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Thread ID: 99866	2009-05-17 21:16:00	What's the best monitor these days?	JJJJJ (528)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
774737	2009-05-18 00:18:00	I have a BenQ E2200HD and it's fantastic. I haven't seen many monitors that I would say have better image quality (Samsung maybe..) and it is well priced.	inphinity (7274)
774738	2009-05-18 02:03:00	Have just ordered a 1 x Samsung T260, 25.5" LCD, 1920x1200, DVI, Black @ $873.99 each ($776.88 excl GST each) See how this one goes. I've always been a Viewsonic user	JJJJJ (528)
774739	2009-05-18 04:38:00	Looks like a good choice. Time will tell I guess.	Sweep (90)
774740	2009-05-18 05:08:00	Any opinions on this? ViewSonic VA2626WM Monitor, 25.5" LCD, 1920x1200, DVI, Speakers You need to check: www.tftcentral.co.uk I know what JJJJJ means - I have a Viewsonic, probably TN too. Its fine, although if I hunch down and look at it, it looks a lot darker/dimmer. Make sure your viewing angle is right JJJJJ, monitor not too high or too low for your line of sight. And TN does have the faster response time as said. Theres pluses and minuses with them all. Its why CRTs still rule as far as gaming goes. Or maybe a plasma monitor, but that would be rather hard to find.......	pctek (84)
774741	2009-05-18 06:45:00	... And TN does have the faster response time as said. Theres pluses and minuses with them all. Its why CRTs still rule as far as gaming goes. ... TNs may have a faster reported response time, but sometimes the high speed response is achieved using overdriving. This causes visible ghosting. eg my work 2ms TN ghosts more than my 6ms IPS. Also as TNs have quite bad contrast ratios (dynamic contrast ratios dont count), apparently when you look at dark areas in games, they may appear as just a massive black patch, losing all detail. With larger monitor sizes, unless you sit further back, you will be looking at the edges at a sharper angle. Some TNs are worse than others; the narrow viewing angles aren't a problem on the viewsonic I'm using now, but there are better options for games/videos/image editing. Web browsing and work it is fine though. But I agree, CRTs are the only monitors to have 0 image processing lag (which is different to response time) so they are good for twitch fps gamers.	utopian201 (6245)
774742	2009-05-18 09:10:00	Looking at another performance aspect that has been ignored: Reliability. While I cannot recommend anything, I issue a caution regarding HP flat panel monitors. We have 6 HP's at work, which were all bought new just over 3 years ago. This summer 4 of those 6 monitors died. Model (from memory) was HP 1730 - but don't hold me to that as accurate. Specifically, it appears to be the backlight circuitry, which has had some discussion elsewhere. I had a look inside one, and there's a couple of bulging capacitors, and a stained circuit board where at least one of them blew their little guts out. These caps are located beside heat sinks, and with them all blowing in summer months, I'm of the opinion that it is a mixture of our hot work environment, and shoddy, cheap capacitors.	Paul.Cov (425)
774743	2009-05-18 10:46:00	I'm afraid I did not make myself clear when I asked about the "best" monitor.I am not overly interested it response times etc. I am more concerned with the picture quality and controls to adjust picture, thay WORK.As far as I can tell from the advertisements all monitors are perfect, with much the same specs. From my observations some certainly have better picture quality. Anyway we'll see what the Samsung looks like. Also I have just received a mail from Ascent. They are telling Viewsonic to send me a replacement for my 2235 seeing it has the same fault as when it was supposedly repaired.	JJJJJ (528)
774744	2009-05-19 00:35:00	In your first post you mentioned you were looking for the best gaming monitor :p. For me, the 'best' gaming monitor would be a CRT because they have no image processing latency. Since you can't get CRTs anymore, the next best thing would be a low response LCD (TN) at the expense of image quality - contrast, colour and viewing angles. In terms of best monitor period (and best picture quality as you are after), I suggested an HP lp2475 a few posts back. No cheaper 24" can touch it for image quality: -number of colours exceeds that produced by CRT (wide gamut 16.7m); TN panels are limited to 262k colours and use dithering to produce the shades in between, so they aren't that good for image editing. -black levels (better than PVAs, such as Dell 240wfp, which are considered to have the blackest blacks as far as LCDs are concerned) -contrast levels (it uses the backlight to control brightness, not the pixels, which means contrast is consistent across all brightness levels) -viewing angles; it is an H-IPS screen which means it has CRT levels of viewing angles. Because of this you can pivot the monitor on its side; with poor viewing angles this is not possible as your left eye would see a darker image and your right would see a brighter image. -It has acceptable image processing lag, about 25ms. Response time is rated at 6ms, but it ghosts less than a 2ms TN. You can get monitors which have better image quality (NEC 2490) but they are more expensive and you can get monitors which cost the same or more (Apple Cinema display 24", Dell 2408wfp) but they don't have better image quality. I'll dig up some more info for you about LCD types :D I was in the same position as you were, looking for the perfect screen. I scoured forums, reviews everything, so I try to spread the knowledge as much as possible to make the most of what I learned :)	utopian201 (6245)
774745	2009-05-19 00:41:00	(copied from a previous post) You can check which panel a certain screen has here: www.tftcentral.co.uk The main LCD panel types are: TN: Lowest cost, worst viewing angles and colour reproduction, low image processing lag. Apparently best for fast paced gaming, worst for image editing and professsional work where colour accuracy is important. TN panels can only display 262k colours natively and use dithering to display 16.7m. *VA (MVA, PVA, S-PVA): Middle of the road, better viewing angles and colour reproduction, typically high image processing lag (as high as 64ms!). Typically best black levels and contrast. Can display 16.7m colours but unfortunately (or fortunately if you're a design professional) most newer panels of this type are wide gamut, meaning sRGB images are oversaturated in non colour managed applications. Can suffer from slight horizontal contrast shift (like TN's vertical contrast shift, but not as obvious) IPS (S-IPS, H-IPS): Most expensive technology, viewing angles and colour reproduction almost as good as (or even better than) that of a CRT, medium image processing (between 20-40ms). Almost all are wide gamut (which is a disadvantage, or an advantage depending on how you look at it). No contrast shift. All panel types have similar response times so ghosting is not really a problem anymore. Although some panels use overdrive, so you get a 'negative' ghosting effect, depending on the background eg on the TN (viewsonic 22") I'm using now, there is a slight ghosting trail, which isn't noticable on my IPS screen. So in this instance, TN has worse ghosting than IPS, even though the TN has a "quicker" documented (5ms for TN, 6ms for IPS) response time.	utopian201 (6245)
774746	2009-05-19 01:10:00	I'm afraid I did not make myself clear when I asked about the "best" monitor.I am not overly interested it response times etc. I am more concerned with the picture quality. Like I said, I know what you mean. And you need to check the panels - exactly because contrast is what you care about and not response time. Regardless of what brand you are looking at.	pctek (84)
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