Color definition - CRT V LED V LCD V Plasma

[MajinCry]

[If you only have experience of one of the afore-mentioned display types, don't bother posting, unless you have some serious anti-fanboy blood in yer veins.]

Hey, got a question.

My LCD has been bugging me for a while now, due to it not showing "true colour". E.G, If I were to open up paint, get the colour black and fill the entire screen with black, it would look like a fuzzy purple-ish black colour.

So, I'm considering getting a new monitor/TV for my gaming "lives", and would like to know which variation of tv/monitor has been PROVEN to have the best colour definition. I know that CRTs generally are the best, but I'm having a hard time finding any that don't have some sort of problem (Screen-burn, broken screen, the usual.)

Oh, and don't bother linking any expensive thingies, as I refuse to pay above £100 for a display. Gumtree and Ebay tend to be good in getting displays fer cheaps.

 

[ssddx]

you arent asking your homies for a favor. you are asking a public forum for advice. try to have a little tact and professionalism in your posts.

what type of lcd panel do you have? (tn, va, ips)

have you ever set up the colors? (with nvidia or ati software, or other calibration software)

if using a tn panel, is this fuzzy purple color only when you view the panel from an angle or does it happen from any angle? (tn panels color shift when viewed at an angle)

sorry to say but the most color accurate monitors are the 8-bit ips (p-ips, s-ips and h-ips) panels. these tend to run $600 or more. you could get a refurbished model for $200. however, these are out of your budget.

some say that 6-bit e-ips panels have slightly better color accuracy than tn and va panels but i would think that any difference would be minimal. all ips panels do have a wide viewing angle though so this is definitely a plus. new monitors were around $300 or so last i checked.

most of the cheap monitors use tn or va panels which are not ideal. you should be able to find a model without a purple hue (note: some led backlit models exhibit a blue-tint so ccfl backlighting may be more ideal for you).

CRT monitors do seem to exhibit rather good color but i do not know about calling them the best. screen burn-in is a real problem with them though. You might like the old viewsonic high end screens and i think sony made trinitron screens as well. CRTs are antequated and you should be able to find them at good prices but as you mentioned: they have known issues. shipping is also likely to cost you more than it is worth unless you buy local. good CRTs weigh at least 40lbs.

i have heard plasma televisions also provide good color. however, can you actually find one for your budget? remember that at least the older models had a serious problem with them and required maintenance every 2-3 years. i remember hearing something about burn in as well but can not confirm it.

if you do not mind the old 4:3 ratio you might want to look into a viewsonic vp201b. if you can pick one up for $200 refurbished or in very good condition it might be worthewhile. brand new they still go for $650 (and i bought it new at that price back in 2003!). it should be a s-ips panel and colors look fine on the one i have. blacks appear as "dark grey" due to the backlighting but this is common.

if you want black to be "black" as in without any backlight then your options are more limited. plasma televisions can deliver deep black and good contrast. if i remember correctly then CRT monitors can also deliver decent black and lastly some of the new televisions with a led matrix backlight can deliver better blacks than edge lit or ccfl backlit models.

just some ideas.... do what you want with them.