A Qn on LCD Monitors


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teerex

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Mar 10, 2003
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Will be changing my CRT for a LCD monitor, but am not sure which to get. Analog input only or Analog and Digital input. Can't stand the flicker anymore.

So here's a question for you guys using LCD monitors for photo editing. Which input do you use, Analog or Digital (DVI), why and what are the differences with the 2 inputs?

Appreciate any information and help.
Thanks
 

the only difference i notice (thru my bare eyes) about analog & DVI input to LCD monitors is that, analog need to calibrate the width & height of the screen, the DVI input is auto calibrated. otherwise, the clarity is about the same. but i do notice a slight difference in quality with analog only & analog & dvi monitors. (i got 3 170S4 & 2 170B4 hence noticable, no comparison against the 19"-21" since i only got 1 19")
 

another thing to think about..... does ur Graphic card got DVI output? if no... no point thinking unless u wanna change the card too
 

teerex said:
Will be changing my CRT for a LCD monitor, but am not sure which to get. Analog input only or Analog and Digital input. Can't stand the flicker anymore.

So here's a question for you guys using LCD monitors for photo editing. Which input do you use, Analog or Digital (DVI), why and what are the differences with the 2 inputs?

Appreciate any information and help.
Thanks
LCD is not very good for photo editing. Tried and never really get the colour correct. Good for text and writing though. Try sony
Artisan crt if you can get one. Discontinued oredi.
 

dundee said:
LCD is not very good for photo editing. Tried and never really get the colour correct. Good for text and writing though. Try sony
Artisan crt if you can get one. Discontinued oredi.

i think most have improved already... even sony now have LCD for photo editing. best option is get apple lcd... too bad i can never justify buying 1 of those... :cry:
 

Thanks for all your quick responses guys. The main reason why I'm thinking of changing to LCD is 'cos my CRT flickers and the radiation. Getting frequent headaches.

My graphic card does have a DVI output. I've seen the Sony LCD monitors, and they're quite bright and colors seem ok in the showroom. Too bad can't make direct comparison between CRT and the LCD on the spot.

So I gather that there is very little or no difference between the Analog and Digital inputs, right? The later models of Viewsonic and Samsung seem ok too.

Then there are specs like contrast ratio, brightness, response time. A little confused about these.

Contrast Ration: 350:1, 400:1, 500:1, 600:1 - the higher the ratio is better?

Brightness - 250cd/m2, 300cd/m2. :dunno:

Response Time - 12msec, 25msec. - the shorter response time the better?

Can help with these specs? Thanks.
 

flickers? hmm..maybe your refresh rate didn't set high enough?
 

teerex said:
Thanks for all your quick responses guys. The main reason why I'm thinking of changing to LCD is 'cos my CRT flickers and the radiation. Getting frequent headaches.

My graphic card does have a DVI output. I've seen the Sony LCD monitors, and they're quite bright and colors seem ok in the showroom. Too bad can't make direct comparison between CRT and the LCD on the spot.

So I gather that there is very little or no difference between the Analog and Digital inputs, right? The later models of Viewsonic and Samsung seem ok too.

Then there are specs like contrast ratio, brightness, response time. A little confused about these.

Contrast Ration: 350:1, 400:1, 500:1, 600:1 - the higher the ratio is better?

Brightness - 250cd/m2, 300cd/m2. :dunno:

Response Time - 12msec, 25msec. - the shorter response time the better?

Can help with these specs? Thanks.


Used the Samsung SynMaster 173T and Phillip 180 P2. Both were purchased 1 & 2 years back respectively. I like the Phillip better. Easier on the eye. I will buy Phillip or Sharp. Personally, I do find these better. There is also a backlit light lifespan to consider. Good ones have mtf of 60K hours. To me screen size is very important. 18 inch and above is nice to use. Hope that this will add more to the confusion. ;)
 

Basically, unless you really want really accurate colours for printouts, LCD is good for quick photo-editing (for web). Colours and brightness are in a neutral range so if it looks okay on a LCD, it will most likely look okay on any other monitors.

But LCDs have already improved a lot, like better contrast, colour fidelity etc etc. Personally, I like the Sony ones, because the blacks are more 'black'. :p
 

Used Philips before, but it disappointed me. It "dies" easily, the bightness controls sometimes brights sometimes dark during on and the colour controls spoils easily.

I am using Sharp for 3 years yet still working very strong only the casing is dusty thats all. I will vote for sharp for its quality and >50,000 backlight. ;)

As the brand says, [Sharp, The No.1 LCD leader].
 

alwayschampion said:
Used Philips before, but it disappointed me. It "dies" easily, the bightness controls sometimes brights sometimes dark during on and the colour controls spoils easily.

I am using Sharp for 3 years yet still working very strong only the casing is dusty thats all. I will vote for sharp for its quality and >50,000 backlight. ;)

As the brand says, [Sharp, The No.1 LCD leader].

Yes, I like Sharp very much at the shop. Never used one for prolonged hours. I feel that the Sharp lcd panel produce more vivid and better images. The Phillip model 180P2 I am using now is pretty good. Not a single day of problem so far after banging on it 5 - 10 hours a day.
But honestly, LCD are lousy for photo editing. Often feel quite sad to see my printed images not produced as what I see in the 'calibrated' LCD monitor.
 

my 190b4 came out smoke the 1st day i on it, den philips change mine to 190b5, their service is superb...

btw since we are at lcd, how do you guys clean the lcd screen? i have some dirt stuck & find it hard to remove.
 

LCDs have come a long way though CRT diehards still swear by CRTs. There are good LCDs and there are bad CRTs, depends on which one you get. It's definitely not true to say LCDs are not good for photo editing. There are the really good ones like those by Apple, Eizo, Lacie, etc which are used by professionals, those which are no good for editing are those super cheap ones.

Calibrating a monitor is only half the solution. A calibrated monitor only ensures that what you see is correct, but it does not mean that what you print will match what you see. The output device must be properly calibrated and profiled too. Again, it also depends on the quality of the monitor in use in the first place.

Do note that the cheaper LCDs are 18-bit panels (which only gives a total of 262,144 colours) and use interpolation to achieve 16.2 million colours. The good ones are 24-bit panels which are capable of producing 16.77 million colours without interpolation. Some manufacturers like Benq are honest enough to tell you that interpolation is employed, most don't. The way to differentiate is this -- if they say 16.2m colours in the specs, it's 18-bit. If it says 16.77/16.8m colours, it's 24-bit. But sadly, some manufacturers don't even list that. :(

So if you really want a good LCD, spend more money on it. Otherwise use the same amount to get a good CRT. DVI is supposed to give a better picture compared to analog if your graphic card supports it.

Regards
CK
 

ckiang said:
LCDs have come a long way though CRT diehards still swear by CRTs. There are good LCDs and there are bad CRTs, depends on which one you get. It's definitely not true to say LCDs are not good for photo editing. There are the really good ones like those by Apple, Eizo, Lacie, etc which are used by professionals, those which are no good for editing are those super cheap ones.

Calibrating a monitor is only half the solution. A calibrated monitor only ensures that what you see is correct, but it does not mean that what you print will match what you see. The output device must be properly calibrated and profiled too. Again, it also depends on the quality of the monitor in use in the first place.

Do note that the cheaper LCDs are 18-bit panels (which only gives a total of 262,144 colours) and use interpolation to achieve 16.2 million colours. The good ones are 24-bit panels which are capable of producing 16.77 million colours without interpolation. Some manufacturers like Benq are honest enough to tell you that interpolation is employed, most don't. The way to differentiate is this -- if they say 16.2m colours in the specs, it's 18-bit. If it says 16.77/16.8m colours, it's 24-bit. But sadly, some manufacturers don't even list that. :(

So if you really want a good LCD, spend more money on it. Otherwise use the same amount to get a good CRT. DVI is supposed to give a better picture compared to analog if your graphic card supports it.

Regards
CK


Hi CK!

So which brand/models would you recommend?
 

Adam Goi said:
Hi CK!

So which brand/models would you recommend?
Apple CinemaDisplay series, starting from $2488 for 20" (ouch)
Eizo L568 17" : $899 at the last PC Show.
Samsung 173T (discontinued)
Samsung 710T : $699 (173T replacement, one of the best 18-bit panels I've seen, looks even better than the Sony 24-bit panels! :) )

Persnoally I am eyeing the Eizo, hopefully it'll be lower than $899 at Sitex.

Regards
CK
 

ckiang said:
Apple CinemaDisplay series, starting from $2488 for 20" (ouch)
Eizo L568 17" : $899 at the last PC Show.
Samsung 173T (discontinued)
Samsung 710T : $699 (173T replacement, one of the best 18-bit panels I've seen, looks even better than the Sony 24-bit panels! :) )

Persnoally I am eyeing the Eizo, hopefully it'll be lower than $899 at Sitex.

Regards
CK

Thanks CK!

Any idea about the price of a 19" Eizo? :think:
 

ckiang said:
Apple CinemaDisplay series, starting from $2488 for 20" (ouch)
Eizo L568 17" : $899 at the last PC Show.
Samsung 173T (discontinued)
Samsung 710T : $699 (173T replacement, one of the best 18-bit panels I've seen, looks even better than the Sony 24-bit panels! :) )

Persnoally I am eyeing the Eizo, hopefully it'll be lower than $899 at Sitex.

Regards
CK

I haven't met an Eizo dealer that was willing to give an out of box zero dead pixel warranty (i.e., if you open the box and find 2 dead and bright pixels, you have to take it).

The sharp dealer in Funan on the other hand, is willing to guarantee zero bright dot out of the box and tested in the shop.

The sharp 19" LCD (24 bit panel) is now $1,050 (dropped by $500 over the past 6 months).
 

I just had my LCD changed.
My compaq which I had for 3 yrs died on me.
Currently using philips 150S5FS/FB
Seriously, I m little disappointed at the colours. Perhaps I prefer a more saturated colour. Mine has a sort of gradient like colour satuations. The top half is darker and the bottom is way too bright. Calibrated it and it is only 85% closed to wat I have previously which I thought was nice.
But yah, usually, if it looks ok on the LCD, just make sure that when u go develope the prints, tell the person DUN alter anything. Well, I tried, and the printouts was similar to wat I saw on my LCD...that was my old LCD....dunno abt this Philips one. Well, definitely not happy with it.
Sign....no $$$ wat can I expect from a $389 LCD. :(
 

Thanks for all valuable feedback guys. I guess choosing a LCD is not that simple after all, so much to consider.

Will think about it. Worst case will fall back on CRT.

Checked my refresh rate to see if it's the cause of the flicker. Was set at 75Hz, changed to 100Hz and see what happens.

Thanks again
 

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