jesper on 27/3/2006 at 20:08
Hi,
My old CRT has dead (*sob*) and now I am trying to decide what replacement to buy. I know that it should be atleast 19" and most likely not larger if it should be a LCD, that is all I am sure of. I have been looking at numerous LCD displays but I'm just confused by now from various reviews.
I would like to get a LCD since it would save desktop space, look neater and also be easier to move around (not that I move it much but anyway). What I am concerned about is of course that the monitor should make thief look ok or even better, great. I am worried that if I get a mediocre monitor, Thief, which is a very dark game where you have to see nuances and shadows good, might not be very playable. I also am confused as how fast the monitor has to be, mainly cause I want to play other games aswell, such as Doom3 for example, which I also guess would depend on a monitor capable of good shadows and black.
I also want the monitor to be usable, if not even great, for everyday using. Im not a snob when it comes to colors and such. I just want it to look good and if I cant tell much difference unless I hold a scale against the screen, I dont really care.
I just want a damn flat screen that is good at both everyday tasks and games (preferably thief and doom3 style games) and has great overall picture heh. Any suggestions?
Or would you recommend me to just get a CRT? I really really would prefer to find a lcd that does what I want.
I've been looking at the following models: Viewsonic vx922, Viewsonic VP191B, ViewSonic VP930, Samsunc Syncmaster 940BF, and other syncmaster models... Some recent Syncmaster models has got no buttons on the screen but only software settings. This is out of the question since I also use Linux.
I also wonder about glossy screen on some LCD displays. Isnt it very annoying with a glossy screen if you have the desk near a window and the sun shines on it and other situations? Afraid to buy one of those and be very dissapointed.
Oh and also, if I get a 19" (which I want cause i need the 1280x1024 resolution for every day tasks), I know thief will have to run at 1024x768 which I have heard looks bad on LCDs, when not run under native resolution. How bad is this phenomena and does it mean thief is not very much playable on a 19" lcd at all? *scratches head*
I hope you guys can help me get any wiser in this jungle! As it is now my dear PC is just sitting here next to me (Im on my laptop now), waiting for me to get a new monitor so I can play thief :)
Thank you very much in advance,
Jesper
bikerdude on 27/3/2006 at 21:06
Hi Jesper
Right, as it happens ive just been doing some testing with come LCD`s etc.
The bottom line is LCD's are no good for thief, and the reason is due to the inherent way they work. ie they use a backlight and a polarising filter to block that light. (which give you dark and light areas on the screen etc)
When your playing thief on a CRT shadows and dark area's appear as black as the room your adjusted the monitor for. This is possible with a CRT because light is only emitted from the screen when the phosphors are energised, unlike an LCD whoe's backlight is always on.
The problem with all LCD's is no matter how good the polarising filter or how expensive the monitor you are always going to get some light getting through (even with a blank signal being sent to the LCD there was enough glow that I could see my arms etc). Ive tryed several LCD monitors from a £184 19" Samsung 913N all the way upto a £350 19" Viewsonic VP390 and they all had the backlight issue.
If like me (and most taffers) you play at night in a dark room, you`ll notice the backlight issue straight away. The blacks will never be black/dark enough, more like greys and for me this ruins thief and doom, and halflife and Fear and any other 1st person game that uses light and shadow.
My advice is do what i am going to do, get a good 19" trinitron/diamondtron based CRT monitor, this will keep you/me going for a few years while we wait for better LCD technology to come along.
(
www.savastore.com) or (
www.scan.co.uk) or (
www.dabs.co.uk) are good places to start.
biker
moria on 27/3/2006 at 23:25
If you're a good thief, shouldn't you be enquiring about stealing a monitor? :ebil:
Aja on 28/3/2006 at 00:52
Bikerdude is on the mark. I had the same problem. I wanted to get a Trinitron/Diamondtron, but they're out of production and I couldn't find any used. There are websites that sell refurbished, but CRTs are one thing that I'd rather not have to buy refurbished (or online, for that matter).
I'm just waiting patiently until the technology improves... in the meantime I have this stupid Samsung CRT with which engineers must've been trying to emulate an LCD, because at the lowest bright level it still emits light.. :nono:
Vlad Midnight on 28/3/2006 at 07:08
I too agree with Bikerdude, LCD is no good for shadows. Black simply wont be black. I only bought one LCD and took it back the next day. If I cant Thief it has to go:ebil:
242 on 28/3/2006 at 09:12
For home and entertainment use (especially for such dark games as Thief) CRTs are definitely better. I'd recommend Sony or Mitsubishi CRTs (tubes with aperture grill), they are bright, have excellent contrast, pure black and true colours.
Quote:
I had the same problem. I wanted to get a Trinitron/Diamondtron, but they're out of production.
Really?? May be they just changed trademark or something like that? Can't believe they aren't produced anymore, they are the best CRT's.
jesper on 28/3/2006 at 15:54
Thank you all for your replies.
I guess if I buy a CRT I would buy a 19" and not a 21" like my last CRT. Takes so much space. Could you recommend a good model? Getting the damn thing home will be hell though since I don't have access to a car and the post office is far away. I would likely buy online.
Would be good to find a model that has great picture and good reviews when it comes to lifetime. Don't want one that dies after 2 years :)
Damn it, LCD's are so handy and weigh so much less - Too bad the picture quality is inferior.
Aja on 28/3/2006 at 21:00
Quote Posted by Bikerdude
You can fix this by popping the back on the monitor and turning the luminance down on the HT coil.
The monitor is a Samsung 997; I posted on a monitor repair forum and they said that all adjustments for this model are made using software and a hardware interface.
Besides, I'd most likely electrocute myself - I've never opened a monitor before and I don't know what not to touch (of course I have no idea where or what the HT coil is).
jay pettitt on 28/3/2006 at 21:25
Oooh, I keep doing this - but CRT snobbery has to die sometime.
You know what? It's funny - but my not particularly special mid range LCD monitor (a 3 year old LG 17" £300ish) does a suprisingly good stab at black. And some of the other colours too, including somthing that looks quite a lot like white. You'd be amazed. It also displays thief games rather nicely.
Then people get hissy, and try and tell me that I'm mad or something. Apparently 'professionals' use CRTs. Though nobody seems to have told Eizo, Apple, SGI etc etc etc or any of the 'professionals' who choose to use them.
And you also know what? While Trinitron and Diamondtron tubes arn't bad by a long shot: the colour gamut really isn't so good and the balance is invariably mostly yellow or sometimes green but always off. One of the compromises you have to make for that nasty glossy black spray on coating stuff. The last CRT monitor I saw that could do colour properly was a rediculously expensive shadow mask Eizo back in 1990 something. And don't get me started on glare, focus or geometry.
None of which is a big problem if you want to play Thief.
If you want a decent monitor - go try some monitors. There are plenty of crap LCD and CRT types to avoid - but also some really good ones.
-also-
Broadly speaking because the display is sharper and the screen size physically bigger you can display a higher resolution on a given size of flat panel than CRT. So if you're most comfortable with 1024x769 on a 17" CRT you could expect to enjoy 1280x1024 on a 17" TFT without any loss of comfort.
