Great to look at
Written: Dec 07 '07 (Updated Oct 28 '08)
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Pros: Great resolution, great color, looks good at any viewing angle
Cons: it weights about 50 pounds.
The Bottom Line: I'll be sad when mine dies.
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| alan's Full Review: Sony STYLEPRO CPD-E440/B 19 inch CRT Monitor |
CRTs are pretty much a dead product category in the stores. But you can still get them cheap online, especially via places like craigs list or ebay. Not only are they cheaper than new LCDs, but for some purposes they are much better.
I use my Sony E440 for four things primarily: writing, watching movies, playing games, and editing photos.
Arguably, text on a LCD would look better than it does on my Sony. The contrast is generally higher on a LCD than it is on a CRT. The E440 was a high end monitor for it's time, but it can't really compete here. But it's still perfectly usable.
As for watching movies, the Sony CRT is way better than any LCD I've seen. There's no motion blur, what so ever. Plus, the CRT has bright clear colors from any viewing angle. I've never seen an LCD that I'd want to gather a group of people around. If you don't sit directly in front of an LCD then you don't get good color.
For playing games, the CRT is also great. Again, there's no motion blur. Also, you can set the resolution to whatever best suits the game, with no blurriness. With an LCD there's only one sharp resolution: the maximum resolution. With a CRT it's still sharp all the way down to 640x480, or more realistically, 1024x768. This is great for the more resource demanding games out there, since lower resolution = higher frame rates.
Finally, for editing photos, you can take advantage of the great color reproduction of a CRT, and also you can take advantage of the very high resolution. The E440 can go up to 2048 by 1536, way higher than anything but the most expensive LCD can display. That's great for the high-megapixel images that today's camera's produce. Note, however, that at that resolution the monitor's refresh rate is 60hz; it looks way better if you dial it back down to 1600x1200.
Keep in mind that you shouldn't just all CRTs by the few cheap junky ones you can still find in the store. The E440 is a quality piece of hardware, and looks way, way better.
So if you are not ready to buy a super high end LCD, consider a cheap used CRT. It will take up a lot more desk space, and weigh 3 times as much as an LCD, but the visual experience will be great.
UPDATE: after about 5 years of service, my CRT is starting to fail. Given that these CRTs have not been made for the last 4 years or so, that suggests that buying a used one is a bit risky. Make sure you can see it before you buy it!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
alan
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Member: Alan Robinson
Location: La Jolla, CA
Reviews written: 63
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Cognitive Science PhD student, UC San Diego.
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