Help me pick a display!

A

asyncd

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Jul 10, 2004
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Hello everybody!

I'm in the market for a new display to replace my 21" NEC CRT. This CRT has served me well for the past 6 years but I'm looking to move on.

I'm in the market for a new LCD. I'm an idiot when it comes to these displays and I don't really know what all the technical terms mean. If anybody can make some recommendations based on what I'm looking for below, please respond. Thanks!

1. I don't want to spend over $700.00
2. I'm looking for something fairly large.
3. I would like to be able to hook up a DVD player or XBOX to the display.
4. I play the occassional game (not hardcore) but I do like FPS and am a seasonal MMORPG player.

Now, I did find a 28" (HG-281DPB) but frankly I don't know what to think because some people LOVE this display while other people think it's total crap. From what I have researched, it is a TN display and this is the worst TFT technology out there.

Based on the above 4 requirements, what do you all suggest? Thanks for your time.
 
I suggest you buy a panel at a Best Buy or some other retail store, where you can return it without a resocking penalty.

You will probably get a VA or TN based panel first, if you just pick one, see what you think about using them. If the viewing angles and color shifting does not bother you with them, you will be set.

If however you are picky about the screen looking the same all over as you sit infront of it, you will need to find an IPS panel. In which case you may need to spend a little more for a panel above 20". You will want one with at least a 16ms response time.

You may not notice the issues with VA based panels and dark images, in which case it will be easy for you to find a monitor at that price. VA panels have more detail in dark areas when view at horizontal angles, which in effect makes the area bieng viewed head on darker than the surrounding image. This is not easy to ignore if you are viewing dark images of any kind.

TN panels have a similiar effect when viewed at verticle angles, the top of the panel will appear darker than the bottom. Easier to ignore than VA's "dark patch", but very hard to ignore in certain situations, like 3d gaming where you change camera angles vertically.

A 23" Apple Cinema Display is IPS and can be had for around $800 online. Other than that, you will need to go used/ refurb or push your budget up to $1K+ for a larger model.
 
The TN panel issue can be fixed by adjusting the tilt of the panel, you will notice if you tilt it down then the black levels are even. Only thing is that I don't like my monitors tilted down and like them tilted slightly back so have to live with the uneven black level. My first Samsung LCD came with a prog just for this issue and it displayed a dark image where you could easily see the black levels from top to bottom and it told you to tilt the screen until it was even. That is why some LCD HDTV's come with no tilt option and the panel is fixed at a slightly tilted down angle. There are even a few computer LCD's that do that too.

If you want an LCD for gaming then your best option is a TN panel as they are the fastest. My Samsung 226bw is the fastest you can get at 2ms and is great for gaming but it is only 22" so not big enough for you. The other panels may have better black quality but they are not really fast enough for gaming on. If you want a fast gaming LCD then compromises have to have to be made.
 
Thanks for the replies. After reading the information provided and after doing some research I don't think the HannsG screen is going to be for me. However, I did find an LG 24" that I think might be better for me overall. The model number is L245WP-BN. I have read several personal reviews and saw some good action shots.

All in all, I think I'm going to have to go down to severa local eletronics stores and look at all of these in person. I don't really want to buy online and risk having to spend large amounts of money for RMAs.

For the people who purchased their monitors by actually going to a stores, is it out of line to tell them you want to test it to make sure everything is kosher because of the amount of money your are spending there? I would hate to have to unbox it, hook it up, and find problems and have to rebox it and take it back to exchange it.

Also, if you have any personal experiences with this model L245WP-BN, I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
 
There's a thread for the L246WP-BN here.
Many people use them... I bought one last week and using it now.

I'm not great at reviewing monitors. I'm really picky about my displays, and imo the LG is flawless. I believe it has some scaling problems if you try to use it for video game consoles, though.
 
asyncd said:
Thanks for the replies. After reading the information provided and after doing some research I don't think the HannsG screen is going to be for me. However, I did find an LG 24" that I think might be better for me overall. The model number is L245WP-BN. I have read several personal reviews and saw some good action shots.

All in all, I think I'm going to have to go down to severa local eletronics stores and look at all of these in person. I don't really want to buy online and risk having to spend large amounts of money for RMAs.

For the people who purchased their monitors by actually going to a stores, is it out of line to tell them you want to test it to make sure everything is kosher because of the amount of money your are spending there? I would hate to have to unbox it, hook it up, and find problems and have to rebox it and take it back to exchange it.

Also, if you have any personal experiences with this model L245WP-BN, I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Of course it's not out of line. If they want to sell their expensive monitor, the better damn well be willing to help you test it for how you want to use it.
 
Well I went and purchased an L246WP-BN. I picked it up at a local Best Buy close to my house. They had 1 left in stock. I'm happy to report that there is not 1 dead or stuck pixel on this LCD.

So far I am loving this thing. I have it hooked up to the PC using the DVI to HDMI cable and it works just fine. The monitor has three inputs (Component, HDMI, and RGB.) I'll be hooking it up to a DVD player via RGB to see how it looks.

All in all I am happy with this screen. It was a tad bright out of the box and after a bit of an adjustment I have it to where I like it.

Thanks again for the help. Here are some pics of the screen. They aren't that great cause my digital camera is ancient.

lcd1.JPG

lcd2.JPG

lcd3.JPG

lcd4.JPG

lcd5.JPG
 
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