LCD – For the Novice and the Expert
by Kristopher Kubicki on September 4, 2003 12:13 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
Glossary
Analog Input — The old fashioned way of connecting monitors to computers, uses a 15 pin cable for most PCs.ASV — Advanced Super View. A display mode for LCDs.
Cd/m2 — Candela per meter squared. A measure of luminescence.
CRT — cathode ray tube.
Contrast — The difference between light and dark shades.
Contrast Ratio — The measurement between light and dark shades on an LCD.
DLP — Digital light projection — this technology is an evolution of projection and rear projection that may totally replace rear projection TVs in the near future.
D-Sub (15 pin) — The analog connector between the video card and the computer is more properly referred to as the D-Sub 15 pin cable.
DVI — Digital Video Interface. This interface is the preferred connection when dealing with LCDs. These come in three forms: DVI-D, DVI-I and DVI-A. DVI-A is analog signal over DVI; DVI-D is digital over digital; and DVI-I is the most versatile, capable of digital or analog signal.
FFS — Fringe Field Switching, one more LCD Display mode.
Ghosting — The type of signal interference associated with harmonic oscillation over the cable or connector. The result is usually an “echo” of the original image superimposed across the screen.
IPS — In Plane Switching. An LCD display mode.
LCD — Liquid Crystal Display.
Luminescence — The brightness of something, measured in candela per meter squared.
MVA — Multi Domain Vertical Alignment. An advancement on the traditional VA display mode.
Native Resolution — The monitor physically has a certain amount of pixels wide and tall. Typically, this is usually 1280x1024 on larger displays. The native resolution is the resolution your display can handle without any scaling issues.
Nematic phase — The process of twisting liquid crystal substrates to allow or inhibit light to go through.
© VESA
Nits — the improper name for candela per meter squared. (Lumiensnace)
OSD — On Screen Display. The menu for a monitor.
Pixel — The cluster of Red, Green and Blue sub-pixels that create the illusion of a full color spectrum.
PVA — Patterned Vertical Alignment. Another LCD display mode primarily developed by Samsung.
Response Time — The time (in milliseconds) for the pixel to fully untwist and then twist (or go from black to white and back to black). The “rising” (Tr) component is the time from black to white. The “falling” (Tf) component is from white to black.
Scaling — An LCD monitor contains only so many pixels in the display. Therefore, displaying an image that is not the exact same resolution dimensions will result in an image that is skewed and distorted.
Sub-pixel — A single liquid crystal in front of a red, green or blue filter.
Streaking — Similar to ghosting, streaking occurs when interference along the cabling or connectors begins to comp
Substrate — The heart of the LCD. This is the glass sandwich that holds all the transistors and liquid crystals.
TN — Twisted Nematic. An older LCD display mode.
Viewing angle — The measurement that refers to how viewable the screen is at extreme angles. Some manufacturers list angles like 120 degrees, which means 60 degrees left and right. Most simply list values like “70 degrees left and rights.”
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Anonymous User - Sunday, September 7, 2003 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1730Its ok from what I hear.
Anonymous User - Saturday, September 6, 2003 - link
Great article - typical AnandTech coverage/information! I have a question though - I would like to get a 17" LCD with DVI and S-Video inputs (for playing console games). The Samsung MP series has VGA and S-Video, but no DVI. Albatron has a one with some nice specs - the L17AT.http://www.albatron.com.tw/english/ia/pro_view.asp...
The only problem is that I have seen no reviews of them. I am a little leery of spending $500+ on a monitor sight unseen. Any suggestions?
KristopherKubicki - Saturday, September 6, 2003 - link
#49, Ill add that into Part II then.#50, perhaps down the line I will try to do that. It would not really fit into part II right now.
Cheers,
Kristopher
artifex - Saturday, September 6, 2003 - link
Also, I'd really like to own an LCD because of the weight and size issues (I want larger than my current 16" viewable CRT, 17 or 19 maybe), but also because of the expected power savings. Would you consider adding a comparison of the power consumption in future roundups?artifex - Saturday, September 6, 2003 - link
I am disgusted to discover that many manufacturers using the 262000 color panels are lying and claiming 16.7 million. I challenge Anandtech to clearly identify these manufacturers in future product reviews, because if they can't tell the truth about this simple spec, how can we trust them on things like warranties?KristopherKubicki - Saturday, September 6, 2003 - link
#47 - Yes, SamsungUSA anyway. Computex is around the corner, maybe we can find out something new there =)Anonymous User - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
Hi Kristopher, is Samsung still denying/not talking about their X line of 16ms panels?KristopherKubicki - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
Hi Dan,The Apple 23" monitor is OK, but its more bark than bite (Apple does these amazing things with advertising). I would be very hesitant to judge a monitor by its contrast ratio.
In fact, one monitor we reviewed a few months ago, the Samsung 192T claimed a 500:1 contrast ratio when we recieved. Now, the specifications claim 750:1 even though nothing has changed on the monitor.
In any case, do remember that the Cinematic Displays are expensive as well. Samsung has done some very neat things in the 21 and 23" area, and in my opinion they are better than apples. To further sweeten the deal you wont need a seperate adaptor to convert the signal.
If you use graphics heavily (as in professionally) CRT is still your only option.
As for your question about DVI, there are actually about 3 versions of the technology. However, almost all hardware on the PC uses the DVI-I format. This format is backwards compatible with the other two, so you'll be just fine.
Cheers,
Kristopher
Anonymous User - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
Hi my old 17" CRT is dying, and I'll need to replace it very soon. I have found that when working in PhotoShop, my old 17" monitor is just to small, and my eyes get quit sore. I think I would like to get and LCD of around 19". I am a PC user and am running Windows 98se.In my research "the Monitor to which all others is compaired" is the Apple 23" Cinem HD Display Having a resolution of 1920 by 1200, 170 viewing angle, brightness of only 200 cd/m2, lowsey 350:1 contrast ratio, and a half decient pixel pitch of 0.258.
Here in Australia coumptor stores aren't at all helpful in showing you their monitors in real world sisutions. So I've only been able to read the technical specs found on the internet. It seems a number of monitors have hit the 700 to 1 mark, and Planar offer a 19" with a pixel pitch of 0.242mm at 1600 x 1200 while most offer a auful 0.290mm at 1280 x 1024.
Going on specifications alone, I think I would like a 19" LCD with 1600 x 1200 resolution, 300 CD/m2 brightness, 700 to 1 contrast ratio, 25ms or less response time, 170 degree horizonal and vertical viewing angle, 0.242 mm pixel pitch, and of course a DVI coennection. I am not a gamer.
Is this reasonable and practical, or is a CRT a better option, and if so which one would best suit the graphics environment?
I recently read something about there being two kinds of DVI, DVI and DVI-D, is this a concern?
Thank You for any help you can give me, my e-mail address is danandrews@optusnet.com.au
Sincerely, Dan Andrews
Anonymous User - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
What's the deal with all the misleading and irrelevant hypertext links in the article (e.g. "computer", "connection", "solution", etc?)