Are LDC Monitors 'there'yet?

Question

I a getting all my ideas together for ordering a Dim.9100 and had a question about monitors. I will be using the computer for the usual boring stuff like email and web surfing, but also photo editing, a little spread sheet work, some graphice work, camcorder video editing, and perhaps a game or two down the line. I also watch videos or movies on occasion.   I always heard that for photo editing, go with a CRT (I currently have a 19' Trinitron). Is that still true, or have LCDs progressed to the point where they will be good enough for my uses (good text legibility, good color accuracy, smooth movement) without spending a small fortune? My choices so far are:   Dell UltraSharp 1905FP, UltraSharp 2001FP, or possibly 2005FPW if the screen if the screen height isn't too short.   or...   http://reviews.cnet.com/ThinkVision_C220p/4505-3175_7-30809411.html?tag=pdtl-list   I know the IBM CRT is a big heavy beast, but I have a pretty big desk and I'm guessing it won't take up much more room than my Sony.   Any thoughts on LCDs for graphics/photo and video editing?         Message Edited by Noonin on 08-25-2005 09:19 AM

drew-and-not-u · Answer

I think LCDs are definetly 'there.' Almost all of the problems associated with older LCDs have been eliminated. At this point the digital LCDs look better then most CRTs and are preferred by most people over CRTs for any type of application. They are especially appreciated by users interested in photo and video editing. And with the fast response times in modern LCDs, even gamers have come to love them. I switched from a CRT to a pair of 2005FPWs and I will never look back! hope that helps!

drew-and-not-u · Answer

no way, widescreen is the future. I wouldn't go any other way personally.

reddice · Answer

Don't get the 1905FP because it has a 5:4 aspect ratio. Go for the 2001FP which has a 4:3 aspect ratio. Also don't go for the widescreen because at native everything will be too small.

noonin · Answer

Thanks Drew,

That's good to hear. Eventhough I have the desk space, it would be nice to have something that takes up less of it! One thing I did read on some of Cnet's User Reviews were complaints about brightness being too high with no way to bump it down enough. Do you have this problem, and how's the color accuracy on yours?

Message Edited by Noonin on 08-26-2005 08:08 AM

noonin · Answer

Hi Reddice,

I'm still learning some of the terminology, so bear with me. Are there more than two aspect ratios (standard and Widescreen) and how do you tell, other than the Widescreen which is obvious? How do you know what the screen's native resolution? I looked on Dell's monitor page and all they showed were possible resolutions and Max resolution. Can't I just change resolution to 1024 X 768?

noonin · Answer

How much screen heigth do you sacrifice for the extra wide width? I don't want to have to scroll more top to bottom or bump the resolution to far so I can't read the text.

drew-and-not-u · Answer

The monitor is pretty bright, but you can lower the brightness in the videocard control panel without losing any picture quality (just make sure you lower brightness and not gamma).

As far as aspect ratios, there are 4:3 and 5:4 which are both standard aspect, and then there is 16:9 and 16:10, which are both widescreen aspects. There are other, less common, aspects, but these are the most relevant to LCDs.

To give you an idea, the 20" widescreen is about the same size vertically as the 17" ultrasharp, with about 25 more pixels. The biggest benifet of widescreen is the increased amount of usable realestate and the increased resolution. You can fit two, sometimes three, web pages side-by-side on a widescreen monitor, or have severel different applications running simultaneously. It's also great for DVDs, spreadsheets, and a number of other applications. You can also rotate the screen sideways for long word documents and web pages to reduce the amount of scrolling that would be necessery.

All in all widescreen gives a bit more rewarding experience IMHO. Plus, playing games in widescreen can't be beat!

As far as Dell monitors native resolution, just click on tech specs for each monitor and it should be listed under the flat panel section.

The 17 and 19" Ultrasharps are both 1280x1024.

The 20" Ultrasharp is 1600x1200

The 20" widescreen is 1680x1050

the 24" widescreen is 1920x1200

Message Edited by drew-and-not-u on 08-26-2005 12:54 PM

noonin · Answer

Thanks Drew, that helps...What is the verticle viewable height of your 20' Widescreen? I'm just trying to compare to my Trinitron, which is 11' high X 14 1/2' wide (I run it at 1024 X 768). Also, does a higher native resolution make text smaller? I considered the WS for the ability to view pages side by side as I usually have at least two windows going at once. Message Edited by Noonin on 08-26-2005 11:08 AM

drew-and-not-u · Answer

from the tech specs of the 2005fpw: Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight: 18.6' x 9' x 15.3' to 22.4' / 17.64 lbs   Text will be a bit smaller if you don't adjust the font DPI, which you can do easily to match (since when is the word $uit prohibited?!?! [and yes i know faking a banned word is a TOS violation, but this makes no sense! lol])  your preferences.

Rim Shot · Answer

LCD's have come pretty far as compared to what they were when they first came out, but they still have issues not like that of CRT's. Never did like LCD's but recently bought one and am very happy with it. I wouldn't buy anything from Dell again because of the way they treated me after the sale with my old 4100 desktop. All they did was make me build my own.

You want a top shelf LCD? take a look at NEC's or ViewSonic's top of the line models. ViewSonic's a little faster but I like the video quality better with the NEC when connected via a dvi cable to a good video card.

Keep in mind that the larger you go in size the more the video quality drops off.

noonin · Answer

Thanks Drew,

I don't quite understand those dimensions Dell posts, whether it includes the case or is it the viewable area. What does the viewable part of your 2005FPW, H" X W" . BTW, looks like that system you're running is a BIY (?)

drew-and-not-u · Answer

the diagonal size of LCDs measures only the actualy screen it's self, whereas the diagonal screen size of CRTs measures the case as well. My current system is a BIY, however, it used to be a Dimension 4600. All that's left now are the processor and one of the hard drives. I loved that old 4600, but it just couldn't cut it for me after I learned of overclocking =P hope that helps!

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Are LDC Monitors "there"yet?

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