That Monitor Thread

[David]

I'm moving soon, and that affords me the opportunity--nay, the need--to part ways with my hand-me-down 17'' CRT monitor. However, before delving into this glorious flatscreen world, I need to know which brands are ace, which are shit, and which are a good mix of non-raping-price and non-exploding-reliability.

I don't really have a preference for widescreen vs. standard, and I'm probably going to have to get a new video card anyway, so lay it on me. Which ones are thumb-approved?

[Nappi]

Similar situation here. Currently browsing and playing with my 15 inch laptop monitor. Have been thinking about buying a good 20 to 24 inch widescreen monitor for a while now, but with all the response times, input lags, contrast ratios and whatnots it seems that there is going be a painful investigation ahead.

I'll be lurking this topic.

[manny_c44]

I have a 22" Viewsonic LCD with 5 MS response time which displays 1680x1050 natively. It's probably about 2 years old and these are the things that I regret when thinking about the purchase.

-I wish I bought a monitor that displayed 1080p

-I wish I bought a monitor that had an HDMI input

-Viewing angles are so critical. My monitor has a fine viewing angle (in theory) you can look at it from any angle and see text or whatever on the screen-- but the vertical viewing angle is touchier than the horizontal viewing angle. This is a barely a problem until you start doing illustration on the monitor-- colors and contrast change very slightly depending on your posture...a lot of times using a tablet I will scrunch up my back and be viewing from a much lower angle than is preferable, which leads to a slightly different looking picture than if you were sitting relaxed.

Even stranger is that the best angle to view the monitor is from slightly above the center of the screen, and I am never sitting higher than monitor, so I never view it from this angle.

These viewing angle things are somewhat minor and you would never notice them in a store when just casually looking at monitors, but remember your monitor will be much closer to your face than a television and therefore your relative angle to the screen will vary much more than a television. Pay attention to viewing angle. Get up close to the screen.

-The above problems are exacerbated by the fact that the monitor has no height adjustment. Only tilt, which is kind of shit.

-Pay special attention to how the screen is backlit. Just pull up a totally black picture and look at how the light spills across the monitor, mine is uneven from top to bottom.

-Many Viewsonic monitors, mine included, have an eye-bleeding-bright blue LED on the front panel, which I had to cover with electrical tape.

-The menu and buttons are annoying

-The pixel pitch (size of the actual pixels) is kind of large but I actually prefer it to smaller ones.

With those things in mind my monitor is still pretty great and the ordinary user would find it satisfactory. The response time is not noticeable when watching films or playing games-- more expensive monitors have 1ms or 2ms response times so go for that. The color, contrast are great. I find many LCDs to be too bright at normal settings but that is just the norm.

My advice to you guys would be to buy a larger monitor (maybe 24-28") that displays 1920x1080 or higher and place it further away from your face than you might be used to now. Make sure it has height adjustment and good vertical and horizontal viewing angles.

Also:

-Apple monitors are usually very nice-- but you can get many side by side reviews on the internet of competing monitors. I would get a monitor that might be more expensive but has a many of these in-depth, positive reviews.

-Don't buy Cintiqs, they have bad color/contrast compared to regular monitors.

[brkl]

Even stranger is that the best angle to view the monitor is from slightly above the center of the screen, and I am never sitting higher than monitor, so I never view it from this angle.

You probably should be! It'd be better for your posture.

Also:

-Apple monitors are usually very nice-- but you can get many side by side reviews on the internet of competing monitors. I would get a monitor that might be more expensive but has a many of these in-depth, positive reviews.

http://consumerist.com/tag/false-advertising/?i=374408&t=apple-sued-new-20-imac-screens-display-260k-colors-not-millions

I wouldn't get that one.

[Cigol]

I have a Viewsonic VP930 (19") which I bought some years ago now and its been fine for computer use. It has vertical adjustment, tilt and can be rotated vertically for portrait mode. The viewing angles are basically anywhere and everywhere (!) I've not had a single problem with viewing it at different angles whereas the other cheaper LCD monitors we have in the house are notorious for it (just tilt your head for those, this Viewsonic requires you to leave the room ). I've not noticed any ghosting on any of the games I've played on it over the years either.

...but of course it's completely out of date now

Regarding Apple monitors; they are overpriced (natch) but you can get a Dell version for a little less and supposedly they us the same panel - but even the Dell's are pricey in comparison to the often recommended Samsung variants (whose panels supposedly adorn Apples and Dells alike?).

...or not. I don't know. When it comes to things like this I just curl up into a little ball and throw my money in a random direction. Sometimes it works (VP930) sometimes it doesn't (a passing vagrant).

[Nappi]

http://consumerist.com/tag/false-advertising/?i=374408&t=apple-sued-new-20-imac-screens-display-260k-colors-not-millions

I wouldn't get that one.

That seems to be about iMacs though and not their monitor lineup. But they are a bit too pricey for me anyway.

The new Samsung monitors, from what I have understood, should be pretty good and they certainly look nice. However, my friend did some extensive investigation on monitors some time ago and found out that some of them suffer from an input lag. I don't know if that is really noticeable in normal use (and when playing) or if it's just something people came up with so that they could rant about something. Certainly sounds more annoying than e.g. long response time, though. Does anyone have experience with this?

Btw. What connections should I be looking for if I wanted to plug a console (probably PS3) on my display?

[brkl]

You can find HDMI->SCART cords, so you only really need a SCART input, more than one if you want them connected at the same time.

[Nappi]

Do monitors (not televisions) even have scart inputs?

It seems that many of the new monitors have hdmi, so I guess it would be the easiest to go with one of those then. Is there anything else I should take into consideration if I want to connect my console to the monitor?

[miffy495]

Btw. What connections should I be looking for if I wanted to plug a console (probably PS3) on my display?

My monitor (Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW) is a nice little 24 inch 16:10 affair with a native resolution of 1920x1200 and I've been very happy with it for the past 3 years now. Vetcial and horizontal rotation, height adjustment, the works. I also use it as my primary screen for console gaming. It has a standard VGA port, an HDMI, S-video, component, and composite jacks in a nice little row along the bottom. At the moment, my PS3 is hooked into the component and my PC to the HDMI. As a bonus, this model does PiP, which has come in handy for times when I've wanted to get a forumer's PSN or Live ID off of a thread and into my console, or when I've had a blu-ray on while working on something. So yeah, hope for component, but SCART should do for you.

[brkl]

Do monitors (not televisions) even have scart inputs?

Ack, sorry about that. I mean DVI. You don't want or need a SCART unless maybe if you've got a Wii. Even then component (three separate cables) is a better choice

[Nachimir]

If you're going to be using it by yourself, the AG Neovo F-419 is a good 19" panel for the price, though judging by a quick look many places list it as "special order" and only some keep it in stock. I got a pristine return for £140 a few years ago and it seems they've held their value ever since, with new ones appearing to be around £150 - £160.

A friend and I both have one, and though the response time at 15ms is nothing stellar, it's enough to play games with without any ghosting being noticeable unless you're really sensitive to that kind of thing - I've been finding it fine for Team Fortress 2, Stalker, etc. They're also very bright, sometimes it seems too bright when I'm using it at night.

I don't think the viewing angle is amazing, but again it's been fine for watching DVDs with someone, too small for a decent sized group of people though.

[brkl]

That's actually the exact same one I have. I've been happy with it.

[Wrestlevania]

My monitor (Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW) is a nice little 24 inch 16:10 affair with a native resolution of 1920x1200 and I've been very happy with it for the past 3 years now.

Dell's larger form factor widescreen LCDs are exactly the same as Apple's pretentious "Cinemascreen" line of monitors; same screen dimensions, same image engine behind it--everything's identical and from the same fabrication plant. They just don't look anything like as nice, physically; i.e. they're clad in silver and black plastic, not brushed aluminium.

We've got several of them at work - the Dell ones I mean - and they're superb. Both times I've taken my Xbox 360 into work and run it off the 24" model in component 720p. (They have an excellent range of standard connections, btw, including HDMI, Component and regular VGA.) And both times I've come away this >< close to returning an hour later, after everyone's gone home, and stealing the effing thing.

It looks stunning - with no letter-boxing or HD oversampling (because it's a 16:10 aspect monitor, instead of 16:9) either. GTA4 was gloriously sharp and clear and I wanted to have its babies immediately.

If you're after a 22" recommendation, though, my current workstation's Samsung 226BW is chuffing lovely. Eye-wateringly sharp and vibrant image over HDMI, which worked equally as well for gaming as it does for Photoshop and the like. Love the thing, but it only supports single HDMI and single standard VGA inputs unfortunately.