Windows 7: Are LCD Monitors getting better?

I use a 19 inch Samsung SyncMaster 955df CRT.



It is The best monitor I have ever owned. I bought it second hand when my other monitor went out. This thing was made in 2002. It is flat screen and color and performance is perfect.

I just bought my wife a new flat screen LCD 20 inch widescreen Acer. (strange but I could not find a straight, non widescreen lcd monitor anyplace.. what gives? )

She loves it. I hate it. It and all LCD screens have this backlight type of effect kind of sheen on thier screens.. You know what i'm talking about? My wife and others say you quickly get used to it. I cannot stand it. It ruins the true color for me and is not pleasing to look at.

There is none of that with a CRT Monitor. So they traded better visual effects in the CRT for an LCD that is not as good. This really sucks because you cannot buy new CRT monitors anymore.

Are they improving on this any? Does anyone make an LCD that is as crystal as a CRT that does not have this effect?

You probably want to look for IPS based flat panel display. The TN based flat panels are super popular and cheap...but are not as accurate as you have noticed.

As far as the TN panels go, i recently got a LG W2453V and have been very happy with it.
Even though it's a TN panel, I can honestly say it's best monitor Ive ever owned,
Absolutely beatiful picture, especially for Bluray. And games look incredible.

I would say some newer TN panels are better than earlier models. but depends on the brand I suppose.


Question about IPS panels though:

From what I rememebr reading, IPS are far superior in solor reproduction, and are leaps and bounds better for Internet, photo editing etc.
..
But they suffer from higher response times , which is a really bad thing if your a Gamer.

Is this still true?
It has been a while since I was looking into them, and at the time they were still quite expensive.

Why don't you look at some LCD SyncMasters? Mine's an older one (914v), but it has worked beautifully, giving me a clear and crisp picture.

I also have a LCD ViewSonic ... same clear, crisp picture on it too.

For those of you who do not know what a the differences between the TN panel techology and the IPS, go here:

TFT LCD - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I had to look this up. LOL

I have not seen a IPS panel or if I did I did not know it. I will have to look at one close up to see if this effect I am talking about is gone. That article states, concerning IPS;

" Its name comes from the main difference from TN panels, that the crystal molecules move parallel to the panel plane instead of perpendicular to it. This change reduces the amount of light scattering in the matrix, which gives IPS its characteristic wide viewing angles and good color reproduction. "

Do you really know that this strange backlight effect I am talking about is not there? If I sit my monitor next to my wife's, I can see it right away. In the absence of a clear CRT to compare it to, you may just not notice it.. block it out so to speak.. like my wife does.

In my post above I mention the line in the article about the color. But it' not really a color problem at all.. it' the sheen on the screen.. I can see this even if the desktop is blank or set to any solid color.

In other words.. this effect is built into the surface of the screen itself, its not a color reproduction problem. I can see it even before Windows loads. I can see it when the monitor is turned on, and unplugged from the video card.

Perhaps I am not describing the effect correctly. It's hard to describe. I have seen this effect on every LCD I have ever seen. I know there is nothing wrong with my wife's monitor.. no defects that is.. it's just the way all LCD's are made.... unless an IPS will fix this and I just have not seen one.

The LG 42LH5000 LCD TV is one of the most fabulous pieces of equipment I have ever owned before. Worth every single eurocent that I spent on it.

I know what you're talking about...it's like there's a layer of fine silk covering the panel that gives the display a....for lack of a better term...texture that isn't present on CRTs. It's the dust cover that goes on top of the panel itself.

You do get used to it.

It depends on the model.

Mine for example has a 'gaming mode' which has a 0 ms response time.

However the difference to all the other 'normal modes', is not that big, as they are perfectly fine with response time as well.

But CRT's do have a superior image quality imo.

Yes, I believe that is it. I know people get used to it.. hehe, like my wife did.. but I never did. Had a laptop once.. it drove me crazy.

If it is only a dust cover.. why can't they make one out of a materiel that does not have this effect?

Would it be possible to remove the dust cover to fix the problem?