LCD Buyer's Guide

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: DustyNL
What about backlight bleeding on the VP930b rev.3?
Thought I read somewhere it was not too good on first version.

I'm not sure. I thought my unit's bleeding was pretty bad, but maybe it's not so bad in rev 3.

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
Just got the ViewSonic VP930b (rev 3). Picture quality is EXCELLENT!! I love the 19" size... not too big, not too small. It's like reading a digital newspaper right in your hands. It is definitely revision 3 because on the back it says ViewSonic VP930b-3

Thanks again for another great recommendation!

Glad you're happy with it.

 

[Beelziboss]

Anyone reccomend any 19 or 20's LCD Widescreeens with low enough response time for gaming, that dont cost $500?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Beelziboss
Anyone reccomend any 19 or 20's LCD Widescreeens with low enough response time for gaming, that dont cost $500?

Sure, there are lots in the OP that are recommended for gaming.

I would say the Samsung 940BF, BenQ FP93GX, and LG L204WT are good.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: xboxist

Originally posted by: Butterbean
Seem price dropped on NEC 20WMGX2 at quite a few places. It has been 515 at Page Computers and around 550 at several other places (see PriceWatch).

http://store.pagecomputers.com/catalog/...itors/20_inch/998920.html#tab_overview

For what's it worth... my one and only experience with Page Computers can be summed up as this:

-- Bought a $400 video card online (shown as "in stock")
-- Credit card was charged immediately; email confirmation
-- 7 days go by; card hasn't shipped
-- It took a call from ME to find out that the card really isn't in stock, and they won't have any for two more weeks
-- Ordered canceled, Page Computers automatically rejected from any future consideration


Regardless, it's nice to see the price of that monitor start to fall. Every bit helps when you're already that expensive.

Reseller rating has taken a severe drive the last 6 months hovering around 3! Reminds me on monarch. But unlike monarch I've never had a problem with them getting my GX2 for only $7 shippping and fast, among other things I've ordered there. Definite buyer beware though since reseller ratings don't lie.

 

[Beelziboss]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Beelziboss
Anyone reccomend any 19 or 20's LCD Widescreeens with low enough response time for gaming, that dont cost $500?

Sure, there are lots in the OP that are recommended for gaming.

I would say the Samsung 940BF, BenQ FP93GX, and LG L204WT are good.

thanks, i will check those out

 

[rxblitzrx]

Originally posted by: DustyNL
What about backlight bleeding on the VP930b rev.3?
Thought I read somewhere it was not too good on first version.

I'll try to check it out. My parent's are using it at work so I'm not able to test it for very long. Oh, one HUGE annoyance is the location of the green power on LED. It's super bright, right in your face, and located at the bottom middle of the bezel. Really bad location. I have to put black tape over it.

The controls are also really hard to play with. Instead of a Menu button, + button, - button, or any other intuitive setup, they have 1, up, down, 2, and power. And you can't even see them because of the stupid LED light.

Picture quality is great though. I love the fact that the screen slides all the way down to the table. Definitely brighter than anything I'll ever need. I have the brightness on 70.

 

[BassBomb]

I am buying my NEC 20WMGX2 "again" from bestbuy at now 550$ CDN 641$ shipped.

Can't wait. Hopefully no screw ups with the credit problems.

 

[EvilComputer92]

hey xtknight

what are your thoughts on these two LCD TVs

Samsung 26"

Westinghouse 32"

I'm looking for a good HDTV to hook up my Xbox 360 to that is below 1k
Any other suggestions?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: EvilComputer92
hey xtknight

what are your thoughts on these two LCD TVs

Samsung 26"

Westinghouse 32"

I'm looking for a good HDTV to hook up my Xbox 360 to that is below 1k
Any other suggestions?

I really am not sure. The Westinghouse looks decent (I like the bigger size) and from what I've seen the bigger LCD TVs generally have better image quality as well. Resolution may not be quite as good (it'll be slightly blockier on the bigger Westinghouse), but colors may be better. Again, just a guess, you should really check out avsforum for LCD TVs. They are a completely different breed.

 

[BassBomb]

I just read the OP again and it stated you wanted reviews of any LCD you own! Well here is mine.

I have the Samsung 915N (either N or N2 doesnt distinguish on the bezel).

Specs:
19"
1280x1024 Resolution
700:1 Contrast
300cd/m2 Brightness
8ms Response time
VGA
No Built in Scaling Capabilities
TN Panel, thus 6 bit color.
--

So this was my first LCD ever, and I felt it was very good. Image Quality was far greater than my CRT. Less colors were washed out, everything was much crisper.

But the first thing I noticed was, DAMN thats bright! I use it at 25 Brightness 100 Contrast. When gaming I adjust hte brightness accordingly (100 for a dark game).

My biggest concern when switching to LCD was about ghosting. Ghosting is good, cept when playing a solid color game like Worms Armageddon. FPS You will not notice it unless you are staring at textures while they move. I was very happy with it and it did not hurt my gaming.

Screen tearing was greatly reduced from my CRT except in some cases. In Windows scrolling fast down a will cause vertical tearing.

Now onto scaling. This monitor is 5:4 1280x1024. And as you can see I have a mid-range system or low by todays gaming standards. I was always interested in reducing my resolution to 1024x768 with black bars as to avoid any stretching and gross looking IQ.
I was never able to achieve this through VGA input on my LCD. DVI does not exist on my model and that would have been able to do it.
On a side note: I can successfully use 1280x960 with black bar on top and bottom.

Viewing angles are horrible, but it is a TN. I used to notice this alot when I had my monitor somewhat far away and I was viewing from a slightly low angle. This bugged me but now not so much.

I watched a downloaded episode of CSI in HD (480 I think) on my monitor and it looked great. Ghosting in movies is somewhat worse than gaming.

Input lag? I am not too sure what Input lag really is yet and have just ressurected my CRT to use as dual monitors. I may be able to test this but I don't really want to.

Backlight bleed is noticable on the top mostly. Only visible when on a fully black screen (or when watching movies).

When watching movies with a few people over, the way my room is organized there isn't great sitting spots. So I ended up sitting on the floor and we watched a DVD and the combination of backlight bleed and viewing angle made for some bad bad viewing.

Got this monitor for 380 after taxes over a year ago.

http://www.samsung.com/ca/products/monitor/lcd_analog/mj19uskb.asp
I laughed when I saw MSRP.

 

[Pens1566]

xtknight, any info/thoughts on the VX2035? Is it just a new model # for the same old VX2025?

 

[geepondy]

Do you think if I buy the Viewsonic VP930B from Newegg ($299.99), I will be assured of getting a rev 3? Also what do you think of Newgg's offering of the same monitor as an open box item for $205.99? It says in their open box policy it is just the item itself without any accessories so I'm assuming it doesn't come with a video cable but I could either use my existing analog monitor cable or go out and buy a DVI cable and still save a lot. Are there other risks factors involved with buying the open box item?

I was all set to buy the Samsung 971P at Circuit City for $350 but I guess I have read enough motion issues regarding that monitor in this forum so I am now steered towards the Viewsonic.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Pens1566
xtknight, any info/thoughts on the VX2035? Is it just a new model # for the same old VX2025?

The VX2035 actually is an inferior model (it uses a TN instead of a P-MVA). I haven't seen any pro reviews of it yet.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: geepondy
Do you think if I buy the Viewsonic VP930B from Newegg ($299.99), I will be assured of getting a rev 3?

I'm pretty sure that in the amounts they receive them that the shipment is bound to be all new revs.

Also what do you think of Newgg's offering of the same monitor as an open box item for $205.99? It says in their open box policy it is just the item itself without any accessories so I'm assuming it doesn't come with a video cable but I could either use my existing analog monitor cable or go out and buy a DVI cable and still save a lot. Are there other risks factors involved with buying the open box item?

I never bother with open box or refurbished stuff so I couldn't tell you. Personally, I would avoid it, as it's much more likely to be an old rev. (the open box items are listed for quite a while)

I was all set to buy the Samsung 971P at Circuit City for $350 but I guess I have read enough motion issues regarding that monitor in this forum so I am now steered towards the Viewsonic.

Sounds good to me...get a new VP930b from Newegg is my recommendation.

BassBomb: Thanks for the review, I'm surprised you say it ghosts more in movies than games.

 

[BassBomb]

Well for movies, theres alot of higher contrast going on and in some cases whenever things are slow moving.

Maybe my eyes just fail at focusing

 

[rxblitzrx]

Originally posted by: geepondy
Do you think if I buy the Viewsonic VP930B from Newegg ($299.99), I will be assured of getting a rev 3? Also what do you think of Newgg's offering of the same monitor as an open box item for $205.99? It says in their open box policy it is just the item itself without any accessories so I'm assuming it doesn't come with a video cable but I could either use my existing analog monitor cable or go out and buy a DVI cable and still save a lot. Are there other risks factors involved with buying the open box item?

I was all set to buy the Samsung 971P at Circuit City for $350 but I guess I have read enough motion issues regarding that monitor in this forum so I am now steered towards the Viewsonic.

I ordered mine from the Egg last week and I got rev3. Made in November 2006. I'm pretty sure you'll get one too.

 

[rxblitzrx]

QUESTION: My LCD keeps track of "Total Hours" and "Backlight Hours". Obviously the backlight hours is important for LCD life, but what about the Total Hours? Will my monitor die faster if I let my computer go to "sleep" or "hibernate", thus putting the monitor to sleep? Even when I turn my computer "Off" the monitor still shows an Orange light instead of a Green "on" light. Should I just turn the monitor off?

 

[Beelziboss]

I picked up the Acer AL2216W (Which does in fact have DVI, contrary to the OG) for $325. I'm telling ya, thats the best deal on an LCD of this size. Little to no backlight bleed, and that would be at the very top and bottom. Not height adjustable, but can be tilted. I have my PC hooked up to the DVI, and my Xbox360 hooked up via the VGA. The 360 looks Mad awesome on this beast and the PC looks very good as well, although my Vid card (ATI 9800 Pro 128mb) is dated and cant handle the native res, I have it at 1280X1024 and it looks much better then the 19 inch Proview CRT it replaced. Can't wait to get a Vid card to do this baby justice.

Bottom Line is, there is no need to spend $500-$600 on and LCD unless you like to throw money away and if that is the case, PM me and I will give you an adress so you can just send it to me instead. If you want a high quality LCD go for this one.

 

[proofy]

Anyone have any information on the BenQ FP93GX+ 19"?
I found it on at NCIX.com

edit: Found some spec sheets. From BenQ Canada and from the first page of this thread>Gaming>BenQ FP93GX --- found what could be the possible FP93GX+ panel.

From what I can tell it looks to be something to go against the Samsung 931C.
Changes from FP93GX -- FP93GX+ that I noticed were ---
- 16.7 million colors with 72% color gamut
- BenQ Senseye = 931C's "CCFL 97%"?
- contrast ratio up to 800:1 from the FP93GX 700:1

 

[ntt911]

Hello! Been looking around for a decent 22" widescreen monitor and i quickly realised that all of them use the same TN panel if im not mistaking, 5ms all spec the same. And then i came across this asus monitor claiming 2ms. Any thoughts? Another panel? if so is it any better than the 22" bunch?

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1382&l1=10&l2=89&l3=0

EDIT:

Ok my mistake all the big companys got their own new model of this panel, claiming 3000:1 contrast and 2ms response. Please remove my entries if this is old new and point me in the direction where i can find som reviews. So far i found these models:

LG L226WTQ
SyncMaster 226BW
And the asus one above

EDIT2: Looks like even i can use google...

http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/shop...s/102428/samsung-syncmaster-226bw.html
http://labs.pcw.co.uk/2007/01/ces_07_samsung_.html

"The SyncMaster 906BW, 206BW and 226BW are widescreen LCD monitors designed to show Vista in its best light. They have 2ms grey to grey response times, a 3000:1 contrast ratio and come with dual inputs (DVI-D & analogue) as well as being HDCP capable. All have Windows Vista Premium certification."

 

[Beelziboss]

Originally posted by: ntt911
Hello! Been looking around for a decent 22" widescreen monitor and i quickly realised that all of them use the same TN panel if im not mistaking, 5ms all spec the same. And then i came across this asus monitor claiming 2ms. Any thoughts? Another panel? if so is it any better than the 22" bunch?

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1382&l1=10&l2=89&l3=0

EDIT:

Ok my mistake all the big companys got their own new model of this panel, claiming 3000:1 contrast and 2ms response. Please remove my entries if this is old new and point me in the direction where i can find som reviews. So far i found these models:

LG L226WTQ
SyncMaster 226BW
And the asus one above

EDIT2: Looks like even i can use google...

http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/shop...s/102428/samsung-syncmaster-226bw.html
http://labs.pcw.co.uk/2007/01/ces_07_samsung_.html

"The SyncMaster 906BW, 206BW and 226BW are widescreen LCD monitors designed to show Vista in its best light. They have 2ms grey to grey response times, a 3000:1 contrast ratio and come with dual inputs (DVI-D & analogue) as well as being HDCP capable. All have Windows Vista Premium certification."

You can bet those will be $600+ for a few years. They seem cool though, but honesty 2ms response? the human eye cant detect anything under ..something like 6ms..so its kinda moot. The 3000:1 is impressive though.

 

[Apocalypse23]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Apocalypse23
I'd just like to add the following imo for HTPC's:

Thanks, I'll look into it.

I was quite impressed by Sharp's Aquos series after a brief look in the store, but for the LCD TVs to meet the HTPC section they must be fully PC compatible (VESA standards+native resolution input over DVI). Do you know if they are? I will browse around avsforum and see what I can find for the best LCD TVs/HTPC LCDs.

Sharp AQUOS 46" 1080p LCD TELEVISION LC46D62U
Panel Type 46'' Active Matrix (a-si TFT) Advanced Super View LCD1
Pixel Resolution Wide XGA (1920 x 1080)
Tuner Type NTSC/ATSC/QAM
Brightness 450 cd/m
Lamp Life 60,000 hours3
Viewing Angles 176º H / 176º V
Audio System 15W + 15W
Contrast Ratio 2000:1 Native / 10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology
Aspect Ratio 16:9
View Modes Sidebar, Smart Stretch, Stretch, Zoom
HDMI Input HDMI vers 1.2a x 2
HD Component Input Y/Pr/Pb x 2
S-Video Input 4-pin DIN x 1
Composite Video Input RCA x 3
Table Stand Included
Audio Outputs Output: RCA L/R x 1
Digital Audio Out 1 (optical)
Dimensions (w x h x d) Including table stand and speakers: 1127 x 790 x 309 mm
Without table stand and with speakers: 1127 x 728 x 124 mm
Weight Including table stand and speakers: 35 kg
Without table stand and with speakers: 32 kg
Limited Warranty 1 year parts and labour
Response Time: 4ms

Sharp Aquos AQUOS 52" 1080p LCD TELEVISION LC52D62U
Panel Type 52'' Active Matrix (a-si TFT) Advanced Super View LCD1
Pixel Resolution Wide XGA (1920 x 1080)
Tuner Type NTSC/ATSC/QAM
Brightness 450 cd/m
Lamp Life 60,000 hours3
Viewing Angles 176º H / 176º V
Audio System 15W + 15W
Contrast Ratio 2000:1 Native / 10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology
Aspect Ratio 16:9
View Modes Sidebar, Smart Stretch, Stretch, Zoom
HDMI Input HDMI vers 1.2a x 2
HD Component Input Y/Pr/Pb x 2
S-Video Input 4-pin DIN x 1
Composite Video Input RCA x 3
Table Stand Included
Audio Outputs Output: RCA L/R x 1
Digital Audio Out 1 (optical)
Dimensions (w x h x d) Including table stand and speakers: 1263 x 869 x 309 mm
Without table stand and with speakers: 1263 x 807 x 125 mm
Weight Including table stand and speakers: 40.5 kg
Without table stand and with speakers: 37.5 kg
Limited Warranty 1 year parts and labour
Response Time: 4ms

Westinghouse 42" 1080p Monitor LVM-42w2
1920x1080 resolution
Response Time: 8ms
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1

Westinghouse 47" 1080p Monitor LVM-47w1
1920x1080 resolution
Response Time: 6.5ms
Contrast Ratio: 1200:1

I beleive they are fully pc compatible. The Sharps require a HDMI to DVI cable which isn't hard to find. I plan on buying one shortly and testing everything out. Technically they all seem compatible.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
QUESTION: My LCD keeps track of "Total Hours" and "Backlight Hours". Obviously the backlight hours is important for LCD life, but what about the Total Hours? Will my monitor die faster if I let my computer go to "sleep" or "hibernate", thus putting the monitor to sleep? Even when I turn my computer "Off" the monitor still shows an Orange light instead of a Green "on" light. Should I just turn the monitor off?

The orange light is just standby mode. I recommend turning it off when it's not in use. I doubt that it going into sleeping mode will have any effect on its life.

 

[geepondy]

Xtknight or anyone, have you ever compared the display between the Viewsonic VP930B and Samsung 971P at resolutions other then native? Does either one do a better job then the other in this regard?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: proofy
Anyone have any information on the BenQ FP93GX+ 19"?
I found it on at NCIX.com

Welcome to the forums and thanks for the info.

edit: Found some spec sheets. From BenQ Canada and from the first page of this thread>Gaming>BenQ FP93GX --- found what could be the possible FP93GX+ panel.

I'm not sure that it has a higher-gamut CCFL or not, though that's a good guess. This looks like it'll be the next 'gaming panel'. I'll be watching for reviews.

From what I can tell it looks to be something to go against the Samsung 931C.
Changes from FP93GX -- FP93GX+ that I noticed were ---
- 16.7 million colors with 72% color gamut
- BenQ Senseye = 931C's "CCFL 97%"?
- contrast ratio up to 800:1 from the FP93GX 700:1