CRT VS LCD: The pros of each.

[VIAN]

I'm trying to gather only the positive things one technology has over the other. Not indirect positive things such as LCD is better for your eyes. This is due to the LCD not flickering. I'll update it periodically.

Think about both of these technologies, CRT & LCD, each have drawbacks or annoyances, but to make a correct decision, one has to choose which features they like best of each technology and decide if they can give up those features that are positive in the other technology.


CRT has better color reproduction.
CRT doesn?t ghost.
CRT has better contrast.
CRT is cheaper.
CRT has better viewing angles.
CRT has more possibility of less defects out of box.
CRT has better resolution scaling.
CRT looks better with Vsync disabled.
CRT displays it's image through a more transparent medium (glass not plastic).
CRT potential to last longer.

LCD is easier to transport.
LCD allows for more desk space.
LCD has a sharper image.
LCD consumes less power.
LCD doesn?t flicker.
LCD puts out less radiation.
LCD has less glare.
LCD puts out less heat.
LCD has perfect Geometry.
LCD doesn't need to be recalibrated.

 

[BenSkywalker]

"LCD Lasts Longer"

LCDs fail significantly faster then CRTs(backlights die), what do you mean lasts longer exactly?

 

[VIAN]

I guess then it's a rumor then that LCD lasted twice as long as CRTs then. Will make the changes.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
"LCD Lasts Longer"

LCDs fail significantly faster then CRTs(backlights die), what do you mean lasts longer exactly?

I've had my LCD for 3 years. My 22" ViewSonic CRT died in just over a year.

IMO the CRT's are less reliable as they rely on sensitive optics that tend to distort over time.

 

[VIAN]

My refurbished CRT lasted longer, must've been something messed up in yours, which does suck.

 

[rancherlee]

IMO CRT's, even GOOD ones start going bad after 2 years of 8 hour a day use, the screen will start getting blurry in the middle and stuff distorting more offen and the need to readajust the screen. I've gotten a few free monitors because of this though as a CAD business replaces there CRT's every 2 years BECAUSE of this issue. They are still fine for Gaming and such after 2 years but the blurryness gets to ya trying to read small text and stuff. I really can't comment on that about LCD as my first one is only 2 months old but I know pixels can't move around and cause distorted images.

 

[akugami]

Screen glare is a product of the coatings that are applied on top of the glass. I am sitting next to a Dell 700M laptop and I can tell you while the screen looks very nice, even if it's a bit small for my taste, the glossy coating on the screen shows glares like a mofo. Most LCD's don't show heavy glaring because of the anti-glare coating on the LCD's. Newer CRT's also have similar coatings applied to them. It's one reason why you don't want to use corrosive cleaning agents like acetone on your monitor screens.

 

[SonicIce]

pretty good summary, but i have to disagree and say both of them have negligable radiation output. and a crt's glare depends on the coating, it can be just as good as an lcd.

oh, and heres a nice article

 

[xtknight]

Other than the ones below, I strongly agree.

CRT displays it's image through a more transparent medium.

What?

CRT works better without Vsync.

No idea what you're talking about here...

SonicIce: A CRT outputs VLF/ELF radiation in dangerous levels while an LCD does not. It comes from the deflection yoke coils. Blocking of the radiation varies...

I'd also like to mention the LCD's colors seem to "bounce out" more than a CRT's do, at least for the shadow mask CRT's. Also, the CRT's focus degrades over time. The vacuum and high voltages make it very dangerous to adjust too, unless you're lucky enough to have 'focus' options in your OSD. The 2 CRTs my dad fixed didn't...but the focus sure was a lot better after adjustment.

Small issue, but CRTs are susceptible to damage by magnets and interference from other RF devices. LCDs aren't. I put a walkie-talkie up to my CRT once and I thought it was dying, lol. The image got all screwed up. Also...drop a CRT and you have a mess.....mercury, lead, shards of glass, god knows what else is in there...but I'm just nitpicking now. Let's just say LCDs are a little safer and lighter for delivery purpose.

Wow, the LCD had a better black in that BeHardware test too.

I may sound like the SED salesman around here, but personally I wouldn't drop a whole lot on any current displays. AFAIK, SEDs are supposed to have ALL of those advantages of both, except they may still flicker, but we're not sure on that one yet.

CRTs last longer? Maybe. Mine just...died after I got my LCD though. I was going to try my CRT again, and alas, only the OSD shows up. Somehow it died a silent death after not turning it on for like 6 months. I let it sit there for an hour...still nothing. That monitor was about 1 year old. (Yeah, it was an eMachines, but hey it was $99.) But there are those "miracle" TVs that have lived (for the worse) for a damn long time, and thus I'm stuck with those crappy things.

Before the use of bonded faceplates one of the hazards would be that a broken neck or envelope would cause the neck and electron gun to be propelled by atmosperic pressure at such a velocity that it would erupt through the face of the tube.

lol...that doesn't sound so good.

Let me say this too: you won't realize how much easier on your eyes LCDs are until you try them. (Assuming you don't have the backlight level through the roof, it should be a lot more comfortable.) It is for me, anyway. Instant headaches at anything below like 100Hz usually.

One thing I can give to CRTs: they can display more images a second in almost all cases. Most go to 100Hz where LCDs are stuck at 75Hz or 60Hz to reduce blurry effects.

 

[jdurg]

I'd just add that LCDs are more 'friendly' if you move a lot or are changing the location of your computer. Lugging a massive CRT up and down various flights of stairs and securing it in your car for a long trip can be a royal pain. LCDs are typically MUCH lighter than a CRT and are easier to transport and move around if needed.

LCDs can also be rotated from a horizontal orientation to a vertical one without any potential troubles.

 

[fierydemise]

According to this FDA restrictions render CRT radiation mostly harmless

CRTs display black making them better for dark games (FEAR, DOOM, etc.), not sure if this falls under better contrast but I just thought I should mention it.

 

[SonicIce]

Originally posted by: xtknight
Also...drop a CRT and you have a mess.....mercury, lead, shards of glass, god knows what else is in there...

thats what makes them so sweet

 

[Mojoed]

Nice CRT's in general last a long time. Sure you can have a lemon, or cheapo CRT die somewhat quickly, but nice ones are built to last.

Example of a NICE CRT:

We have 11 Sony 21" CRT's (500PS). All used daily and manufactured in August of 1998. ALL are still working perfectly after over 7 years. (A few have needed a slight boost in brightness, but no big deal.)

Example of a CRAP CRT:

We have five Sony 19" CDP-G400/420's. All used daily and manufactured in 2002/2003. Two died last year. One died this year. One is on the way out. One still works fine.

My point is saying "CRT's last longer (or not as long)" is a blanket statement. Longevity really depends on model/build quality. Sony E and G series CRT's are absolute crap. F series will last much longer.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
My point is saying "CRT's last longer (or not as long)" is a blanket statement. Longevity really depends on model/build quality. Sony E and G series CRT's are absolute crap. F series will last much longer.

Yeah I agree. It depends on the MTBF of the CCFL backlight in an LCD, and for CRTs it's the difference between being manufactured by eMachines or by NEC.

What do you mean by die though? Out of focus? Bad convergence? Just don't work no matter what?

 

[JBT]

I think most newer CRT's have crap quailty. Most manufacters have switched over to LCD's and have over all pretty crappy quality control on CRT's now adays.

 

[imported_Rampage]

Originally posted by: JBT
I think most newer CRT's have crap quilty. most manufacters have switched over to LCD's and have over all pretty crappy quality control on CRT's now adays.

Seems that way.

 

[fierydemise]

CRTs do start to lose their brightness as time goes on, my FE991 is no where near as bright as it was, I have to crank up the gamma (brightness is maxed) to get accurate color, although CRTs last longer but they slowly start to die long before they do.

 

[CP5670]

My point is saying "CRT's last longer (or not as long)" is a blanket statement. Longevity really depends on model/build quality. Sony E and G series CRT's are absolute crap. F series will last much longer.

I thought it was actually the other way around? I have heard of various long term reliability issues with the F series (the F520 in particular) but not too many problems with the others.

I have a 16 year old 14" NEC CRT that still works well aside from the loss of brightness. Some of the newer models allow you to change the focus controls without opening up the cabinet and risking electrocuting yourself, which helps a lot in maintaining the sharpness over time.

Let me say this too: you won't realize how much easier on your eyes LCDs are until you try them. (Assuming you don't have the backlight level through the roof, it should be a lot more comfortable.) It is for me, anyway. Instant headaches at anything below like 100Hz usually.

This is quite subjective and varies between people. Even with the brightness turned to minimum I still find most desktop LCDs too bright for nighttime usage and it seems that the CCFL backlights somehow make some people dizzy if using LCDs for more than a hour or two. There was a thread on it here a while ago.

I think most newer CRT's have crap quilty. most manufacters have switched over to LCD's and have over all pretty crappy quality control on CRT's now adays.

Yeah that's very true, or was anyway, since most of the good CRTs are out of production altogether now. It was actually a result of the switch to LCDs though. I guess the tube manufacturers decided they were going to be stopping all CRT production soon and did tons of cost cutting on them after that, so out of the few good CRTs still left on the market a lot are duds.

 

[computerABUSER]

Hi
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here but how are LCDs for gaming? especially on a SLI mobo? and are they still best viewed at their default res.?
Thanks,
CA

 

[MoPHo]

Quick question, which tend to have faster response times?

thanks.

 

[CP5670]

Hi
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here but how are LCDs for gaming? especially on a SLI mobo? and are they still best viewed at their default res.?
Thanks,CA

Pretty much, although the quality of scaling for nonnative resolutions varies a fair bit between LCDs. As for how LCDs are in general, it really depends on what your expectations are. I find that even the higher end consumer ones have unacceptable contrast and color banding, but a lot of people don't mind those things. The best thing is to try out both for yourself. But it's very hard to obtain the good aperture grill CRTs brand new (and not defective) these days, so you're pretty much stuck with LCDs at the moment aside from used CRTs off ebay.

 

[VIAN]

CRT displays it's image through a more transparent medium.

There is something refreshing about watching something through a CRT. It's glass, not this transparent plastic that's infront of the LCD. The Glass is more transparent.

CRT works better without Vsync.

Tearing is very noticeable with LCDs. Very easy to spot, much much easier than with a CRT.

I'd also like to mention the LCD's colors seem to "bounce out" more than a CRT's do, at least for the shadow mask CRT's.

I'd say the cause of that is brightness.

I'd just add that LCDs are more 'friendly' if you move a lot or are changing the location of your computer.

CRTs display black making them better for dark games (FEAR, DOOM, etc.), not sure if this falls under better contrast but I just thought I should mention it.

It goes under contrast. The radiation in the link doesn't specify much, other than it's lower than something unknown.

 

[pkme2]

I have 4 LCDs and 2 CRTs. I spent quite a few hours per day on the computers and eye strain is no problem on the LCDs. Can't do that on my Rasterops or Trinitron CRTs. Even at the best refresh rate, my eyes can't handle the CRTs, The LCDs are my main guys.

 

[xtknight]

No idea why LCDs would tear any more than CRTs. AFAIK they can perfectly mimic each other. LCDs can display part of a frame just like a CRT can with its electron gun half-way down the screen, but that's not how LCDs 'work' per se.

Originally posted by: VIAN

CRT displays it's image through a more transparent medium.

There is something refreshing about watching something through a CRT. It's glass, not this transparent plastic that's infront of the LCD. The Glass is more transparent.

I kinda know what you mean. But it's probably because of vastly superior contrast, almost certainly. Tried any OptiBrite/X-Brite LCDs?

 

[VIAN]

That transparent thing would still be a problem not due to contrast, because it the coating. The contrast hasn't changed, but the coating has.

I also notice sort of like blotches only when playing dark games. If you move on the screen, there is something on the screen that stays static over the pixels. Could be a defect I don't know.