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Need a new monitor
My long time NEC Multisync has now died, so I need a new monitor. I need one which will calibrate well, and have good black levels. I have heard that the LED monitors are the way to go although I am leary of spending huge amounts of money on a monitor. All suggestions will be appreciated.
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6 Replies
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Hey Bob, I just went through this a few months ago. I just retired a professional CRT 4×3 SONY PVM monitor and shopped around for a widescreen flatscreen. I initially whined and moaned at how they compare with CRTs, but I quickly conceded that if they don’t even MAKE CRTs anymore I might as well get used to seeing my stuff on the same kind of monitor everyone else will see it on (i.e., “a TV”).
Anyway, I wound up with a 32″ LG LED LCD. It was the best-looking picture of all brands I saw, and it’s got component and HDMI inputs. It took a few days to get used to seeing on an LCD what I’d seen before on a CRT (it’s just a different look, period), but now that I’ve acclimated all’s well. I spent $800 on mine, and it’s got all the controls (too many, actually) to set up the picture output.
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LCD is pretty much the answer.
The good news is power… if you used your monitor on a normal work schedule, you can actually pay for the LCD monitor in power savings over the course of a few years.
There are two concerns for video/photo and other art people. The first is color…. most LCDs have crappy color resolution. Many twisted nematic (TN) displays have an effective 6-bits per color.. not good. And not all the same, from panel to panel.
My dual 24″ monitors are both Westinghouse L2410 monitors… over four years old. These were $350 each when new. I chose these because they were tapping into some digital TV technology — the monitors support HDMI, YPrPb, Y/C and CVBS inputs… I could get video out of any camera or other video device up on these screens. The other reason is that these use MVA panels. VA technology (vertical alignment) generally offers full 8-bit color per pixel, more stable colors than TN, and very good video performance.
Top of the line these days is the IPS (inline planar switching) display. They also offer full color, even a bit more stable than the VA-type. The downside is that they require two transistors per segment, so they eat more power than the alternates (and yet, Apple uses these in all of their devices these days). And IPS displays can sometimes display weird effects when driven fast, as with video or gaming.
Just to add to the confusion, virtually every LCD panel manufacturer has their own spin on each of these technologies… various proprietary improvements. But TN, VA, and IPS are the three main kinds.
A few other concerns. LCDs are historically slow. TN displays are now reasonably fast, VA and IPS less so. Most of the time, not a big deal, but you may see some smearing in 60p video, depending on the display.
Viewing angle is also an issue. You can easily spot a TN display.. when you view off-center, it gets dim pretty quickly. IPS and VA are pretty viewable at any reasonable angle. Unless you’re wearing polarized sunglasses… polarization is part of the LCD tech, so if you need to look cool while editing (as if), wear non polarized shades.
Next issue is contrast. Many display technologies make their own light: CRT (electrons excite phosphors, which emit visible light), Plasma (hot plasmas excite phosphors, which emit visible light), DLP (programmable mirror reflects or deflects light from some kind of projector bulb), etc. But LCDs don’t make light… in fact, in all of these displays, you’re using “transmissive” LEDs. All they can do is block light or let it pass. So contrast is an issue.
A typical CRT delivers about a 15,000:1 contrast… blacks look, well, pretty black, whites pretty white. At least if you’re viewing some non-NTSC video source (SVHS, DVD, digital cable/satellite, etc). The native contrast on most native LCD panels is usually between 500:1 and 3000:1, depending on the technology. So most current displays (not my monitors, but I also have a 32″ LCD “TV” in my main computer room, which can also be driven from my PC) have some kind of “dynamic” contrast. The best dynamic contrast is on TV/monitors with dynamic LED backlights. Older/cheaper panels use a single CCFL backlight.. some newer displays use LED edge lighting, and the best use actual LED backlights.
LEDs are fast… really, really fast. So these dynamic displays use them as part of the picture generation. Each LED lights just a small section of the display, and both the LED and the LCD are modulated to deliver much higher contrast. Which on most video looks great, but, kind of like compression artifacts, it can break down on very high contrast scenes.
You’ll find that “convergence” is real… nearly every cheap monitor uses an HDTV panel these days. The PC industry largely backed the 16:10 aspect ratio for displays, the TV industry backed 16:9. But there’s such volume on 16:9 displays, that’s all you find until you get kind of spendy.
Another reason LCD is the right answer today is that most new consumer televisions are LCD. The market has spoken, and thin is a the win. That means plasma or LCD, but plasma is power hungry, and has the same phosphor issues that CRTs have (burn-in, etc). And this is after LCD had already taken over the computer monitor world. So it’s a pretty safe bet that most consumers will be viewing your video on LCDs. Most of the issues with LCD back ten years ago no longer apply, both based on the improvements to the tech and the mass migration of the consumer to LCD display technology.
-Dave
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David
What a comprehensive response! Any particular current makes or models that meet your criteria?
Nigel
Intel i7 920, 12GB RAM, ASUS P6T, Vegas Pro 10 (x32/x64), Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, Vegas Production Assistant 1.0, VASST Ultimate S Pro 4.1, Neat Video Pro 2.6
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I’m still happy with my out-of-production Westinghouse monitors. But I think most of their recent stuff has gone very low-end (mine were a great deal in an MVS display, I think using an AU Optronics panel, 4-5 years ago, but not the uber-cheap stuff you see from many vendors today).
As for specific monitors still made… you’d really have to check them out in person. You want to anyway, just to make sure you’re going to be happy with it. I’ve heard very good things about some of these, but have not used them, so take this as a place to look.
The first I’d look at … and it’s so new, I haven’t seen one yet, is the BenQ VW2420H (they also have a 27″ model). This is the first VA panel with LED backlight on the market. The panel itself delivers 3,000:1 contrast, and with the dynamic LED modulation, the effective contrast in dynamic mode is off-the-chart. You get black blacks, and as with mine, I think VA has a slight edge over IPS for video. Also a bit cheaper… these should be under $500.
Dell’s U2410 (I think they use a Samsung IPS panel) is pretty well regarded. This is 1920×1200 (your first clue this was made for computers, they’re not using a TV panel), and offers extended gamut and 80,000:1 dynamic contrast. These are about $550… you’re definitely in the higher rent district with IPS. In general, I’m not a big fan of Dell, but I have been hearing very good things about their monitors for years.
HP also sells a 24″ IPS monitor, the LP2475w, for the same price ballpark, also with extended range color. They have a few other IPS models. The ZR24w also gets good press, that’s a slightly lower price (newer model, maybe) S-IPS display.
NEC still makes some great monitors, too. But sadly, all the screens in the $500-or-so and under range are TN; you need to spend about a grand for IPS.. PA241W for example.
If you have way too much money to spend, you can’t go wrong with most EIZO monitors, but that’s higher rent than were I live… plus, I need two, I’d always have to double the price. The S2433W looks like a great VA panel, but it’s nearly a grand in price… also offers extended color gamut.
As for accessories, the built-in USB hub is common, but wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I went for the large variety of ports in mine, even if that left out DVI (DVI to HDMI is just a cable, however). The new thing is DisplayPort, which hasn’t caught on everywhere, but being an Intel thing, probably will at some point, so that’s another thing to consider.
-Dave
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Decent site for testing monitor issues is here: https://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/viewing_angle.php
-Dave
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NEC MultiSync P221W-BK 22″ Widescreen LCD Computer Display: saw this at B&H for $459, I’m thinking of adding a second monitor, current Viewsonic is fine for desktop, but it’s 72% of RGB, would this NEC at 96% of RGB be an “upgrade” for use as my “preview” monitor for picture in VP9?
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com
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