LCD CRT Monitors - News and Monitor (LCD CRT) Reviews
As always, your first thought should not be what monitor, but how – and to what – you are going t...
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As always, your first thought should not be what monitor, but how – and to what – you are going to use your new monitor. It was not so long ago as we all sat with a bulky 14 inch CRT-monitor, today a flat and mostly rather large screen is far more common – often also with a widescreen format. So today we can choose freely between sizes and formats without having to consider the price too much. As the technical development has been very fast, there are many older monitors with outdated technology available at really low prices. Beware of them, even if they costed a fortune then, they are probably not as good as a newer, cheaper monitor today.
Screen resolution must of course be compatible with your computer and if you want high picture quality make sure that the dot pitch is as small as possible. If you are a gamer you should pay particular interest to the response time; how fast the screen is updated (max 16ms), photo enthusiasts should buy a screen with versatile possibilities to adjust picture and color settings. Movie fans should without any doubt buy a widescreen and check contrast values. An important issue for all monitors is how well the screen performs in daylight. Many screens show excellent picture quality when the room is dark, but not always in daylight. Another problem that is to be considered is viewing angle: on some monitors, especially older models, it can be a problem.
What connections do you need? The days when a monitor just had a “monitor connection” is over. Today we have lots of other possibilities, digital picture and sound connections are just a few choices you have to make. If you want to connect it to a music or surround sound system you need to have the right connections. Many monitors also offer features other than picture, and it is not unusual that they have built-in speakers. But as they mostly are of inferior quality, go for separate speakers. Another feature often included is a USB hub which could be convenient, for example, if your computer is placed under the table. More important though is something far more “unsexy”: the stand of the monitor; it decides height and reclining of the monitor. If not correctly adjusted that might give you some ergonomically problems like neck, arm or shoulder pain. And at the same time that you check the ergonomics you might take the time to adjust the picture with a monitor calibrating tool.
After deciding which monitors to choose between, read tests of interesting models and compare them with same photos or videos so that you compare them with the same source. And as always, the picture quality you see on the screen is more important than data sheets.
TIP:
Get a TV card to your computer and the monitor doubles as a TV set in your home office.