TFT for graphics

[emsee]

Hi,

I'm thinking about purchasing 2 19" displays. I currently use an Iiyama 22" CRT which is lovely, but consumes most of my desk! Also it has suffered from me leaving my headphones too near it, so it has a red blotch in the bottom corner. Time for something new!

I will be using the displays for
- Graphic design work
- Video editing
- Programming
...so I need something with brilliant colour fidelity and good font clarity.

My system is a Windows PC with an ATI Radeon X800 GTO

I have been looking at the 19" ViewSonic VP930. Is this the daddy or is there something better out there?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Hose]

Hi,

I'm thinking about purchasing 2 19" displays. I currently use an Iiyama 22" CRT which is lovely, but consumes most of my desk! Also it has suffered from me leaving my headphones too near it, so it has a red blotch in the bottom corner. Time for something new!

I will be using the displays for
- Graphic design work
- Video editing
- Programming
...so I need something with brilliant colour fidelity and good font clarity.

My system is a Windows PC with an ATI Radeon X800 GTO

I have been looking at the 19" ViewSonic VP930. Is this the daddy or is there something better out there?

Thanks for any help!

The VP 930B gets good user reviews. I also like the Samsung 970P and 971P... they are premium displays for about $350 at Newegg.

 

[emsee]

Thanks Kevin - that's good advice.

Are there any IPS panels that you recommend? A more expensive 20" panel might be good as the viewing area would probably be about the same as my current 22" CRT.

 

[Hose]

"... The NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2 looks interesting: as-ips, shiny

I recently read a review from someone who had reviewed this some months ago. Basically he says, "... out of the box, brightness needs to be toned down and colors need to be calibrated... if you can calibrate, color rendition is excellent.... this is a very good choice for anyone who likes the Brite screen, though I personally do not...."

I've seen the 20WMGX2 at Best Buy when they were running Call of Duty on all of the screens in a demo. I thought it nothing short of SPECTACULAR, and as such is one of my favorite monitors. But then again, I like the Brite screen. (There is a new line to replace the "GX2" line.... "GX2 Pro". In this 20"er, it was preliminarily indicated that perhaps the [currently] built-in TV tuner and removable soundbar would not be included as standard. If so, that should bring the price down $100-ish.)

 

[Hose]

But then again, I like the Brite screen.

The shiny screen does indeed look interesting -- richer colors and no blotchiness look to large areas of a single color. The only thing that really bothers me is the high reflectivity. Knowing how long you can spend on a computer, this seemed like a real issue to me. I have heard that computer screen glare can cause headaches, and even though I don't have a light shining on the face of the monitor, there is still the possibility of glare from outside.

I would really like to consider the shiny finish monitors, but I am worried about that reflection. CRTs are kinda shiny, I guess you could say, but it doesn't have the glare like the LCD finish. What are you thoughts on this topic, from personal experience?

What is odd, is why they can't make the finish anti-reflective too. They make anti-reflective anti-radiation panels that you can put over a CRT, so why not do the same for LCDs?

1. To eliminate the glare, you need to either (A) use in a room with no lights on and no bright windows, or (B) be able to orient the screen at such an angle that whatever ambient lights there are do not reflect into the user's eyes. Most consumer uses should allow such flexibility.

I've read a few reviews where the reviewer basically says, "I don't like the Brite screen because of the reflection [glare]". Well, Duh! Nobody wants ambient light reflected into their eyes when using their computer... So, what if you turned off the lights or oriented the screen so that you could see no glare? What would your opinion be then? .... Reviewers never seem to see that point.

2. Actually, CRTs' "anti-reflective" coatings use a similar principle as the matte finish of most LCDs (only less so) to scatter light "a little bit".... such that they are "kinda shiny". (If you have ever seen a cheapo CRT "without AR coating", it is just as reflective as Brite screen.... I had one once... a cheapo Compaq. Not only did it not have AR coating, it also did not have anti-static... attracted dust like a magnet. However that it had no AR coating resulted in sharper-than-normal text and images.) The Brite screen tries to minimize light scatter for exactly the result they get.

Personally, I really like the Brite screen. However if you had to use it in an environment where you could not eliminate or minimize glare, it would likely become an issue. It is this reason, I believe, we don't see Brite screens on enterprise class monitors. They are usually placed to facilitate their task and really don't have the "avoid light" options a consumer/gamer or laptop user would have. (I've been fantasizing that someday NEC would come out with a UXGA Brite screen model, but I don't think we will ever see it. :>(

Even though the buyers at Newegg have a positive bias (have already decided they like Brite screen before they buy), the reviews they give are CRAZY-high with praise.... Makes you think, "there must be something to this"... and there is.