With CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors quickly becoming extinct, I've noticed
a lot of confusion about this technology among new LCD buyers/owners. If you
are in the market for a new monitor or have recently purchased one, here are
a few terms you may be interested in learning.
Resolution
Resolution is probably the most confusing. Your bright new LCD monitor is
not going to look clear and sharp unless you set it up to use its "Native
Resolution". Native resolution is the physical number of pixels (light dots)
that makeup your monitor's LCD matrix. Not all LCD matrices are created
equal, and the LCD manufacturer determines the matrix based largely on the
size of the monitor (see table below).
Some people prefer to setup their monitors with larger text and icons. To do
this, you'll need to set the resolution numbers to be lower. Yeah, it's a
bit confusing, but when you want to see bigger text and icons, the numbers
need to be smaller. For example, a resolution of 640x480 is huge by today's
standards. The first number is the Height and the second the Width.
The native resolution is determined by the manufacturer of the LCD. You can
find this number by reading the specifications that came with the monitor.
Here are some common resolutions based on screen size:
Size/ Aspect Ratio /Native Resolution
___________________________
14-15"/ (4:3) /1024x768
17-19" /(4:3) /1280x1024
20"/ (4:3) /1600x1200
19"/ (16:9) /1440x900
20-22"/ (16:9) /1680x1050
24"/ (16:9) /1920x1200
30" /(16:9) /2560x1600
Some monitors will automatically change the resolution to the best possible,
but others will not. Check your monitor specs to determine what the native
resolution of your monitor is. To change the res yourself, follow these
steps:
1) Right-mouse click on any area of your desktop that is not populated with
an icon.
2) Select "Properties" from the drop down menu.
3) From the Display Properties window, select the "Settings" tab at the top.
4) Use the "Screen resolution" slider to adjust resolution.
5) Click the "Apply" button after you've adjusted the preferred resolution.
Note: after clicking apply, the monitor may blink on and off for a few
seconds while it adjusts. It will prompt you with a decision window to
confirm you are happy with the resolution you selected.
Aspect Ratio
With most new LCD and Plasma screen TVs going Widescreen or 16:9, it's
important to note the aspect ratio of your monitor. There are really only
two to worry about: 4:3 and 16:9. If you try to run an application that is
designed for 4:3 on a 16:9 monitor, it will look elongated and
distorted---not pretty.
It really hurts my eyes when I walk into a store and see a beautiful
widescreen TV displaying a 4:3 image that has been unnaturally stretched to
fit the screen. This confirms to me that some people just don't understand
aspect ratio or they think we won't notice that the picture just doesn't
seem right.
It stands to reason that you should only consider a widescreen purchase
these days. More and more broadcasting companies and DVD manufacturers are
moving to the 16:9 format exclusively. It is speculated that by 2010, the
4:3 format will obsolete. However, I still use a 4:3 formatted display for
my PC. I don't watch DVDs with my monitor and other advantages don't seem
that compelling to me yet.
Contrast Ratio
Most people understand contrast, but what about this ratio thing? For LCDs,
the ratio is the difference between the darkest part of the screen and the
brightest. In short, a higher contrast ratio will mean the dark space is
deeper black and the white space is brighter white. You'll generally have to
pay more for a higher contrast ratio monitor, but be careful when evaluating
this number. Manufacturers will use the highest contrast ratio they can find
on the screen, but the lower average ratio is probably more representative.
For use with a computer, a contrast ratio between 700-1000:1 is plenty. If
you plan to use the monitor as a TV screen, you may want to consider a
higher ratio greater than 1000:1.
Response Time
This number becomes important if you plan to use your new monitor to play
third-person shooting games like Quake or Half-Life. The response time is
the time it takes the LCD to change states from on to off or basically how
quickly the screen can refresh the image. The faster (lower number) the
response time, the better.
Again, the response time for web browsing and email is probably not a
factor. Anything below 16ms is fast enough for this use. However, if you use
the monitor as a TV, then you'll need to look for a low number---8ms or
faster would be ideal. Again, beware... Manufacturers post the fastest
response time rather than the more realistic average.
