My first LCD/LED Monitor - Dissapointed

[coder77]

So, finally the time came to say Adieu to my pair of 19" CRTs that has served me for the last 10 years flawlessly. Yes they are Sony Trinitrons.

Instead of buying 2 monitors together, I wanted to buy one and see how it is. So after a lot of research I settled for a new model from Dell called P1913S.

It is a 19" Square monitor (I need more vertical screen estate).

All the specs just fell in place as I wanted. Like a Vesa mount, DVI + VGA, 5:4 Aspect, Matte screen etc.

Yesterday I installed the monitor. Everything seems to be fine EXCEPT, there is a very slight dark to bright gradient from top to bottom.

Searching Google, revealed that this is a common thing for TN panels?

When will the companies really start manufacturing monitors that have even backlighting? If not, they why not bring the CRT back?

$150 wasted.

 

[Seba]

This is a characteristic of Twisted Nematic LCD panels and it has nothing to do with uneven backlight (that can be another problem, not restricted to TN panels). There are other types of LCD panels (IPS, PVA, etc.), not affected by this problem. This characteristic makes TN easily recognizable by just viewing the screen from bellow: if the image becomes almost black, then it is a TN panel.

I bet those 19" Sony Trinitron CRTs were not $150 when new.

 

[BrightCandle]

You bought a cheap, esoteric monitor that I can't find a single professional review of and you are disappointed with it? I am not surprised. When you bought those Sony Trinitron monitors presumably you had read up that those were good monitors, that they performed better than the average monitor from other firms and they were worth their considerable extra cost?! Yet 10 years later when your buying an LCD you ignore that, buy a cheap monitor that no reviewer even touched and find it to be rubbish.

Today monitors come in 16:10 and 16:9, that is a change you have to live with. It doesn't mean you loose vertical space it means you gain horizontal space. If colour quality is what you care about don't buy a TN. If even backlighting is what you care about then buy a monitor that has good backlighting, presumably avoiding edge LED for a start. You need to do your research and find a monitor that is actually good, tftcentral.co.uk is the place to go they do very in depth reviews and they will show you what you need to care about. Then you can choose your trade offs and buy a monitor that suits your usage and what you care about.

 

[coder77]

This is a characteristic of Twisted Nematic LCD panels and it has nothing to do with uneven backlight (that can be another problem, not restricted to TN panels). There are other types of LCD panels (IPS, PVA, etc.), not affected by this problem. This characteristic makes TN easily recognizable by just viewing the screen from bellow: if the image becomes almost black, then it is a TN panel.

I bet those 19" Sony Trinitron CRTs were not $150 when new.

Albeit not. $189 each.

You bought a cheap, esoteric monitor that I can't find a single professional review of and you are disappointed with it? I am not surprised. When you bought those Sony Trinitron monitors presumably you had read up that those were good monitors, that they performed better than the average monitor from other firms and they were worth their considerable extra cost?! Yet 10 years later when your buying an LCD you ignore that, buy a cheap monitor that no reviewer even touched and find it to be rubbish.

Today monitors come in 16:10 and 16:9, that is a change you have to live with. It doesn't mean you loose vertical space it means you gain horizontal space. If colour quality is what you care about don't buy a TN. If even backlighting is what you care about then buy a monitor that has good backlighting, presumably avoiding edge LED for a start. You need to do your research and find a monitor that is actually good, tftcentral.co.uk is the place to go they do very in depth reviews and they will show you what you need to care about. Then you can choose your trade offs and buy a monitor that suits your usage and what you care about.

Back in those days, the choices were few. A word of mouth suggestion from another colleague or client was sufficient for a buying decision. Not many websites existed really in 2003 to give professional reviews of monitors like the gazillion of websites and blogs do today. Anyways...coming to the point, I had personally checked on a few brands and one conclusion that I made, for the same amount of vertical space, on a 5:4 19" you would need a 24" in 16:9. 16:10 monitors are kicked out like CRT, but again I am not looking to host two big whiteboard like structures infront of me for my work.

The P1913S comes at a hefty price for it's size. Infact it is the costliest one for it's segment. The lesser cost ones are the E1913S, E190S etc. It is an awesome display. But it is not the perfect one.

I am well aware of the fact that right now there are no 5:4 IPS panel available, but again I have seen severe corner light bleeding on several Dell U2312Hm s which is reviewed royally by most websites. The P1913S is way better than the U2313HM.

LCD/LED technology is cheap by itself. Even the costliest monitors, do have backlight problems and people replace one for the other in hope of getting something better.

This is just like, using kerosene for cars, and adapting to it happily. If the TN panels do not have the ability to render even displays or the manufacturers cannot do so, then this should be stopped from selling altogether.

The following is the fine print of TOS of LED/LCD monitors fo Dell that applies to their costliest monitor, I am sure other manufacturers follow the same path.

Uneven Backlight (bleed)
We do not validate our monitors in a dark room. We validate our monitors in rooms with a minimum of 150 lux which is standard office lighting. Dell monitors do not have 100% backlight uniformity specification. As long as the center 2" circle meets our manufacturer specifications, it is acceptable. If the Brightness and Contrast are maxed to 100 and you measure the brightness difference of any two points on the monitor, the difference will never be greater than 25%.

Uneven Colors
Dell monitors do not have 100% color uniformity specification. As long as the center 2" circle is 6500K, it meets our manufacturer specifications. The center may be 6500K, but the sides and corners may not, which is why you may see that one side or corner is different than the others.


So actually the price is being for the centre 2"circle no mater what. :thumbsdown:

 

[jaqie]

Time to spend some real cash and get some pro quality LCD panels instead of buying one of the cheap monitors and complaining it's cheap.

 

[coder77]

Time to spend some real cash and get some pro quality LCD panels instead of buying one of the cheap monitors and complaining it's cheap.

What do you mean by pro quality LCD panels, the ones whose sizes are like windows? Do you know any pro quality LCD panel in 19" size that is useful for doing office related works and not gaming or watching movies?

Confused.

 

[BrightCandle]

In that 10 year period inflation means that spending that $189 today is more like $400. Monitor technology has not gotten significantly cheaper unlike silicon, so you do need to spend a similar amount in net present value. What happened was that a lot of manufacturers worked how to make cheaper but much less decent products. But there are still only a few decent models out there, in a sea of rubbish. Most manufacturers sell rubbish as well as their decent monitors so you need the reviews.

 

[BrightCandle]

What do you mean by pro quality LCD panels, the ones whose sizes are like windows? Do you know any pro quality LCD panel in 19" size that is useful for doing office related works and not gaming or watching movies?

Confused.

There are no good 5:4 LCDs I know. It just isn't practical to stick to that ancient format that no one uses anymore. Go find some replacement second hand Sony Trinitrons and then you can be happy. Trying to find something that doesn't exist and arguing with people trying to help you isn't going to get you anywhere.

I'm done.

 

[jaqie]

BC has the right of it. I'm done here too.

 

[Seba]

Albeit not. $189 each.

A new 19" CRT Sony Trinitron was more like $300-$500 in 2003.

And you also have to account for inflation when comparing prices from 10 years apart:

In that 10 year period inflation means that spending that $189 today is more like $400.

 

[Geosurface]

I purchased this 27" Dell monitor in 2007, and have been extremely pleased with it. It's going strong.

Granted, it cost me $1000 at that time.

Dell 2707wfp

I've since added a Dell E2311H 23" monitor that only cost me like, $150 or something on sale, as a secondary monitor - it's good too.

I have no idea exactly what technology or lighting method either of them use, but their lighting is very even and I haven't had a single pixel burn out on either of them.

I was a holdout for a long time, and waited for many years before giving up my old (enormous) CRT which I think was from ViewSonic... I resisted flatscreens for a long time because of the ghosting and such. But by 2007, you could get a dang good one for $1000

 

[Micrornd]

Have you considered the monitor(s) in portrait mode.
I believe what you are looking for is something like this (as an example only) -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEC-MultiSy...2412?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item43bca9538c

I can't recommend this person one way or another, as I've never dealt with them, but that is a great monitor at a great price, although the original NEC MultiSync LCD 2490WUXi would be better.

In portrait mode (which these monitors do natively and automatically without need of driver support) they have the width of a 19" CRT, but with the added height mentioned.
They also have uniform "blackness: and no noticeable backlight bleed in a darkened room.
16:10, IPS panel, VESA mount, 2 DVI and 1 VGA input (switchable from the front of the monitor)
Heck, look 'em up, read the reviews, too much to list, you know how to Bing

I have 5 of the 2490WUXi's on my desk in Portrait mode (well, actually floating on a home built wall mount above the desk) and couldn't be happier with all the "real estate" :biggrin:

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, I have a pair of 1680x1050 panels in portrait mode at work and it's pretty neat.

But if you're actually concerned about image quality, you need an IPS display, and you need to get one that's reviewed well. No question. And no half-assing it by just buying based of specs. Those are deceptive.

http://www.comparetvsizes.com/

A better comparison vs. a 19" CRT would be to a 20-22" 1080p LCD. (Based on the vertical resolution, square inches, etc.) Once you factor in things like bezel size, etc., a 21" LCD is probably smaller than what you had before. (Even if it is wider.)

Newegg has twelve 1080p IPS displays in the 20-22" range.

 

[NickelPlate]

Like you I waited a long time to jump on the flat panel train. I was using 19" Trinitrons up until 2010 when I finally decided to jump ship and bought a Samsung PX2370 2ms. The biggest adjustment for me was getting used to the motion blur and I knew this going in but my aging CRT and aging eyes was making it harder and harder to read text.

Now I would never go back even though there was a time when I swore I'd never go LCD until someone made one without motion blur, which they do now with the 120Hz monitors but MB doesn't bother me anymore quite frankly.

It will take time to get used to I can tell you that for sure if you're used to CRTs but old habits die hard.

 

[pandemonium]

Old timer CRT lover here, too. OP, it's time to just spend some decent money and get a new 16:10 or 16:9 LCD display with low total response time and you'll be happy. That Nixeus that was reviewed on AT looks pretty awesome for only being ~$700. If you're doing office work on it, you'll certainly appreciate the extra workspace from all of those additional pixels.

 

[Puffnstuff]

You should've gotten a dell ultrasharp instead which is an ips panel instead of tn. I ran a Trinitron g400 monitor for many years before switching to lcd but my first panel was a 19" planar ips which was very expensive 10 years ago.