.

Viewing angle
The viewing angle is measured in degrees and shows you how big angle you can watch the screen on without getting a picture distortion. Its important to have a big viewing angle for many purpouses. If you pivot the monitor, if several are watching the same monitor and if you need to see the picture from different angles

How to pick the best gaming display Monitor guide, 7.8 out of 10 based on 4 ratings

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 Founder of GamertechTV, and EIC, executive editor of GamertechTV Read more from this author

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