Display Advice.

Hi, I'm looking to update my monitor. I have used CRT monitors for 10 years, yes i know.. i'm abit behind the times :) but the low contrast and grey looking blacks on LCD's just always really bugged me, and the ghosting on plasma's kind of ruled them out too.

But that was a while ago and the tech has probably moved on by now.
Basically i need some suggestions on what to go for, and if possible i really would prefer something that will have at least equal contrast ratios to a CRT, and doesn't have a narrow view angle. Basically a CRT inside a flat panel's body :)
Edit: £200-£300 price range

Thanks, Dave.

Your looking at an IPS panel in that price range. The two below are normally recomended and are at the bottom of your budget at around £200.

The Viewsonic VP2365wb
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/23-vi...300-cd-m-14-ms

And the Dell UltraSharp U2311H
http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna...dt1&sku=421265

But im not sure if theres anything better as you head up towards £300.

http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...code-dell.html

You can also get cashback from Dell using TopCashBack:

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/dell/

Here are some reviews of the Dell U2311H and ViewSonic VP2365wb:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2311h.htm

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2311h.htm

These two monitors are also work considering:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_ew2420.htm

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_ea232wmi.htm

However,a decent CRT is still quite competitive with many modern LCD panels.

The monitors listed are all 16:9 ratio though.

quick question, with the viewing angle stuff, is it mainly anything that is as close to 178/178 as possible ? & with the contrast, the higher the ratio to 1 the more depth of contrast ? am i understanding that right ?

yes, the 178 degree angle is the starting point. But watch out for the small print. Phillips claim a 178 degree angle on some of their screens, but it is measured at CR>5 rather than the CR>10 which is the usual measuring point. Any decent IPS screen should satisfy 178 degrees H/V at CR>10.

Contrast ratio yes, the higher the ratio the better the difference between dark and light. HDR is meant to boost this effect, but with varying success between manufacturers, and even models.

www.TFTCentral.co.uk is the place to go for all things IPS - they are knowledgable and do in-depth reviews. Plus some useful info on CR, HDR and the like.

IPS screens are well worth the money IMO. Very happy with my U2311h.

and regarding response time/in-put lag values. Say a monitor has 8ms grey to grey, and has a average 10.6ms in-put lag, am i right in thinking that equates to a total real world lag of 18.6ms ?

No. That isn't how it works. Read up on TFTCentral.

input lag is very different from pixel G2G, B2B or W2W times. Input lag is to do with how soon after a signal the picture actually changes. G2G pixel response times are to do with switching of pixel states. You can have a low input lag but horrendous G2G giving a blurry image. You can have a rapid pixel switching, but massive input lag. Ideally you want both as low as possible.

The Dell U2311h scores well all round.

Again, read up on TFTCentral, it answers all these things and more.

I was stuck as to which monitor to get and the Dell won, it's an amazing monitor you can also see how it performs in games on youtube.

whilst looking into which monitor was best, i've found many websites and users on forums saying that for the price range, this is the best you will get.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...code-dell.html

You can also get cashback from Dell using TopCashBack:

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/dell/

The monitors listed are all 16:9 ratio though.

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awww! i wish i had seen this before i put my order in! i would have saved around £43!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ik9000

No. That isn't how it works. Read up on TFTCentral.

input lag is very different from pixel G2G, B2B or W2W times. Input lag is to do with how soon after a signal the picture actually changes. G2G pixel response times are to do with switching of pixel states. You can have a low input lag but horrendous G2G giving a blurry image. You can have a rapid pixel switching, but massive input lag. Ideally you want both as low as possible.

The Dell U2311h scores well all round.

Again, read up on TFTCentral, it answers all these things and more.

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Ok will do, thx. Yes the u2311h looks like pretty good on most criteria, there's lots to compare i guess.
and thx to above posters aswell for the other suggestions.

Edit, doh, quick google search reveals the dell to be not so good when it comes to gaming, back to square one i go, upside tho was the same google search brought up nice little shot list of 4 candidates that rank as best gaming display for 2011... swings and round-abouts :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave_07

Edit, doh, quick google search reveals the dell to be not so good when it comes to gaming, back to square one i go, upside tho was the same google search brought up nice little shot list of 4 candidates that rank as best gaming display for 2011... swings and round-abouts :)

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I have 3 of those U2311H displays. After two months usage, mostly gaming (RPG/RTS/FPS/racers/etc.), with my relatively new prescription focused eyes, I can't say I've noticed any problems.

what review sites are you reading? TFTCentral concluded it one of the better IPS panels they'd tested for gaming. Many gamers on here are using the U2311h and I've not heard a complaint yet, apart from one guy who got sent a faulty screen. He got it replaced as DOA and even he's loving his replacement. You worry too much. JFDI. It's the best you'll find for that price range.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pauldarkside

I have 3 of those U2311H displays. After two months usage, mostly gaming (RPG/RTS/FPS/racers/etc.), with my relatively new prescription focused eyes, I can't say I've noticed any problems.

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it was the colour reproduction, some of the comparative reviews mentioned reproduction levels at around only 80 or so percent. How have found the colour range pauldarkside ?
The Dell SP2309W is apparently the gaming choice as it uses something called TN technology, and have an insanely high native rez haven't the foggyest what that is yet, still reading through the 14 or so firefox tabs i have open at the moment :) Strange thing is that the sp2309w isn't even listed on the dell site.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ik9000

what review sites are you reading? TFTCentral concluded it one of the better IPS panels they'd tested for gaming. Many gamers on here are using the U2311h and I've not heard a complaint yet, apart from one guy who got sent a faulty screen. He got it replaced as DOA and even he's loving his replacement. You worry too much. JFDI. It's the best you'll find for that price range.

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some of the monitors i was looking into were not listed in the TFTCentral review database.

Is that 80% of the adobe gamut?? It's a standard RGB colour space monitor. It won't produce an extended gamut. But then do you really want that, with the problems it can bring? Are you familiar with the different colour spaces? Have you read TFT CENTRAL? :wallbash:

The colour space is fine. The monitor is fine. There are a stack of people on here who all rave about it. It's fine. Behold the 8 pages of praise http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...t-bargain.html :rant:

You can tweak the settings to give slightly more accurate colour tones but I've found it fine just out of the box for what I use it for.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave_07

The Dell SP2309W is apparently the gaming choice as it uses something called TN technology, and have an insanely high native rez haven't the foggyest what that is yet, still reading through the 14 or so firefox tabs i have open at the moment :) Strange thing is that the sp2309w isn't even listed on the dell site.

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TN matrix is the cheap option. It suffers from poorer viewing angels, and the horizontal angle is different from the vertical which means any largish TN monitor that claims to pivot will look funny when you rotate it.

TN is the default TFT screen and it's only benefit is that it can have quicker pixel refresh (sub 2ms) due to the way the tech has been developed for longer than IPS in this regard. Anything sub 8ms is indistinguishable to the human eye, though lower is better. Just cos it's a TN screen doesn't do anything to reduce input lag.

Colour reproduction is generally not as good on TN screens, and contrast ratios are more of a mixed bag.

For all these reasons IPS screens cost more, look better and unless you want a 120Hz gaming screen, are IMO the answer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave_07

some of the monitors i was looking into were not listed in the TFTCentral review database.

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yes the TFT website only does IPS screens. TN screens are beneath their expertise which is aimed at the professional graphics/rendering market.