dot pitch?

[smp]

Okay.. I don't understand dot pitch. I'm looking at the samsung monitors and I always thought that the 900nf was the top of the line. It has .25 and the IFT has .20.. what is the difference.. can someone just explain this whole dot pitch thing to me please? Thanks..

<edit> the price difference between the two is slight.. here in Toronto I can get a 900nf for 580 CND and the IFT for 569CND.. what's the difference between these two monitors? Dot pitch? </edit>

 

[LXi]

First of all, you need to know that the NF uses the Mitsubishi Diamondtron NF tube, whilst the IFT uses Samsung's own DynaFlat tube, one is Aperture Grille technology, the other is Shadow Mask. The dot pitch measurement for the two techs are quite different. For Aperture Grille, the measurement lies between each stripe, since Aperture Grille is made up of a bunch is stripes, the space in between each is the pitch measurement, sometimes called Stripe Pitch, sometimes called Grille Pitch. For Shadow Mask, its the measurement between the three phosphors, made up of red, green and blue, the space between each phospher is called the Diagonal Dot Pitch, the space from one phosphor to the midpoint of the next phospher is called the Horizontal Dot Pitch. To make it easy for you, the two different technologies measures the pitch differently, you cant really compare them against each other.

 

[smp]

MMmm.. I see. I guess that the NF is the more popular monitor, I guess due to it's superior image quality??? I'm thinking of buying this monitor as I can have it for 569 CND right here near my school. Thanks.

 

[LuciferHaze]

Don't be fooled by the HORIZONTAL dot pitch that alot of CRT makers are spewing out. The VERTICAL dot pitch is what matters. Anything .27 and under is great for the vertical dot pitch.

 

[Gosharkss]

LuciferHaze

There is absolutely no problem in quoting the Horizontal dot pitch. It is the only accurate way to compare Shadow Mask and Aperture grill technologies. Since the colored dot on a SM line up in neat columns like the stripes of an AG the horizontal measure is quite accurate.

The vertical dot pitch is not as important as the horizontal dot pitch. Some may argue that the horizontal dot / aperture pitch limits the horizontal resolution on the display. To a degree this is true.

For example: A 21&quot; monitor typically has a horizontal viewable area of 395mm. Lets assume it has a 0.22mm horizontal dot pitch. 395 * 0.22 = 1795 dots across the screen. A monitor with the same viewable area and a 0.24mm horizontal dot / aperture pitch has 1645, limiting its highest end resolution capability.

Vertically is not so much a problem. A typical 21&quot; monitor has a vertical viewable area of 295mm. Aperture grill monitors have a 0.00mm vertical aperture pitch. Vertical resolution capability is virtually unlimited. As with every technology the trade off is more beam current hitting the phosphor making them more susceptible to screen burn. Use a screen saver!

Most shadow mask monitors have a 0.14mm vertical dot pitch. 295 / 0.14 = 2107 lines far more than any video card can produce at any decent refresh rate.

For more information on dot / aperture pitch look here

Jim Witkowski
Chief Hardware Engineer
Cornerstone / Monitorsdirect.com