how to buy the perfect lcd monitor.docx
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how to buy the perfect lcd monitor.docx
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howtobuytheperfectlcdmonitor
Readytotaketheplungeandupgradeyourboxycomputermonitortoaflatpanel,orperhapsyou’restillusinganolderLCDandarereadyforamonsterpanel?
Here’swhatyouneedtoknow.
First,whyLCD?
Alotofpeopledon’tputmuchthoughtintotheirchoiceofcomputermonitor,especiallysincetheirlifespanismuchlongerthanthatofthePC,andthereforetheycanberecycledfromanoldPCtoanewone.
Buttherealityisthatanmonitorisyourprimaryinterfacetothecomputer,andagoodmonitorcanmakeahugedifferenceinyourenjoymentofusingthePC.OlderCRTmonitorshaveaflickercausedthescanningcathoderaygunfacingtheglassscreen,andatlowerrefreshrates,cancausesignificanteyestrain.
LCDmonitorsdon’thavethisproblem,sincethereisnoscanningcathoderaygun,butrather,apanelofliquidcrystalcellsspreadoutinamatrixformationthatareconstantlyupdated.Theyalsodon’tgenerallycausetheglareproblemsthatCRTmonitorscaused.
They’realsoconsiderablymoreenergyefficientthanCRTmonitors,whichwillcutyourpowerbillandhelpyoucombatglobalwarmingbyminimisingcarbonemissionsmadeonyourbehalf.
Overviewoffeaturestolookfor
ManypeoplechooseLCDmonitorsonpricealone,andwhilethisisaperfectlyvalidbuyingstrategyforpeopleonabudget,it’sworthconsideringifthereareanyspecificfeaturesthatwouldsuitthemainusageofthemonitor.
Forexample,gamerswillbenefitfrompayingalittlemoretogetanLCDdisplaywithanultra-fastscreenrefreshrate.Thisisthenumberofmillisecondsthepaneltakestotransitionfromshowingablackpixelonthescreentoamid-greyorwhiteone.It’sanimportantmeasurebecauseitdetermineswhetherapanelisresponsiveenoughtodisplayfastactionwithoutmotionblur.
GeneralhomeusersmayalsobenefitfromlookingforamonitorwithinbuiltspeakersandaUSBhubforeasyconnectionofextraperipheralswithouthavingtoreacharoundtothebackofthePC.Besuretheseextrasdon’tcostmorethanthepriceofbuyingthemseparatelytothemonitor,though.
Digitalphotographyenthusiastswillbenefitfromamonitorthathasaninbuiltmulti-formatcardreaderthatcanbeusedtoquicklydownloadpicturesfromacameramemorycardtothePC,orevendisplaythemdirectlyonthemonitorwithouthavingtoloadanythingonthePC.
HighdefinitionmoviefanswillwanttolookforamonitorthathasexcellentcontrolsforadjustingthepropertiesoftheLCDpanel–brightness,colour,geometryandsoon.They’llalsowanttoensurethepanelprovidesatleasttheresolutionofhighdefinitionmoviesat1920×1080pixels,andthatitcanconnecttotheircomputerdigitallyviaeitherDVIorHDMI.
Businessuserswillwanttocheckthewarrantyoptionsonthemonitortominimisedowntimeifthemonitorfails.Somebrandsofferanon-sitewarrantywhereanewmonitorwillbedeliveredbycourierandswappedoveronthespotforthefaultyone.
Widescreenorstandard?
LCDmonitorsintroducethechoiceofwidescreen,cinema-styledisplays,orstandard4:
3ratioscreens.“4:
3”meansthescreenis4unitswideand3unitstall,orputanotherway,thewidthisfourthirdsoftheheight.
WidescreendisplaysarebecomingmorepopularbecauseoftheirabilitytodisplaymoviesandTVshowswithoutfatblackbarsatthetopandbottom.They’realsogoodforrunningWindowsVistaonbecausetheVistasidebar(whichdisplayshandyinformationalgadgets)sitsattherightofthescreenandcancrowdastandard4:
3sizescreen.
Standardmonitorswitha4:
3pictureratioarebetterforwordprocessingandotherdocumenttypetasksthatrequireverticalheightonthescreen.However,asnotedabove,ifyouplantorunVista,it’sworthgettingawidescreenmonitoranywayandusingtheextrawidthfortheVistasidebar.
Whatsizedoyouneed?
Witholder-styleCRTmonitors,sizewassomewhatdeterminedbytheweightofthemonitor.Thebiggerthegot,theheavierandmoredifficulttomovetheywere,andasaresultmostpeoplenevergotalargermonitorthanabout21”.Now,withthelightweightofflat-panelmonitors,it’spossibletogoaslargeas30”andstillbeabletomovehousewithoutgettingspecialistremovalistsin.
Atthetimeofwriting,the‘sweetspot’inLCDmonitorpricingwasatthe19”size.21”monitorsjumpupinpricetooverthreetimesthecostofa19”monitor.
However,that’snottosayyoushouldgofor19”–21”andabovegivesasatisfyinglyenormousdesktoptoworkwith,andthatroomtomovecantransformcomputingfrombeingamundaneofficetasktosomethingtrulyenjoyable.
Astheysay,though,it’snotthesizethatmatters–it’swhatyoudowithit.Whatyoucandowithitdependsverymuchontheresolution(numberofpixelsabletobeshown)onthedisplay.Ingeneral,thelargerthepanel,thelargernumberofpixelsitcandisplay.Forexample,a21”monitorwilltypicallybeabletodisplay1680×1050px,whilea19”onemayonlybeabletodisplay1440×900or1280×1024.
Togetapanelcapableofshowinghighdefinitionmoviesatfullresolution,you’llneedatleasta24”panel.Thesetypicallyhavearesolutionof1920×1200px–slightlylargerthanthe1920×1080resolutionneededtodisplayHD-DVDsandBluRaymovies.
Connectors
LCDmonitorscomewithavarietyofconnectors,soit’simportanttogetonethatmatchestheconnectoronyourcomputer.Themaintypesare:
·VGA:
theoldstyleanaloguevideoconnectordesignedtobeusedwithCRTmonitors.ManyLCDpanelsincludethistypeofconnectorforcompatibilitywitholdPCs,butit’snotideal,asthesignalhastobeconvertedfromanaloguetodigitalinthemonitor,andthismayresultinpicturesthatarenotperfectlysharp.IfyouareplanningtouseanLCDmonitorwithaVGAconnection,makesureithasanauto-adjustfunctionwhichcanautomaticallysensethebestsettings.
·DVI:
thenewerdigitalvideointerfaceconnectorwhichcarriessignalsinafullydigitalformatfromyourcomputer’svideocardtothemonitor.Unfortunately,it’snotfastenoughtofeedtheverylargestmonitorswithpixeldatafastenough,requiringtheuseoftwoDVIcablesoraDVIdual-linkcableatonce.(Seenotebelow.)
·HDMI:
thelatestdigitalconnectordesignedforuseinhigh-definitionhometheatreenvironments.Ithasenoughbandwidthtocarryveryhigh-definitionsignalsoverasinglecable,howevernotmanycomputervideocardsprovidethisasanoutputoption–yet.
Theproblemwithreallylargemonitors,suchasthe30”monsters,isthattheyrequireaspecialvideocardandcableswhichmayaddconsiderablytothecostofyoursetup.Thisisbecausethedesignofthedigitalvideointerface(DVI)connectorisn’tcapableofcarryingsignalstofeedpixelstosuchalargedisplayfastenough.Asaresult,youneedavideocardcapableofa“DVIdual-link”connection,whichusestwoseparatevideoprocessingchipsandDVIconnections,mouldedintoonecable.
Ifyouhaveareasonablynewcomputerwithamid-rangevideocard,itmayalreadybeDVIdual-linkcapable.AskyourretailerforassistanceinidentifyingwhetheryourPCisdual-linkcapableifyou’reinterestedinusingalargemonitor.ThisproblemdoesnotaffectmonitorsusinganHDMIconnection,however,videocardswithHDMIonthemwererareatthetimeofwriting.
Notebookusers,particularly,mayhaveproblemsconnectingtoverylargemonitorsbecausethey’reonlyabletoworkwiththevideocapabilitiesbuiltintotheirnotebook.AppleMacBookProcomewithdual-linkDVIconnectorsincluded,sotheycandrivethelargestmonitorswithnoproblems.
WillitworkwithyourPC/Mac?
Theshortanswerisyes–monitorsdonotrequireoperatingsystemdriverstowork.Youcanjustplugtheminandtheyshouldwork.
Thelongeransweristhatit’salittlemorecomplicatedthanthatinreallife.Yourvideocardmustbeabletoconnecttothemonitor,asmentionedabove,andsomemonitorsdocomewithhandysoftwarethatallowsyouroperatingsystemtocalibrateitscoloursettingstothemonitor’scapabilities.
Ifyouwanttobesurebeforebuyingamonitor,thebestwaytocheckifitwillworkwithyouroperatingsystemistodoaGooglesearchforreportsfromotherusersonhowamonitorworkedwiththeirsystem.
Warranty
LCDmonitorsdohaveonemajortechnologyproblem:
thepossibilityofoneormorepixelsbecoming“stuck”or“dead”,meaningthatitwillalwaysshowabrightwhiteorblackspotsomewhereonyourscreen.
Beforebuyingadisplay,checkwhatthemanufacturer’s“deadorstuckpixelpolicy”is.Makesureyouhaveitinwritingandprintedout,becausethereisoftenconfusionbetweenretailers,themanufacturerandthedistributoronthefinedetailofthepolicy.(Somemanufacturerssaythattheywon’treplaceapanelunlesstherearemorethanfivestuckpixels,forexample,whileotherswillhaveadifferentpolicyforstuckpixelsvsdeadpixels.)
Alsocheckifthereisanearly-lifefailurepolicy–forexample,ifthemonitordevelopsadeadorstuckpixelwithinthefirst14daysofusage,thatyoucanbringitbacktotheshopandgetaswapoverstraightawayratherthanhavingtogothroughamoreextendedwarrantyreturnprocess.
Ifyoucan,gettheretailertoopenupanddemonstratethemonitorworkingtoyoubeforeyouleavetheshop,socancheckitfordead/stuckpixels.Inreality,mostshopswon’tbewillingtodothis,whichiswhythewarrantyissoimportant.
Asnotedathestartofthearticle,somebrandsevenofferanon-sitewarrantywhereacourierwilldropoffanewmonitortoyouandpickupyourfailedone,forultimateconvenience.
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