TFT Monitor Specs - your opinion and some questions

[b4u]

Hi,

I'm looking into buying a good TFT monitor for all day working. We are talking Windows, Word, Excel.

I've been looking into Samsung SyncMaster TFT 730BF, it seems to be a nice looking monitor for about 340?.

Now looking into his specs, I read (don't understand much about tft monitor specs):

----- Panel
Type: a-si TFT/PVA
Viewable Area: 17"
Pixel Pitch(mm): 0.264
Brightness (cd/m²): 300
Contrast Ratio: 600:1
Viewing Angle(H/V): 160/60 degrees (CR > 5)
Interface: Analog/Digital
Response Time (ms): 4 (Gray-to-Gray)

----- Frequency
Horizontal Frequency: 30-81 kHz
Vertical Frequency: 56-75 Hz
Bandwidth (MHz): 140

Maximum Resolution: 1280x1024

----- Colour Supported
Maximum: 16.2M


Now I have some questions:

1. Your opinion, is this a good solution to work? And for some gamming? (if it's good, I'll may end buying a second one for home usage)

2. How can I "read" the specs and understanding them? I mean for example, a contrast 600:1 is good? better or worse than a 400:1? Why?

3. This only have a 4ms speed? Is this possible at this price, or is there a catch? Although it's a 17" monitor, I wouldn't believe I could get a sub-8ms for this price.

4. If tft monitor speed is measured on response time (4ms in this case), why do they show some horizontal/vertical refresh? That's the regular "speed" measure for CRT monitors, is this just for compare? Because if it is, then it will be well bellow a CRT specs, although I know CRT are still better than many tft monitors.

5. When looking for eye-care, what specs are important in a non CRT monitor?


Thanks for the answers, I'l looking forward to understand a bit more about this monitor techs.

 

[darXoul]

Heh, Samsung guys don't know the specs of their own monitor... It's not a PVA display, it's a TN panel. TN = cheapest LCD panel available. Good responsiveness but sub-par colors, blacks and horrible vertical viewing angle.

I wouldn't get a TN display - this one is best suited for gamers. For allround use, it's nothing special.

Now, to your questions:

1. For work with what? Text will be small with this pixel pitch so it's not too great for office apps. Viewing angle weakness and only 6 bit color make it really bad for CAD/DTP, etc. For games, it should be quite OK since a TN panel with 4 ms g2g response. As you can see here, it's not prone to ghosting so it's a good gaming monitor:

http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?...=43&p1=554&ma2=52&mo2=103&p2=1026&ph=1

2. Spec reading:
- pixel pitch: usually from 0.255 to 0.294 - smaller means sharper, less grainy image but also smaller fonts;
- brightness: 250 to 300 is very good, you'll reduce it to 100-150 anyway; over 400 is pretty excessive - it's important to be able to go down to a lowish level here or otherwise your eyes will hurt;
- contrast: ranges from 400:1 to 1000:1 (1600:1 with special tech tricks); higher is better which means whites will be whiter and blacks blacker (deeper); it's a ratio of white to black - around 700:1 is already pretty good; however if a monitor requires brightness of e.g. 500 to reach high contrast ratio, it's not desirable;
- viewing angles: IPS panels have the best angles by far - almost like CRT, you can look at the picture from crazy angles and it hardly deteriorates in terms of color saturation or contrast (176-178); VA panels have listed 170 or 176 angles but here, the screen pales when shifting the view position; TN panels with 160 angles are nowhere near the specs - horizontal is OK but vertical is HORRIBLE - even a slight head movement already makes colors change in hue;
- frequency: irrelevant, you usually run an LCD @ 60 Hz anyway, and it doesn't flicker like a CRT due to different tech;
- response time: important for gaming and movies - typical or on-off means black-white-black transition, g2g or gtg is grey to grey; both are quite relevant, look for sub 16 ms bwb and optimally sub 6-8 ms g2g; overall, very incosistent - there is e.g. a monitor with 5 ms listed response which ghosts way more than many 8 ms monitors - you can compare some LCDs on lesnumeriques;
- colors: 16.7M = usually full 8 bit, 16.2 = TN panel, 6 bit color, some banding and inaccuracy possible.

3. No catch. It's a cheap TN, and it's easy to get 4 or even 2 ms g2g response on TN monitors.

4. 60 Hz on LCD = no flicker but in some situations, afterglow is more perceptible than it would be on 100/120 Hz, plus 60 Hz is not too great for hardcore, online FPS gaming. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

5. Depends on your eyes and preferences (pixel pitch, viewing angles). Contrast should be fairly high without excessive brightness.

 

[mauri]

There is also a really good and infornmative thread (sticky, first thread in Video forums) LCD Buyer's Guide , which might help you to find some answers to your questions. And more info about LCD displays.

 

[b4u]

Thanks for your answers, very important info for me.

Originally posted by: darXoul
contrast: ranges from 400:1 to 1000:1 (1600:1 with special tech tricks); higher is better which means whites will be whiter and blacks blacker (deeper); it's a ratio of white to black - around 700:1 is already pretty good; however if a monitor requires brightness of e.g. 500 to reach high contrast ratio, it's not desirable

So you are telling that I should look for a higher contrast (600:1 > 400:1), but you also telling that the brightness has direct impoact on this?

So a 700:1 which requires brightness of 500 is not desirable ... but correct me if I'm wrong, but that kind of info isn't available in the manufacturers ublished specs, are they? I mean they state highest contrast possible, and highest brightness possible, but they don't state what brightness is required to reach the contrast, am I right? (or are the published specs related to each other?)

Originally posted by: darXoul
colors: 16.7M = usually full 8 bit, 16.2 = TN panel, 6 bit color, some banding and inaccuracy possible

What effect will it have using a 16.2 TN 6bit panel like the samsung 730BF? I'm worried about it, since I'm used to my Sony 19" Trinitron with amasing colors and refresh ...

Originally posted by: darXoul
60 Hz on LCD = no flicker but in some situations, afterglow is more perceptible than it would be on 100/120 Hz, plus 60 Hz is not too great for hardcore, online FPS gaming. Otherwise, don't worry about it

You are talking about vertical refresh right? So if I'm to buy a monitor for games, and online FPS games also, I should look for a bigger vertical refresh? And it can easily setup in monitor config menu, or windows? (even using digital connector)


Thanks for the help.

 

[darXoul]

Originally posted by: b4u
So you are telling that I should look for a higher contrast (600:1 > 400:1), but you also telling that the brightness has direct impoact on this?

Exactly.

Originally posted by: b4u
So a 700:1 which requires brightness of 500 is not desirable ... but correct me if I'm wrong, but that kind of info isn't available in the manufacturers ublished specs, are they? I mean they state highest contrast possible, and highest brightness possible, but they don't state what brightness is required to reach the contrast, am I right? (or are the published specs related to each other?)

They are related since contrast = brightness / black level. Even though brightness and contrast are always listed, you never know how much you'll be able to reduce brightness so that a) good blacks and whites are maintained, b) the monitor doesn't make your eyes bleed.

Originally posted by: b4u
What effect will it have using a 16.2 TN 6bit panel like the samsung 730BF? I'm worried about it, since I'm used to my Sony 19" Trinitron with amasing colors and refresh ...

On TN panels, colors are usually not as vibrant and accurate as on IPS, for instance. Besides, the lower color depth (262k colors + dithering) may and probably will cause some color banding in gradient transitions, and also inaccuracies. This means gradient banding in games/pics/movies where e.g. sky or water are displayed. For graphics work, due to low color accuracy, TN monitors are not recommended. One more thing: abysmal vertical viewing angle. Trust me, it's so bad that even looking at the monitor from a 90 degree angle towards the center of the screen makes the same color show a different hue in the top and bottom parts of the screen. Not critical for gaming but annoying.

Originally posted by: b4u
You are talking about vertical refresh right? So if I'm to buy a monitor for games, and online FPS games also, I should look for a bigger vertical refresh? And it can easily setup in monitor config menu, or windows? (even using digital connector)

Yes, I am. Apart from reduced ghosting/blur perception with 120 Hz (the tech was presented at CeBit but we don't know when it really comes or how reliable it turns out), the high refresh rate of 120 Hz is beneficial only for hardcore, competitive online gaming. E.g. Quake 3 stars need 120 Hz for perfect aim, hardest trick jumps, etc. Otherwise, it's not an issue. Pretty much all current LCDs do only 60 Hz now. Like I said, no flicker but not optimal for "pro" gaming. Some of them do 75 or 85 Hz but it often causes adverse effects like choppiness or reduced pixel responsiveness.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: b4u
5. When looking for eye-care, what specs are important in a non CRT monitor?

A white bezel (TCO '03 certified whereas black is not) could be helpful if your eyes are particularly sensitive. What mainly matters is ambient lighting, a huge factor. Plus, you want to make it so that all colors are adequately saturated without having it painfully bright.

 

[003]

What does the bezel color have to do with anything?

 

[socalcyclist]

Originally posted by: 003
What does the bezel color have to do with anything?

That's what I was wondering.

I just hooked up an older Viewsonic A90 CRT and it's killing my eyes. The flicker is horrible and opening up a Word document with a completely white screen is like throwing darts in my eyes. I'm now looking for a 19" LCD that is "eye friendly".

 

[xtknight]

Because, with a darker bezel and a bright screen, that's a lot of contrast. A lighter bezel will ease the strain a bit, along with more ambient lighting.

 

[darXoul]

Actually, monitors with black bezel can be TCO'03 certified. Some of them don't get the certificate but others do. Not only LCDs with relatively narrow frames but also huge CRTs like the ViewSonic P227fB, which is black but 03-certified.