LCD buying overload, can one point be good enough to forget the rest

I don't own an LCD yet. But I think your approach is EXACTLY what I will do once I decide to go for one. I have seen excellent looking no-name units. And I have seen ho-hum Sonys. As such, I believe very strongly in taking all candidates for a road test.

This is a purchase I would make locally in case there are problems that need to be dealt with right away.

I think the key specs are size, resolution, contrast ratio, brightness, speed, and price, not necessarily in that order. The current battles seem to be waged based on speed. That might be a factor in watching DVDs; the slow-moving or static displays at the store won't give you much idea of how much ghosting you'll get because the display is slow.

Put it this way...

If you see several LCD monitors with a good image, buy the one with the longest warranty.

LCD screens can't be beat for text work (in their native resolutions), as there are no focus or convergence issues. They have other, serious drawbacks, though, such as scaling.

This page may help shed some light on the advantages and disadvantages of LCD:

I don,t trust the printed speed spec,s and it is the most difficult spec to verify physically at a retail outlet where LCD,s are demoed (The spec requires moving images and time to observe). Price is an interesting point that has some unexpected influence for me. As the price of LCD,s drop, people buy them and I know some of those people are replacing CRT monitors. That has made CRT,s available in the used market that are no longer at their end of life cycle. During the last year I have picked up 3 CRT,s for 10 dollars each (size 21" (20"viewable)) at the thrift shop. So the price of CRT,s 21" are almost free. I have seen the top shelf computer stuff show up in thrift shops 10 years from first appearance. I always get my computer wishes, but never on time. I must admit if I had to much money, I would not be worried about buying a LCD. I would have bought a few long ago.

If LCD,s are anything like my laptop for text (14"lcd), Then that is a major good point. I have not seen a CRT where my eye,s don,t have to feel different if I try to study a detail. I use +1 reading glasses for extra comfort if I have them around. But not really needed all the time. LCD,s are like reading with the weak glasses while CRT.s are without. It makes a difference on days that my eyes are not rested or slightly off for other minor reasons that come with living.

Exactly. Go to a store and see the differennt models and what they look like.

But look at it showing what you will be watching. If it is displayed showing a high resolution image it may look better in the store than it will at home.

For example: If you're going to be watching a DVD player connected through an S-Video input, then have them connect it that way at the store to see what it will look like.

If you're going to be using it for certain types of text or graphics computer programs, look at it in the store running similar programs.

Don't base your decision on how good the pretty aquarium screensaver looks on the store shelf.

Then like the others said, if you find several models you like, go with the longest warranty.

Thanks to everyone, yours commits help me to deal with the new LCD world.

I have to say that the dead pixal policy is pretty consistent in the industry until you try to decides if 10 dead pixals on the edge is better or just one pixals in the middle of the screen. How many periods would go untyped is more likely (I had a particle on my laptop that tried to pass for a period and I finally realized that).

The best will be to have a program, used for testing monitors that show the monoscope etc. like NTEST.EXE in a cd. It needs NOT to be installed and is FREE. If the seller permit you to use it you can check by yourself the quality. Look with google for that program or other, more specialized for lcd testing, and familiarize with them. Are very easy to use.

-- ciao, stany

"NN" ha scritto nel messaggio news: snipped-for-privacy@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

The problem with CRTs now is that you may have to pay to dispose of them as hazardous materials.

I've been awfully impressed with the Samsung SyncMaster series. Using one right now, in fact... specifically, the 910t.

It's not the fastest response on the planet, so I wouldn't suggest it for high-end gaming, but its contrast and color are both pretty amazing.

Happy hunting.