Pixel pitch in LCDs?

[azkiwi]

Is pixel pitch in LCDs as critical as it is in CRTs? I'm choosing between two monitors, one with .255 (20' screen) and the other .294 (19" screen). I'm currently using a .26 19"CRT.

 

[badga]

It is less important for LCDs than with CRTs from the perspective that with the native resolutions of any LCD all 19" monitors that run at 1280x1024 have the same pixel pitch, only if they have a different resolution does the pitch change. This is unlike CRTs where there is no native resolution and the pitch of monitor is a critical variable to the quality when comparing various equal sized monitors.

The 20" you speak of (i bet its the Dell) runs at a 1600x1200 resolution and the 19" at 1280x1024. That being given the 20" will likely seem more detailed or precise than the 19" as each pixel is less noticable. However, the rule to keep in mind is that you really can only run these panels effectively at the native resolution so that if you think 1600x1200 is too small, the degradation of image by running it at 1280 or 1024 is significant, again, unlike a CRT. I don't think you should compare the pixel pitch of a CRT to that of a LCD panel.

I should point out I haven't personally seen these desktop panels (my 17.4 panel is backordered) but i am making the comparison based on the comparison between my 14.1" 1024x768 laptop screen and a friends 15" 1600x1200 screen. The latter was stunning but without forcing increased font sizes was simply too small to read. I'd love to see the same res on a 20" panel. As well, if you are running XP, Cleartype really makes the LCD panels even more readable at least to my eyes.

 

[Gosharkss]

Similar as dot pitch on a CRT monitor, pixel pitch measures how tightly the dots, or sub-pixels, are packed together. Smaller is generally better and will produce a sharper image. All LCD monitors of a given size and resolution, will have an identical pixel pitch.

All LCD monitors are fixed resolution devices. LCD monitors use a matrix of cells so the pixels are in a fixed location and therefore define the native resolution of the monitor. For example a typical 18? LCD monitor with a dot pitch of 0.2805mm and a horizontal viewable area of 359mm has a native resolution of 1280 in the horizontal direction. Math is simple, 359 divided by 0.2805 equals 1279.85 or 1280 if you account for the small rounding error. Same calculation can be made in the vertical direction.

17? LCD monitors also have a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 with a tighter pixel pitch of 0.264 and a viewable area of 338mm x 270mm. Like CRT monitors, typically tighter dot/pixel pitch means the image will be more defined.

 

[azkiwi]

Thanks for the (sensible) explanantion. I understand the Dell will have a more defined image at (native) 1600 x1200. This unit is has guaranteed "image size and centering" at 1280 X 1024. Does this sidestep the issue of 'sharpness', or whatever you want to call it, so the 19" may actually be 'sharper' at that resolution because it is native to that screen?

The 20" screen is understandably more expensive than the 19", and I won't be running my mostly text based app's at 1600 x 1200 - I would happily spend the difference on a good DVI card (and have some left over). Cleartype would be nice - but I'm sticking with 2K.