What's going on in the world of LCD computer monitors?

Handruin

Handruin

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I've been reading different websites and haven't seen anything big coming up for monitors/LCD's in the market. It looks like LED back lighting might be the newest mainstream technology on the way up, but even that isn't widely spread out just yet.

I've been looking for a decent 24" LCD monitor but it seems like most of them are plagued with different issues such as lag or bad color variation on angles with a VA panel.

What's the better panel technology, MVA, PVA, S-PVA, IPS, S-IPS, H-IPS? TN seems to be the cheapo solution right now and still has its place for less expensive monitors, right? I've read the S-IPS variations are the ones to buy right now, but it doesn't seem 100% clear. Some of the issues with them seem to come from the scaling processor causing a lot of input lag.

What do you guys use for computer monitors (not make-shift TV's a computer monitors). What have you been wanting for a monitor that exists today or will soon exist? I'd like to find a nice 24" LCD monitor without lots of lag issues and color variations and slight angles.
 
LunarMist

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It sucks now. :( I have not been able to find anything I like better than a nearly 4-year old display that is starting to die. $3000 and nearly another $5000 and then rejected. I gave up for a while.
 
LunarMist

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In the 24" size, the NEC LCD2490WUXi or displays with the same panel are probably the best for 2D. It has better angular uniformity than the larger displays.
 
Mercutio

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My monitors that aren't TVs are Dell 22", 24" and 27" screens. None of them are TN panels (even the 22", which surprised me since it was so inexpensive). I believe they're all mid-grade sorts of displays. I don't notice any issues with color fidelity, but of course my needs aren't geared to image editing, either.
 
Handruin

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So it's not just me that is unenthusiastic about the current offerings? I'm guessing your needs are probably more stringent than mine for the work you do with photography. I don't need that high of a level of color reproduction, although it would be nice if there was decent monitor offerings.

I'm still using my Dell 2001FP that I bought in 2004...and it's fine, I have no issue, but I'd like a larger display area.
 
Handruin

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LunarMist said:
In the 24" size, the NEC LCD2490WUXi or displays with the same panel are probably the best for 2D. It has better angular uniformity than the larger displays.
Click to expand...

Wow, the NEC 2490WUXi is expensive for that size at ~$1000. I'm surprised at its 76% Adobe RGB color space, 0,27mm dot pitch for that price. People seem to love it for photo and graphic work. That's a bit pricey for what I'm looking for.
 
LunarMist

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I don't care so much about color accuracy. However, local brightness uniformity, viewing angle effects, grayscale gradation, and contrast at reasonable brightness levels (120 not a crazy 400-500) are problematic.
 
Handruin

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Mercutio said:
My monitors that aren't TVs are Dell 22", 24" and 27" screens. None of them are TN panels (even the 22", which surprised me since it was so inexpensive). I believe they're all mid-grade sorts of displays. I don't notice any issues with color fidelity, but of course my needs aren't geared to image editing, either.
Click to expand...

Which Dell 24" do you have? Is it the older 2405 or the newer 2407/2408?
 
LunarMist

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Handruin said:
Wow, the NEC 2490WUXi is expensive for that size at ~$1000. I'm surprised at its 76% Adobe RGB color space, 0,27mm dot pitch for that price. People seem to love it for photo and graphic work. That's a bit pricey for what I'm looking for.
Click to expand...

I don't have the 24", but I know a few users that I trust on that one. I'm not sure how important the gamut is to you. One of the overpriced 30" displays I bought had an insanely large gamut, but did not map all that well to printed output.
 
LiamC

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From best to worst:
*IPS -> *VA -> TN

Except for some super expensive panel, Anything under 24" is TN. Most 24" are TN as well.

TN can be adequate, depends on your needs.

Don't get hung up on colour gamut, response times, dot pitch or any other single metric. It is a series of trade-offs. Identify what you are going to use the panel for first. Be honest.

Must reads:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y
Gives a nice break down of the pros and cons of various panels and what they are good for. Makes recommendations.
Go to X-Bit and read their LCD reviews, their comparison articles are good.

FWIW, I just picked up a 22" Samsung T220R is 1680 x 1050, because I wanted larger icons/text. For a TN panel it is very good, but the colour accuracy is nowhere near as good as a five year old Samsung 910T (MVA matrix).
 
Handruin

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It's also possible I don't (yet) know enough about what's more important in a good monitor. Having a wide gamut seemed like a good feature in a monitor. For example the Dell 3007WFP is close to the price of that NEC you mentioned and it offers 92% gamut of NTSC. I can't find how that compares to Adobe RGB, but maybe the point is moot.

Liam, here are my priorities/needs of a monitor in order of most to least:

  1. Basic Web/internet browsing
  2. Photo/Graphics
  3. Gaming
  4. Programing/Coding
 
Handruin

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LiamC

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Handruin said:
Thanks for the good link. The NEC MultiSync LCD2490WUXi-BK that Lunar mentioned is near the top of the list is most of their 'usage' categories.
Click to expand...

That's what I like about this place--everyone's helpful.

The NEC *Uxi's are awesome, but so is the price :(
 
Bozo

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I recently bought a 24" LG lcd (dammed if I can remember the model) that listed under $600 (????)
 
MaxBurn

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I'm thinking the real sweetspot isn't in monitors at all but the smaller (32ish) 1080P LCD TV's. They are well under a grand and while they aren't the highest resolution they really make a pleasant work desk. You can set the monitor way back on the desk and see everything just fine with no eyestrain. I don't mind the wide screen layout as much as I thought I would because you never need to scroll anything sideways with this and vertical scrolling is easier than side scrolling anyway.
 
MaxBurn

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Yeah it's worth saying twice, I have had a 32" Samsung here for about four months now and it is fantastic. I also work from home and spend like 10 hours a day in front of this thing too so totally worth it for me.
 
Santilli

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I just had a Samsung 22.5" develop a nice, bright, 2 inch green line. Took it back, and got a 2233. It was nearly 100 dollars cheaper, brighter, and I think it maybe a little bigger. The resolution is far higher, which might or might not be a good thing.
 
LiamC

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Dell have got a 22" e-IPS display 2209WA and it seems it can be had for a little over US$200. People seem so happy with it, I'm going to buy one in AUS. That's the cheapest IPS panel I've seen...

Note: e-IPS is an LG derivative of 1st/2nd generation IPS, so it's not S-IPS or A-IPS :( but nevertheless it has all the IPS strengths--Wide viewing angles, excellent colour reproduction
 
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