CRT vs LCD - Some questions

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Lazarey

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Dec 17, 2006
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I went into Dallas to look at LCDs yesterday and first I went to the Dell store (not a kiosk). The 2007FP I was interested in had Vista running on it and they couldn't seem to figure out how to set it at 1600 x 1200 so I couldn't make a good judgement on it.

Then I went to Circuit City to look at the Samsung 971P. I liked it better then the other 19" LCDs but it didn't look as crisp as my CRT (Compaq P110 someone gave me, don't know much about it, has some problems).

Then I went to CompUSA and also looked at the 971P. I had them hooked it up to an Acer PC so I could see how it looked through a DVI connection. Looked a little better then it did on VGA but still not what I expected from the great LCD technology I hear so much about.
Everything looked bigger on the 971P then it does on my CRT. They are both set at 1280 x 1024. Why is this?

I want a monitor that has good colors because I will be using it for photo editing. I'll also be using it for internet a lot. I might play a few games on it every now and then, but that's not important because I mostly play games on my Xbox. My price range is around $400. Should I get a CRT or is there some wonderful LCD that I haven't discovered yet?

If you think I should get a CRT, please suggest one! The same goes for LCD!

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

P.S.
Whatever monitor I get will be used with the computer in my signature.
 
Are you looking for widescreen? LG and Samsung just launched their new widescreen lines, they look sharp, but hard to find reviews.

with $400 you could get the sammy 225BW, typically doesnt have to many problems,

i just read an article on a different thread(i'll try to find it and post) about how it is nearly impossible to find a really good CRT, it said that they just quit making the quality parts

i would say to deff. go with an LCD, since i switched i will never go back
 
well, then my sugg. is to look into the samsung new 226BW, or the older 225bw the 225 runs at $360 on the egg

my other sugg. is LGs new LCD, the LG L226WT, the only prob. with this is that there are no reviews...yet, but if you search [H]ard there is a 9+ page thread about it.
 
LCD's are more crisp. You are going to get sharper text on an LCD, period. CRT's are better with color and contrast. CRT's won't have color shifting or dithering, and you'll have real blacks.

I'm using both a CRT and an LCD side by side. There is no question that the LCD produces a sharper image, though the CRT is no slouch. For gaming, there is no comparison, the CRT blows the Gateway S-PVA 2185W away in terms of contrast. Contrast makes or breaks any title that has dark areas (any stealth action game, any game with caves/dungeons, night scenes like NFS: Carbon).

As a graphics designer myself, I recommend that you keep a CRT handy, even if you go with LCD. The extra viewing space on a 24" or larger LCD, and the perfect geometry through DVI, is extremely desirable for a graphics professional. However, the LCD is likely to have banding in gradients, less than perfect colors and poor contrast, so its good to have a CRT available to double-check all that. If you're staying around 20", a Trinitron would be a better choice than an LCD, but its hard to find one that's not already worn out.
 
Lazarey said:
Everything looked bigger on the 971P then it does on my CRT. They are both set at 1280 x 1024. Why is this?
Click to expand...

Firstly, the 971P is a 19" LCD, which is about 1" larger than a 19" CRT, so that's why everything looks bigger. Secondly, you shouldn't even be running 1280x1024 on a CRT. That's 5:4 ratio, for most 19" LCD's. CRT's are 4:3. Your CRT needs to be on 1280x960.
 
Scyles said:
LCD's are more crisp. You are going to get sharper text on an LCD, period. CRT's are better with color and contrast. CRT's won't have color shifting or dithering, and you'll have real blacks.

I'm using both a CRT and an LCD side by side. There is no question that the LCD produces a sharper image, though the CRT is no slouch. For gaming, there is no comparison, the CRT blows the Gateway S-PVA 2185W away in terms of contrast. Contrast makes or breaks any title that has dark areas (any stealth action game, any game with caves/dungeons, night scenes like NFS: Carbon).

As a graphics designer myself, I recommend that you keep a CRT handy, even if you go with LCD. The extra viewing space on a 24" or larger LCD, and the perfect geometry through DVI, is extremely desirable for a graphics professional. However, the LCD is likely to have banding in gradients, less than perfect colors and poor contrast, so its good to have a CRT available to double-check all that. If you're staying around 20", a Trinitron would be a better choice than an LCD, but its hard to find one that's not already worn out.
Click to expand...

The text on the LCDs I saw was not as sharp as on my CRT. Perhaps I do not know what sharp is... The letters on the LCDs looked bigger and a little more pixelated (don't know if that's a word). I accept that from the Dell 2007FP because I could tell that they didn't have it set at the native res. I personally set the resolution on the Samsung 971P to 1280 x 1024 and the text was still big and blocky.

I really need to find someone that owns a nice LCD so I can make a better judgement then looking at the ones in stores :D. Unfortunately I don't know anyone that fits that bill.
 
A sharp image is pixellated, or grainy. Its also accurate. CRT's tend to blur the edges, giving things an anti-aliased look which can look more pleasant to the eye, at times. Its easier to read sharp text. Its nicer to see anti-aliased video games. So, you can see the strengths and weaknesses of both technologies.

A lot of times, ClearType will be on by default when you look at store demos. ClearType smooths the edges of text, which makes it more pleasant to look at, to some people. Personally, I hate ClearType with blazing fury. I like my text to be so sharp that it could cut me if I were to skip over a word whilst reading.
 
Scyles said:
A sharp image is pixellated, or grainy. Its also accurate. CRT's tend to blur the edges, giving things an anti-aliased look which can look more pleasant to the eye, at times. Its easier to read sharp text. Its nicer to see anti-aliased video games. So, you can see the strengths and weaknesses of both technologies.

A lot of times, ClearType will be on by default when you look at store demos. ClearType smooths the edges of text, which makes it more pleasant to look at, to some people. Personally, I hate ClearType with blazing fury.
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll keep that in mind.

I like my text to be so sharp that it could cut me if I were to skip over a word whilst reading.
Click to expand...

LOL :D
 
Lazarey said:
The text on the LCDs I saw was not as sharp as on my CRT. Perhaps I do not know what sharp is... The letters on the LCDs looked bigger and a little more pixelated (don't know if that's a word). I accept that from the Dell 2007FP because I could tell that they didn't have it set at the native res. I personally set the resolution on the Samsung 971P to 1280 x 1024 and the text was still big and blocky.
Click to expand...
It`s pixel pitch.... P110 has a pixel pitch of 0.25mm while the 19inch 1280x1024 monitors have 0.297 thus more obvious screen door effect/blocky pixel. Dell 2007fp, 2007wfp and 3007wfp/hc have around 0.25mm pixels..
 
Askanison said:
It`s pixel pitch.... P110 has a pixel pitch of 0.25mm while the 19inch 1280x1024 monitors have 0.297 thus more obvious screen door effect/blocky pixel. Dell 2007fp, 2007wfp and 3007wfp/hc have around 0.25mm pixels..
Click to expand...

Thanks for telling me! So those Dells would look more like my CRT?
 
BIGJ said:
with $400 you could get the sammy 225BW, typically doesnt have to many problems,
Click to expand...

I just bought the 225BW yesterday at Office Max. It was on sale for 350 bucks, but the sale did end on Saturday. I'm really liking it, compared to my old monitor, which was a Samsung SyncMaster 955DF CRT. I still have to mess with the settings, and tweak it so it looks even better, but it's already much nicer then my old monitor. Though it helps when your old monitor is getting old and the text is starting to get fuzzy. The 225BW looks great, and I'm liking the 1680x1050 native resolution, which looks great. Once I set my CRT to anything above 1280x960, it looks horrible.
 
Which one will you get:
Sony FW900 or NEC 2690?
I am a photographer so I need a monitor that produces the best color but I also play games and watch movies a lot!!

I need to upgrade my monitor asap, which one should I get? will NEC 2690 be able to produce black level as nice as FW900?

Thanks:eek:
 
santodx5 said:
Which one will you get:
I need to upgrade my monitor asap, which one should I get? will NEC 2690 be able to produce black level as nice as FW900?
Click to expand...

Nowhere near. Not even in the same ball park, but that goes for any LCD. The NEC 2690 has a good contrast ratio for an LCD.

That said, you should get the NEC 2690 over the FW900 because the absolute newest FW900 was created in 2004. If you were to buy today, you'd likely get a 4-8 year old FW900 and CRT's may not age so well past the 5 year mark.

26" viewable is a good deal bigger than 22.5" viewable as well.
 
if you are saying that CRT black level will be superior to LCD, then I am not getting a LCD. I have never used a LCD before, I was always a CRT guy.

Any other comments?
 
Scyles said:
Firstly, the 971P is a 19" LCD, which is about 1" larger than a 19" CRT, so that's why everything looks bigger. Secondly, you shouldn't even be running 1280x1024 on a CRT. That's 5:4 ratio, for most 19" LCD's. CRT's are 4:3. Your CRT needs to be on 1280x960.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't notice that you posted this until this morning.

My CRT is a 21" with 19.8" viewable.
 
BIGJ said:
well, then my sugg. is to look into the samsung new 226BW, or the older 225bw the 225 runs at $360 on the egg

my other sugg. is LGs new LCD, the LG L226WT, the only prob. with this is that there are no reviews...yet, but if you search [H]ard there is a 9+ page thread about it.
Click to expand...

is there a thread on that 226BW or any info anywhere at all
 
yea, the thread name is Samsung 226BW 22": 3000:1 Contrast, 2ms response time "sorry i dont know how to do links" :(
 
santodx5 said:
if you are saying that CRT black level will be superior to LCD, then I am not getting a LCD. I have never used a LCD before, I was always a CRT guy.

Any other comments?
Click to expand...

Check out accurateit.com. Supposedly, they have some unused Trinitron CRT's still. LCD contrast is awful, even in comparison to DLP and plasma. The 3000:1 ratio Samsung mentioned in this thread is going to be a 1000:1 TN panel with a dynamic backlight.
 
I have a 20WMGX2 LCD and FW900 side by side and can honestly tell you if you're concerned about black levels then steer clear of LCDs, its my biggest gripe when comparing the two monitors.
 
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