Widescreen TFT Monitor Advice

[rob4001]

Hi

I just thought I'd write a quick guide for people who are thinking of upgrading their monitor. I am by no means an expert so other people feel free to add or point out any mistakes in my post. I did this research as I was looking into buying a widescreen monitor myself as I am upgrading from a CRT.

They way I understand it is there are 3 popular types of TFT panels

TN
S-PVA
S-IPS/AS-IPS

TN is the most common but also the worst quality ie poor colour and viewing angle. Though do have the highest response times.

S-PVA
+ improved colour and viewing angle

S-IPS/AS-IPS
+ best quality and viewing angle
-poorest response times
-higher price

If you wish to use your monitor for all round role TV, DVD's & games your are better off (in my opinion) of buying a monitor that has a S-PVA or S-IPS panel.

With S-PVA or S-IPS you can defiantly see the difference in quality and difference in response times is not that much. You do pay extra for this of course .

HI-DEF

If you wish to hook up your games console/dvd for high def you need to check it is HDCP compatiable. More information on this can be found here:

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com...pic.php?t=2563

Examples of monitors

TN
19" Asus PW191
20.1" Acer AL2016WS
22" Samsung 225BW

S-PVA
21" Samsung 215TW
21" Gateway FPD2185W
24" Dell 2407WFP

S-IPS/AS-IPS
20.1" NEC 20WMGX2
20.1" LG M203WX
20.1" Dell 2007WFP

Ok I've had enough of writing now. I hope this helps other people thinking of buying a monitor.

[tickedon]

I've got a nice 20" Samsung 205BW which uses a TN panel - the viewing angle is the only complaint I would make on the screen. I personally can't tell any difference with colours, and it looks to me far better than my 2003 TFT and my old CRT's. DVD's and games look fine on it.

In short, unless you have great eyesight and somehow can tell between the smallest of variations, I say save the wallet and use the cash for something more useful - RAM, CPU.. or even just a nice looking monitor you aren't ashamed to show

[Indi75]

Thats very useful reeading - I'm looking to size up next year.

Currently I've got the Samsung SyncMaster 193V in a 19".

It's a PVA monitor with a contrast ratio of 700:1, 1280 x 1024 active native resolution, pixel pitch of 0.294mm H/V, 1700/1700 viewing angle.

It's good, but there's some nice stuff out there for next year now.

I'll likely go PVA again, the upgrade is only to increase resolution and size.

[toolsong]

One of the best features of my 2005FPW is that you can switch the scaling in the menu to 1:1, avoiding any forced aspect ratio change when you least want it.

[danroyle]

so how do i work out which screen my benq fp91g+ has then

out of interest

[this_is_gav]

One of the best features of my 2005FPW is that you can switch the scaling in the menu to 1:1, avoiding any forced aspect ratio change when you least want it.

I believe that both ATi and nV can do this through drivers anyway. ATi certainly can.

[fredered]

I believe that both ATi and nV can do this through drivers anyway. ATi certainly can.

ATI certainly can, although I find it much quicker to switch using the monitor. For me Catalyst is quite slow to load and then fairly unresponsive when I am in it, and sometimes I load a game then realize I want it stretch as opposed to 1:1 so the monitor option is really useful I find [but certainly not necessary].

[kalniel]

so how do i work out which screen my benq fp91g+ has then

out of interest

It's TN. Check the number of colours, if it's 16.2million, and not 24bit then it's definitely TN. If it's 16.7million, then it's still probably TN, but have a look and see if it's not

[kalniel]

They way I understand it is there are 3 popular types of TFT panels

TN
S-PVA
S-IPS/AS-IPS

Well the technologies are TN, MVA/PVA, and IPS. S-PVA and S-IPS are 'improvements' over the 'non-s' versions that generally make them respond faster and often cheaper to produce.

TN is the most common but also the worst quality ie poor colour and viewing angle. Though do have the highest response times.

Actually they have the lowest response times (presume you meant best).

S-PVA
+ improved colour and viewing angle

-cost
-response time
-brightness

S-IPS/AS-IPS
+ best quality and viewing angle
-poorest response times
-higher price

If you wish to use your monitor for all round role TV, DVD's & games your are better off (in my opinion) of buying a monitor that has a S-PVA or S-IPS panel.

With S-PVA or S-IPS you can defiantly see the difference in quality and difference in response times is not that much.

The difference in response times can be quite noticeable, but this isn't so much of an issue for movies.

The main problem with TN monitors is that they are often made with 6-bit colour panels. This means they can't produce that large a range of colours. Instead the panel dithers between two colours to try and emulate the colour inbetween. While not always noticeable, this can lead to shimmering in some movies etc.

HI-DEF

If you wish to hook up your games console/dvd for high def you need to check it is HDCP compatiable. More information on this can be found here:

I thought HDCP was only for copy right protection - which isn't really enabled yet. Come Vista more things will only be viewable at maximum quality if all your components are HDCP compatible (***** vid card), but for now it's not really a worry - we've yet to see if HDCP will be widely adopted either.

edit: why has the abbreviated form of 'including' (ie the first three letters and a full stop) been censored out??

[alsenior]

edit: why has the abbreviated form of 'including' (ie the first three letters and a full stop) been censored out??

inc.

edit: seems to be working for me

[this_is_gav]

ATI certainly can, although I find it much quicker to switch using the monitor. For me Catalyst is quite slow to load and then fairly unresponsive when I am in it, and sometimes I load a game then realize I want it stretch as opposed to 1:1 so the monitor option is really useful I find [but certainly not necessary].

You don't have to load CCC every time you know? Set it and forget it.

[acrobat]

I've been researching monitors for about 2 years and finally bit the bullet and bought one last week. I've got it now and had a few days to play with it. Its the NEC 20WGX2.

I have to say, I'm amazed. Coming from a 17" CRT its just so much bigger, brighter, clearer images, and basically better in every way.. Its also plenty quick enough for gaming etc, so there is no ghosting and no input lag.

Highly recomended.

[danroyle]

It's TN. Check the number of colours, if it's 16.2million, and not 24bit then it's definitely TN. If it's 16.7million, then it's still probably TN, but have a look and see if it's not

its 16.7 million at 32bit

but he has put poor colour and viewing angle on tn monitors my old digimate was definitely a tn screen but this benq has superb colour is nice and bright and in terms of viewing angle i can see the screen clearly from any where in the room so would say viewing angle is excellent

[mrk]

BenQ FP91G+ 8ms 19" AU Optronics TN Film (M190EN04 V5)

I've been researching monitors for about 2 years and finally bit the bullet and bought one last week. I've got it now and had a few days to play with it. Its the NEC 20WGX2.

I have to say, I'm amazed. Coming from a 17" CRT its just so much bigger, brighter, clearer images, and basically better in every way.. Its also plenty quick enough for gaming etc, so there is no ghosting and no input lag.

Highly recommended.

You won't find any inputlag or ghosting on a any IPS panel (even the rev1 2007WFP which is 16ms has no lag/ghosting, rev2 (A02 onwards) are 8ms)

Here's my writeup of the Dell 2007WFPb (rev a02)



My 2007WFP (I have had two) is currently in it's 1755th hour of usage and I have tested/used many other TFT screens since buying this (previous ownership includes Dell & SOny Trinitron CRTs, LG Flatron CRT, AG Neovo 12ms R12 TFT, Hyundai 5ms 19" widescreen TFT, Samsung 940BW 19" widescreen, Dell & Sony 15" TFT screens on spare pcs, Dell 19" TFT on my works machine).
My work friend has the NEC LCD20WGX2 model (Also IPS panel) and whilst it is a lovely screen the NEC just doesn't cut it due to several flaws:

1) No height adjustment

2) The Opticlear coating used, it's highly glossy and highly annoying when watching movies because blacks are more muted because of it and you have to close curtains/turn off lights when you want to watch a movie or do fine detail work in Photoshop. The glossy coating is very good at bringing out primary colours to life though but this alone will not outweigh the downsides.

3) No HDCP. People can;t say "HDCP" isn't important anymore since GFX cards support it and Vista is out. HDDVD/BRD etc will be requiring HDCP if you intend to watch HD movies in HD resolutions.

4) Many users have complained of bad quality testing (whining noises/backlight issues/randomly not powering on etc etc) see here http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthrea...GX2#post8353786

Apart from the above, the NEC is the only real contender to the Dell 2007WFP. They share the same IPS panel qualities only differing in shell styles and connectivity/features.

I still get "wow" comments when I have friends/family round when they see the quality of photos and videos on this screen

If anyone has any requests or questions about it then feel free to ask!

Also, all my pics of this screen in action can be found here

[excalibur2]

Hi

I just thought I'd write a quick guide for people who are thinking of upgrading their monitor. I am by no means an expert so other people feel free to add or point out any mistakes in my post. I did this research as I was looking into buying a widescreen monitor myself as I am upgrading from a CRT.

The more people that upgrade their monitor from crt, the happier I am, less competition in buying a modern top range 22" flat screen crt cheap to replace my 9 year old 20" Sony trinitron (still pin sharp reading very small text and excellent colours), but why worry about money when you can pickup a Mitsubishi 2040u from £30-£60 for even better quality, just gotta find one going near me for pickup.....erm well I do have the space.

[rektek]

ok, first off here are the 2 types of LCD primary color bit depths:

8 bit: 16.7 million colours
6 bit: 16.2 million colours

sources:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/mult...+bit%20monitor
http://anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2289&p=3
--

u have to be careful cause sometimes manufacturers will use some sort of upscaling or dithering that will "virtually" upgrade the colour count but thats more of a marketing trick than anything that actually improves the image colours.

(most people cant defintirate between 8bit and 6bit lcd colour depth btw)

regarding lcd vs crt, remember that crt will always actually be a more true representation of actual video.
u can really see this if u watch a fast-paste scene (where there is lots of camera panning) in a dvd-movie; a lcd monitor will not be anywhere near as smooth.
lcds however, are much brighter and more pleasing to look at (especially graphics produced in a digital format such as video games, or any software)

--

i just bought a 22" widescreen (MAG fp-2226afw) and its amazing.
wow.
couldnt pass it up since it was only $329 (canadian) on boxing day.
sweet.