Choosing you Monitor.

The Monitor. What do you need to know and what can i tell you before getting one.

A visual display unit, often called simply a monitor or display, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays images generated from the video output of devices such as computers, without producing a permanent record. Most newer monitors typically consist of a [TFT-LCD](thin film transistor liquid crystal display) with older monitors based around a cathode ray tube (CRT). Almost all of the mainstream new monitors being sold on market now are LCD. The monitor comprises the display device, simple circuitry to generate and format a picture from video sent by the signals source, and usually an enclosure. Within the signal source, either as an integral section or a modular component, there is a display adapter to generate video in a format compatible with the monitor.

Things to consider:

The size
Imaging technologies
Performance measurements
Pros and cons


The Screen Size

The size of a display is typically given as the distance between two opposite screen corners. One problem with this method is that it does not distinguish between the aspect ratios of monitors with identical diagonal sizes, in spite of the fact that a shape of a given diagonal span's area decreases as it becomes less square. For example, a 4:3 21" monitor has an area of 211 square inches, while a 16:9 21" widescreen has an area of only 188 square inches.

This method of measurement is from the first types of CRT television, when round picture tubes were in common use. Being circular, they only needed to use their diameter to describe their tube size. When round tubes were used to display rectangular images, the diagonal measurement was equivalent to the round tube's diameter. This method continued even when CRT tubes were manufactured as rounded rectangles.

Imaging technologies

As with television, many different hardware technologies exist for displaying computer-generated output:

Liquid crystal display (LCD). TFT LCDs are currently the most popular display device for computers.

Cathode ray tube (CRT)
computer monitors produce images using pixels. These were the most popular display device for older computers.

Plasma display

Video projectors use CRT, LCD, DLP, LCoS, and other technology to emit light to a projection screen. Front projectors use screens as reflectors to send light back, while rear projectors use screens as diffusers to refract light forward. Rear projectors are often integrated into the same case as their screen.

Surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED)

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display


Performance measurements

The performance of a monitor is measured in the following parameters:

Luminance is measured in candelas per square meter.

Viewable image size is measured diagonally. For CRTs, the viewable size is typically one inch (25 mm) smaller than the tube itself.

Display resolution is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. Maximum resolution is limited by dot pitch.

Dot pitch is the distance between pixels of the same color in millimeters. In general, the smaller the dot pitch, the sharper the picture will appear.

Refresh rate is the number of times in a second that a display is illuminated. Maximum refresh rate is limited by response time.

Response time is the amount of time a pixel in a monitor takes to go from active (black) to inactive (white) and back to active (black) again. It is measured in milliseconds. Lower numbers mean faster transitions and therefore fewer visible image artifacts.

Contrast ratio is the ratio of the luminosity of the brightest color (white) to that of the darkest color (black) that the monitor is capable of producing.

Power consumption is measured in watts.

Aspect ratios is the ratio of the horizontal length to the vertical length. 4:3 is the standard aspect ratio, for example, so that a screen with a width of 1024 pixels will have a height of 768 pixels. If a widescreen display has an aspect ratio of 16:9, a display that is 1024 pixels wide will have a height of 576 pixels.

Viewing angle is the maximum angle at which images on the monitor can be viewed, without excessive degradation to the images. It is measured in degrees horizontally and vertically.

Pros and Cons

CRT

Pros:

Very high contrast ratio. 20,000:1 or greater, much higher than many modern LCDs and plasma displays.
High speed response.
Excellent Additive color, wide gamut and low black level limited only by external environment.
Can display natively in almost any resolution and refresh rate.
Near zero color, saturation, contrast or brightness distortion. Excellent viewing angle.
No input lag.
A reliable, proven display technology.

Cons:

Large size and weight (a 40" unit weighs over 200lbs).

Geometric distortion in non-flat CRTs.

Older CRTs are prone to burn-in.

Warm up time required prior to peak luminance and proper color rendering.

Greater power consumption than similarly sized displays, such as LCD.
Screened devices are prone to moiré effect at highest resolution (does not apply to triple-tube projection)

Intolerant of damp conditions, with dangerous wet failure characteristics.

Small risk of implosion (due to internal vacuum) if the picture tube is broken in aging sets.

Use under Lower refresh rates causes noticeable flicker.

Internal lethally high voltages.

Flyback transformer produces characteristic high-pitched noise when close to set.

Increasingly difficult to obtain models at HDTV resolutions, due to consumers' perception of antiquity.


LCD

Pros:

Very compact and light.

Low power consumption.

No geometric distortion.

Rugged.

Little or no flicker depending on back light.

Cons:

Low contrast ratio.

Limited viewing angle, causing color, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary, even within the intended viewing angle, by mere variations in posture.

Uneven back lighting in some monitors, causing brightness distortion, especially toward the edges.

Slow response times, which cause smearing and ghosting artifacts (although many modern LCDs have response times of 8ms or less).

Only one native resolution. Displaying other resolutions requires a video scaler, which degrades image quality at lower resolutions.

Fixed bit depth, many cheaper LCDs are incapable of truecolor.

Input lag.

Somewhat more expensive than CRT.

Dead pixels are possible during manufacturing.


Plasma


Pros:

Compact and light.

High contrast ratios (10,000:1 or greater).

High speed response.

Excellent color, wide gamut and low black level.

Near zero color, saturation, contrast or brightness distortion. Excellent viewing angle.

No geometric distortion.

Highly scalable, with less weight gain per increase in size (from less than 30 inches wide to the world's largest at 150 inches).

Cons:

Large pixel pitch means either low resolution or a large screen

Noticeable flicker when viewed at close range

High operating temperature.

Somewhat more expensive than LCD.

High power consumption.

Only has one native resolution. Displaying other resolutions requires a video scaler, which degrades image quality at lower resolutions.

Fixed bit depth.

Input lag.

Older PDPs are prone to burn-in.

Dead pixels are possible during manufacturing.


Penetron


Pros:

See-through for transparent HUDs (although LCDs are also transparent, they are not self-lighting.)

Very high contrast ratios.

Extremely sharp.

Cons:

Color displays are limited to about four tints.

Orders of magnitude more expensive than the other display technologies listed here.

Having that in mind. Choose your monitor, and proceed to the keyboard and mouse.