stlouislouis - 5:07 pm on Nov 17, 2002 (gmt 0)

Hi,

I looked into getting an LCD recently. I'll share a few factors I discovered:

First, as some have mentioned, it appears LCDs still don't match CRTs for accurate color work.

Second, there are two types of LCDs. Analog and digital. Digital is referred to as DVI. The key is what does your video card put out? Does it only have analog (i.e. regular CRT) connectors, or does it have a DVI-out connector. I think the DVI out connectors differ in appearance from regular analog CRT connectors by being rectangular and having square holes for the monitor pins, rather than having round holes for the monitor pins as an analog one has.

Folks say the DVI, i.e. video card with DVI connector and a digital (i.e. DVI) LCD monitor setup is superior to analog video card to analog LCD setup. I personally don't know, but thats what others say.

Third, LCDs are manufactured with a given resolution in mind. So, be sure you like using the resolution the LCD is manufactured to be used at. If you use another resolution, the picture (esp. text) will most likely not be as sharp to your eyes.

There is one exception to this. That's where the manufacturer's suggested resolution is an exact geometrical multiple of another resolution you might want to use. For instance, if you get an LCD that's made for 1600x1200 resolution, it will be just as sharp at 800x600, because 1600x1200 shows *exactly* four times as many pixels on the screen as a monitor set at 800x600.

This is what made me decide against LCDs for now. I like being able to change the resolution on my monitor with each resolution being just as sharp as any other. CRTs have no problem doing so. LCDs are manufactured such that this just isn't possible. One resolution works best, others are not so sharp.

Fourth, there is the issue of dead pixels. Various manufacturer's and stores have different policies on how many dead pixels you must have on the LCD before they will replace it under warranty. Note that even if you don't have a dead pixel, you can still have dead red, blue or green components to individual pixels.

Fifth, there is also the issue of how fast the pixels/image is refreshed on the screen. LCDs are slower than CRTs at present. I don't play games, but for those that do, this is a major issue. Might come into play with watching some video playback, too.

Sixth, there is the issue of what other features come with each LCD monitor. Everything from USB ports to how much and in what direction it swivels.

I'm no expert on this kind of stuff, but these are factors I uncovered. Hope it helps.

Take care,

Louis