LCD FAQ All your LCD questions answered here!

[oldfart]

There have been a lot of questions on the forums lately about LCD monitors.
KristopherKubick has graciously offered to answer questions regarding LCD flat panel monitors here. Please ask your questions in this thread.

I'll start with a few common ones

What is a "native resolution"? What happens if I run a non native resolution on the desktop or when playing a 3D game?

What is response time? What is a good response time for a gamer or for watching DVD movies?

How many colors can an LCD display? How does this compare to a CRT?

What is a "dead Pixel" or "sub pixel"?

How does an LCD affect frames per second in a game? Can it actually display higher FPS than the refresh rate like a CRT with Vsync disabled?

What is the difference between DVI and analog connections on an LCD panel? Is it true that you lose the ability to adjust contrast and brightness with a DVI connection?

What is a good contrast ratio?

Does an LCD panel reduce eye strain as compared to a CRT?

What is the best way to clean the surface of an LCD screen? (things to avoid, things to use, etc)



Add your questions and I'll paste them into this post.

 

[Deuce24]

I like the sound of this thread already, gotta check back soon

 

[JZilla]

Good idea, finally AT gets it's own gigantic lcd thread like the one at ars. It deserves a sticky in it's own display forum, like Kubicki mentioned in another thread.

 

[KristopherKubicki]

Edit: Here it is. LCD FAQ Part I

Kristopher

 

[rival]

What is the best way to clean the surface of an LCD screen? (things to avoid, things to use, etc)

 

[ViRGE]

An addendum to the response time question:
- How well does an LCD that supports less than 60 actual frames per second(aka, 25ms or higher) deal with 60fps movies, and other sources that are 60fps? I ask this because my Mindcandy DVD(a DVD full of PC demos) is encoded at 60fps; will it look like crap on a monitor that can't show 60 distinct frames?

 

[FreshPrince]

How do I used a laptop LCD for my computer via S-Video. I have a Hitachi LCD(TX31D21VC1CAF) that I ripped from a Sony laptop, how do I hook it up as a secondary display for my computer.

 

[dbwillis]

Great thread!

 

[AMCRambler]

Are LCD screen backlights replaceable? If so what kind of bulbs are they?

 

[FishTankX]

What's the minimum reponse time needed to get smooth ghosting free gaming?

 

[Electric Amish]

Is there ever going to be more flexibility in resolutions?

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Is there ever going to be more flexibility in resolutions?

IBM has a very high res flat panel that costs US$8000, but Microsoft is counting on more extremely-high-res displays becoming commonplace in a few years, because they're building flexible support for high-DPI output into their next version of Windows. A hurdle yet to be overcome, IMHO, is the limitations of a single DVI connection (the IBM panel uses two, and still only has a maximum ideal refresh of somewhere around 40Hz - not that it matters with flicker, but that's not fast enough for some high-speed applications). We need a connection flexible enough not to require two links and a high-end dual DVI card like the ATI FireGL X1. Something digital that can handle 2560x2056 at 75Hz update rate would be fine with me.

 

[BmXStuD]

I'll never be able to afford one @ this rate anyway, but what is a good cheap brand ;-0 and is ok for gamers.

 

[KristopherKubicki]

Hi Everyone,

The LCD FAQ is coming along very well, its about 16 pages right now. I am also going to include a glossary at the end of the article, can anyone keep a running list of words that should be included?

Cheers,

Kristopher

 

[ProviaFan]

For words to put in the FAQ, you've probably already got these, but they just happen to be ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

• Native resolution
• DVI-I
• DVI-D
• subpixel
• dead pixel
• TFT
• Active Matrix (AMLCD)
• LCD (of course )

 

[JZilla]

If you have a dead pixel: Does it help ro "rub" it? And how do I "rub" it the right way?

 

[boomerang]

I'm using XP and have turned on ClearType and made my selection at the Microsoft web pages(s) regarding ClearType. I notice no marked difference in everyday use. Is this because my LCD is not "high end"? Does ClearType hurt me in games?

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: boomerang
I'm using XP and have turned on ClearType and made my selection at the Microsoft web pages(s) regarding ClearType. I notice no marked difference in everyday use. Is this because my LCD is not "high end"? Does ClearType hurt me in games?

Cleartype only affects text, AFAIK; it should make no difference in games. As to why it doesn't appear to be working, I have no idea (and no personal experience with Cleartype to know much about it other than the basic theory of how it works).

 

[mastertech01]

There are also hardware versions of cleartype, such as found with Parhelia which can be used in XP or Win2K.

 

[TheCorm]

Is there any way to run some kind of electric current through the screen to stop CRT users from touching my TFT!! :|

Yeah I would like to see more flexibility in resolution, mine doesn't do the odd resolutions....I would like to run at 1152 x 864 but can't

Hey, is there a good test type program of some kind to make dead pixels really easy to spot?...other than white page / black page..

Jamie

 

[BoomAM]

Is there anyway to get rid of a dent in screen itself?
I noticed one in my Hitachi CMl174 the other day, at first i thought it was a dead pixel, but now im 70% sure that its a dent, cos its bending the light from the pixels beneath it.

 

[JZilla]

Originally posted by: TheCorm
Is there any way to run some kind of electric current through the screen to stop CRT users from touching my TFT!! :|

Yeah I would like to see more flexibility in resolution, mine doesn't do the odd resolutions....I would like to run at 1152 x 864 but can't

Hey, is there a good test type program of some kind to make dead pixels really easy to spot?...other than white page / black page..

Jamie

MonitorsDirect Toolkit

 

[swatoa]

how do I access the FAQ? or is it not done

 

[KristopherKubicki]

the FAQ is not done yet. Patience grasshopper.

 

[badluck]

I have a LCD that I traded with someone a few months ago. They did not have the manual and were not able to give me the specs on it. A search on google for this brand (RDSi) shows nothing. Now to my question...It is a 17" LCD and can display 1600x1200. Actually, I can set it at 1920x1080 and I just lose the taskbar. If I raise (by clicking, dragging) the taskbar up before setting it to that resolution, then I can run it in 1920x1080 just fine. I watched a HD video in this mode and it was beautiful.

I am now trying to sell this LCD, but want to properly advise people on what it can display. Is it really displaying 1920x1080, or should I just say 1600x1200 since I have to adjust the taskbar before putting it into 1920x1080? BTW, at 1600x1200 it looks just fine. At no time do I get the signal input error (that has happened to me when I put other LCD's in a resolution that it cannot handle).

Also, how many other 17" LCD's will do 1920x1080? Or, 1600x1200 for that matter?