Computer Monitors
 

This Xmas my wife gave me a new flat screen, 17 inch computer monitor. I had an old, big, tube monitor before. Now, I really love the new one, but now I can really see all the mistakes I made with processing my older photos. I can't believe the difference a monitor makes. There are so many pics that I thought were pretty good, and now I get the old "What was I thinking?"

With all the monitors out there, I guess we really never know how the original picture really looked like.

Hi Mike,
I think with monitors, there's good ones and bad ones. This is equally applicable to CRT or flat panel stuff. I've known collegues who've walked into a store, looked at all the monitors and then insisted that they want "that one", not another supposed identical one out of the stockroom, but that particular example.

As for what the original picture looked like, you're better judging that from a print. That comment will stir debate, I'm sure!

Regards,

Duncan

I'd agree with that as long as it is a proper photo printer. I often wonder how pics I post are seen by viewers as I am on a laptop with TFT screen. Not a proper job.

Don

Be carefull with flat screen LCD monitors, what you see is not always what you get! It is extremely difficult to set up a quality LCD screen, let alone a general run of the mill LCD screen. The old CRT monitor screens still give the best visual output at any price premium. In all cases, there is no excuse for your pictures if your screen is not set up properly, you'll never know how good or how bad your shots are if you don't spend time setting up. There's plenty of info on the web about setting up a computer monitor for displaying photographs, reccommend much time spent reading and trial and error before production.

nirofo.

I had a 17" CRT monitor and got really hacked off with the fact that my prints rarely looked like what I was seeing on screen. I'd had my printer calibrated but was still wasting a lot of ink and paper.

In the end the chap who was writing profiles for my printer explained that, unless I had a top quality TFT monitor, calibrating that accurately was nigh on impossible. In the end I sold it and bought a second hand Trinitron CRT 21" monitor off ebay for £90 and now what I see is what I get. :D Although it takes up a lot of desk space and does not look sexy, it was the best thing I've done!

I would agree PROVIDED you've had your printer properly profiled. If you are relying on the drivers that ship with the printer then, in my experience, its a bit of a hit & miss affair. This is particularly the case if you want to use a paper from a different manufacturer - say if you want a fine art or linen finish for example, or want to use a cheaper paper. By having my Epson 1290 profiled I can get excelent results with Jessops own paper which is about 1/2 the price of Epson ;) The contact I use works by post and charges £10.50 for the first paper & £5 thereafter - if anyone want details please contact me (and I'm not on commission LOL).

The alternative is to have your prints done professionally. Web based Proam Imaging do a very good job at a ridiculously low prices (£1 for 18" x 12" + postage). The only downside is that you have to pre prepare you images to their own spec – 402 dpi (why 402??) and convert the document profile to a colour space they provide on their website. That said the results are very good (maybe I should look into commissions!!)

Opps - have I got a bit off topic? :o

Thanks all...I went to http://epaperpress.com/monitorcal/ that I got from a google search with "Calibrating a monitor." I downloaded WiziWYG which is a free calibrating software. Much better! Everything looked good except the monitor gamma, and the software fixed it!

As a side note. I have several modes programmed into my monitor. By pushing a button I can toggle threw them. There's one named "Pictures." If you have this feature on your monitor, don't be fooled into thinking the people that set it knew what they were doing. I used it with several web sites on calibrating a monitor, and it was always way off!

I bought a new PC 3 days ago which came with an LCD monitor, by last night I was back to using my old CRT monitor as I was fed-up with constantly trying (and failing) to get a decent picture on the LCD.
Is this really progress?

I would try again using some of the suggestions here. Now that I have it right, I love it! I could never go back to CRT.

Basically the professional consensus for image editing is if you are using a decent £200 17" CRT monitor then you would need to spend £700 plus on a LCD monitor to get the equivalent quality.

I would fully agree with that. Another interesting point I read about LCD screens is that the brightness deterioration with time is much the same as CRT. Apart from the space saving and beter image geometry I don't see what benefit they are at this point in time. Viewing angle and poor reliability are the biggest pain with them.

Rob

I've been searching the web for articles on CRT vs LCD. It seems the older articles do say that the color quality on the CRT is much better than LCD. But looking at the latest articles it would seem that the LCD technology has caught up. Most say that the deference is almost the same. Switching between my LCD and CRT monitor, I would have to agree. My LCD monitor walks all over the CRT!

Here's an artical from PC Review:

There are many other aspects which differentiate the two technologies so let’s take a peek and see what one must consider when shopping for an LCD monitor and which type has an advantage over the other.

Aesthetics: LCD monitors are aesthetically very pleasing to the eye being slim and stylish. There is no comparison with the CRT here. The current breed of LCD monitors has excellent colour combinations, and neat looking control panels. The weight of the LCD monitors is roughly 6-8 lbs for 15 inch models and slightly more for the 17 inch ones. Since it is very light it can be handled very comfortably even by a lady. Some manufacturers have come up with an outboard power supply thus reducing the thickness of the panel which now can be had at less than an inch!

Angle of view: Although the CRT monitors lead the way in this department, the viewing angle on LCD monitors is getting wider and wider and current models offer over 160 degrees. For all practical purposes that is more than sufficient for any user. Therefore the angle of view is not a major concern anymore as it used to be when LCD monitors initially emerged in the marketplace.

Colour Purity: This is where the CRT monitors take a clear advantage. However the best LCD monitors are very good and for an average user the difference is hardly noticeable in side by side comparison. The difference can vary from slight to significant depending on the quality of the LCD monitor used in comparison.

Contrast: Traditionally the CRT monitors always had better contrast and LCD monitors were lagging behind. Recently some of the best LCD monitors have come very close and according to some they match what the CRT is capable of in terms of contrast. This aspect of the monitor helps in correct tonal characteristics in low light situations. A high contrast monitor is likely to produce black as black rather than dark grey. High contrast is most important for gaming and movie playback.

Dead Pixels: What are Dead Pixels? Dead Pixels are simply pixels on the LCD monitors that do not function. Dead Pixels are not repairable hence they stay there for good. Dead Pixels can easily be identified in programs with white background; you can spot them in the same place every time you switch on your system. In the early days the issue of dead pixels on LCD monitors was a big one confronting most of the manufacturers, however, the manufacturing practices have greatly improved over time and dead pixel issue is very much controlled based on the experience gained. Still many manufacturers themselves are confused as to the Warranty Policies they need to enact for replacement of those monitors with dead pixels. The top manufacturers have no problem replacing the monitor within the warranty period. So when shopping for an LCD monitor check the dead pixel policy indicated in the warranty. Also check for dead pixels once you install it in your system. If you spot a dead pixel within the warranty period get a replacement.

Energy Requirements: LCD monitors are extremely economical when it comes to power consumption. Their consumption is in the region of 25 -50 watts compared to CRT which consume like 60-80 watts for a 15 inch model to almost 70 to 150 for 17 and 19 inch models.

Image Brightness: LCD Monitors win hands down in this department. They offer almost twice the brightness compared to the CRT monitor. If you use the system in a brightly lit room or with plenty of sunshine coming through the window LCD is the best choice.

Magnetic Interference: Again the CRT looses out in this department too. LCD monitors are not affected by the magnetic interference at all. Many of the LCD monitors come with stereo speakers built-in and need not be shielded for magnetic interference. Shielding the speakers makes them very costly, thus the savings can be either passed on to the consumer or spent by manufacturer elsewhere in a more effective way.

Response Time: As mentioned in the beginning of this article the response time of the LCD monitor is crucial for the gamers and movie buffs. Response time refers to updating of the pixel colours. Ghosting or trailing effects start to become evident when the response time slows down to 20 ms. One should definitely look for monitors offering 16ms or even 12 ms response time. We may even see monitors in near future with response times in single digits!

Screen Flicker: One of the most annoying things on the CRT monitor which we all had to suffer was the flickering effect, in other words the low refresh rates. This contributed towards headaches which users experienced on a daily basis. This aspect was also responsible for lower productivity. CRT does not have an advantage when it comes to the flickering effect. By default windows always sets the refresh rate at 60 Hz, until you install your monitor and it detects the configuration file and sets the refresh rate based on factory setting of the monitor in question. The VESA standard states that the minimum refresh rate to avoid eye strain is 72 Hz. Some of the good CRT monitors can go much higher. Ideally a refresh rate of 85 Hz should be OK for most people using 17 inch monitors. Due to difference in technology the LCD Monitors are clear winners as refresh rate is not an issue with them. Normally you get a choice of two different refresh rates on the LCD monitor but it is best to go with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

Conclusion
The final word...

A quality LCD monitor nowadays is very much affordable, you certainly get your moneys worth, unlike a couple of years back when the prices were still on the higher side and the quality was nothing to write home about.

The CRT was king in all the departments. Maybe Not anymore!

I guess it really comes down to personal preference.

Most of the Pros still use CRT's, the top end LCD's are way too expensive yet and still come nowhere near a top end CRT at less than half the price. Expensive profiling equipment is a necessity to get the best from LCD screens. By the time LCD's become affordable to the keen amateur, there'll be new tchnology out that'll make you wonder why you even bothered looking at them! If you need the space and can afford a quality LCD then go for it, those of us who prefer to spend our money wisely, will pay less for a good CRT and get more out of it.

nirofo.

Computer Moniters
 

:) Hi I purchased a Color Plus at last years Focus exhibition and have set up both my desktop and laptop with it and have been very pleased with the results. I set up my laptop as soon as I purchased it and was surprised at the difference from the factory settings.


Pete

I have just tried the calibration on my monitor and just noticed in the main controls there is a setting for a srgb pre-set hope it works okay, unfortunately there is know way of really telling

Christine

Have a gander at this

http://www.epaperpress.com/monitorcal/

Rob

Thanks Robski had a try of that earlier just ended making a mess of the colours.