Looking Forward to Replacing Your Old Monitor?
Dec 01 '01
The Bottom Line If you're one of those who are considering to upgrading or replacing their old monitor, then you might want a new monitor.
Overview
If you think your old monitor is giving you an eyesore or giving you inadequate viewing area, then you may consider replacing your monitor. Is your old monitor also showing signs of inadequate color? If so, you would want to replace your old monitor. Choosing a monitor is a big decision for people who are buying a new computer or even upgrading their existing monitor from a smaller version. Since this is one of the major investments within your computer, you want the monitor to last at least 4 years to be classified as a worthwhile investment. The same thing goes with your new computer. The report chiefly covers how to choose a 17” or 19” monitor. But for 21”+ monitors there’s a little bit of information about it.
Overall Size
One of the things to look for in a standard monitor is the size. If your desk can accommodate the monitor easily without taking up ultra valuable desk space, then you can go for it. What I advise buyers to do is to look at the monitor’s website such as ViewSonic to find out the dimensions before considering to buy that monitor. This is important, especially with buyers that are going for 19” or larger monitors that can take up a lot of valuable workspace on your desk.
Screen Types
The most common of the two screen types is the Invar Shadow Mask. This type of screen generally offers better text rendering, so it doesn’t have jagged edges. These are ideal for even photos or even a DVD movie. The invar shadow masks tend to be much more economical to manufacture and it tends to give off lesser image distortion than the aperture grill counterparts, which I’ll explain later. Most of the invar shadow mask monitors have made their way to flat-faced monitors, which are generally for the average user who doesn’t want too much glare when viewing the screen. Those are generally more expensive because it requires a special procedure to produce a flat faced monitor and the manufacturing process may not be capable of being mistake free. The invar shadow mask uses an electron gun to produce the images in the perforations inside the screen to reproduce deeper colors.
The next type of screen that is also common, but much more common among professionals is the Aperture Grille. The aperture grille uses an electron gun to project images on a narrow stripe to produce even more saturated colors. Many of these monitors are actually from Mitsubishi, the producer and the owner of the trademark Diamondtron. But Sony also has its own league by producing the Trinitron. Generally these are heavier than the invar shadow mask types and they maybe too expensive for many average users. Again these are ideal for 3D games and DVD.
Size of Monitor
The size of monitors that consumers should look for are based on their applications and their computer use patterns.
For many users, including for those who are using their computer for general tasks such as educational software, word processing, the Internet and finances a 17” (measured diagonally) monitor is suitable for many users. 17” monitors are ideal for many users, because it allows users to view large web pages, view DVD movies, work with educational software and many more. This is because of the large viewable area that is provided for the users compared to the 15” monitor counterparts, which are rapidly disappearing by many home and corporate settings. For a 17” monitor, do look for and expect a 16.0” viewable area (measured diagonally) with 0.1” tolerance. For the general home users, I would recommend at a maximum of 0.27mm diagonal dot pitch for darker texts, and improved color distribution and brighter colors. For those who are into entertainment for their 17” monitor such as DVD movies, I would recommend a finer diagonal dot pitch of up to 0.26mm (Grille Pitch of 0.26mm for the Aperture Grille based units such as the Sony Trinitron or Mitsubishi Diamondtron). But for those who are tired of the glare that is present from many curved faced monitors or that they give you an eyesore, I recommend a flat-faced monitor. A flat-faced monitor is basically a standard, except that the viewing screen is flat instead of curved for enhanced color distribution and they generally offer users even better video playback, because of the finer dot pitch that it generally offers compared to their curved faced counterparts. As a result of lowering prices of 17” monitors, I definitely recommend it to all computer users, even for those who want to use their monitor for entertainment, without having the price and the space occupied of a 19” monitor. Most 17” monitors will have an ideal resolution of 1024 x 768 and this translates to why it provides an uncompressed viewing screen. For the price, do expect it to go under $150 up to $ 300.
But for those who can afford to spend some extra $125 or more, they can go for a 19” monitor. However if you’re a professional, I encourage you to have at least a 19” monitor for your professional applications. This goes true for those who are really into DVD movies, 3D games, video creation and even on 3D graphic design. It’s ideal for video creation or viewing, because of the extra large viewing area that is provided for precision graphics that can produce professional results for the users. For a 19” monitor, it’s advisable to look for a minimum diagonal viewing area of 17.9” for many good 19” monitors. For the non-professional 19” monitors I would recommend that the diagonal dot pitch is no more than 0.27mm, but this is OK if you’re actually using your monitor for entertainment purposes, such as DVD movies, however I would suggest a finer dot pitch if it were for DVD movies. But if you’re a professional user, then the diagonal dot pitch should be no more than 0.25mm. For all if you’re going for an aperture grille monitor, don’t settle for a grille pitch of more than 0.26mm. Again if you wanted a 19” flat-faced monitor, they are readily available by many manufacturers recently. With plummeting prices of 19” monitors, I would definitely recommend them to everybody if your desk has the kind of space for it. But be prepared for much bulkier external dimensions if you’re comparing 19” monitors to 17” monitors. The same thing goes with the weight, and users should expect at least 50 lbs. for a 19” monitor and that’s 12-14 lbs. heavier than most 17” monitors. Therefore, it’s important because not every desk can hold such heavy weight of 45 lbs or more. But with lighter designs in the newer 19” monitors, it should be much easier to carry around. Many 19” monitors offer an ideal resolution of 1280 x 1024 and it all is owed to the extra large viewing area of about 18”. For the price, people should expect it at about $250 to more than $550.
But for those who are professionals or really have plenty of extra space on the desk and money, then by all means a 21”+ monitor maybe for you. The 21”+ monitors are chiefly targeted for professional users and the diagonal viewable area should be at least 19.6” for a 21”+ monitor. This league of monitors is excellent for CAD/CAM, video creation, 3D graphics rendering and even if it is a photo studio. The maximum recommended diagonal dot pitch should be no more than 0.24mm or a grille pitch of 0.24mm for the aperture grille monitor. Before you shop for a 21”+ monitor, I encourage you to have a look at how much desk space is available and comparing the dimensions, since 21”+ monitors take up much more space than regular 19” monitors and they weight at about 60 lbs. So, you don’t really want to move the monitor too much if you’re going to buy a 21”+ monitor. For these monitors refer to the manufacturer’s website for ideal resolution settings. For the price, expect it at least $ 500.
What to exactly look for in a monitor?
What users are actually looking for in buying a monitor, is that the control panel should be easy enough for any user and that it should offer a digital onscreen control for precision brightness, contrast, etc…
For many users a 15 pin video connector is adequate for their viewing pleasure in their monitor. But there are certain monitors that offer a detachable video cable so that in case the video cable is damaged, you don’t have to replace the monitor completely. This is a feature usually found in the professional monitors where time really counts for productivity. But in many professional monitors, users can expect dual interface connectors. This can be two 15 pin video connectors or one 15 pin video connector and 5 BNC (Bayonet Nut Connector) connectors. BNC is primarily used for high bandwidth graphics, such as CAD/CAM and video creation. This is ideal when you want to use one monitor for 2 separate computers.
Look for a darker glass on the monitor’s surface to really have enhanced color brightness. This is because of the coating on the monitor’s external viewing surface, actually offers an anti glare and anti static coating to prevent damage to the monitor. For safety and power management, I do suggest Energy Star, NUTEK and MPR-II radiation regulations. But for better radiation controls, I do suggest the modern TCO 99 rating to be present in the monitor, this is a feature usually found in professional monitors.
Some of these monitors offer a USB hub, either included or as an extra from the manufacturer which is convenient for plugging in a digital camera, scanner, mouse or a PDA without buying a USB hub from the computer hardware store. It’s also convenient, because it doesn’t require the user to look for the USB ports in the back of their computer, when they wanted to plug their USB devices.
What I recommend
For the monitors, I would recommend the following manufacturers:
Samsung: www.samsungmonitor.com
Sony: www.sonystyle.com
ViewSonic: www.viewsonic.com
Starters
Samsung 750s, 753DF (Flat Faced); ViewSonic E70, E75, E70f, E75f
Intermediate
Samsung 755DF, 700NF, 955DF (Flat Faced); Sony HMD-A200; Sony HMD-A400; Viewsonic E75, E75f, E90, E90f, E95 and Professional 17”
Advanced
Samsung 900NF or above; Sony G400 or above; any Viewsonic 19” or above
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Member: Hugh Jazz
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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