First off, your LCD Thread rocks! Finally somebody who isn't trying to oversimplify or gloss over some very confusing issues. Thank you!
A question and a reply:
I am looking to replace an old (+5yr) 22" Apple cinema display, primarily to be used for photo editing and some DTP. We would like a bigger (!) monitor, and don't want to break the bank. If price were no consideration, I'd look at the NEC MultiSync LCD2490WUXi or the Elizo Flexscan S2431W <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://
">http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews...o-flexscan-s2431w.html</a>. But I'd also like to roll out a wide gamut monitor, and it's not clear to me that either of these meet that in any case.
I'm down to the Acer AL2616Wd (low of $599) or the Dell 2407WFP-HC ($679). Why not just go with the Dell, you say? Two things:
-Price (not a deal-breaker by any means)
-Screen size: We're using a 22" now (~1600x1000) and really like the pixel pitch. This looks to be about the same on the Acer, but much smaller on the Dell (and any other 24")
A side note--you mention up front that on July 14, 2007 - Added Dell 2407WFP (non-HC A04) to Prosumer Photo Editing and Desktop Publishing recommendations. But I don't see it there. That also begs the question for me--why non-HC? Do you have a bias against WG screens for photo editing? Why all the WG displays for DTP/graphics, but none for photos? It would be very helpful to have some transparency in your thought process! I'm looking forward to seeing some colors that are in the print space but not the monitor gamut, and hope that not too much is sacrificed in stretching the gamut... I'm guessing that, for photography, you think 10-bit color is needed to take advantage of WG lighting. Too bad I don't have $5000.
Back to my dilemma
The Acer looks to be flying under the radar--very few people seem to realize that it is a wide-gamut advanced-PVA monitor. This is confirmed by BeHardware and by the specs on Acer's UK site (but not on the US site--I'll come back to that). The BeHardware review is the only review I have seen of this monitor, and they give it a so-so review, but also note that it is WG and that calibrated color accuracy is excellent. PcPro reviews the AL2623W, a sibling with the same specs, and notes that it showed perfect blending on colour and greyscale ramps (but make no mention that it is a WG monitor). The monitor has been out for a while now, and user reviews indicate high satisfaction (apart from a DVI resolution issue that has since been fixed), including those who mention using it for graphics/photo work (wolf-in-sheeps-clothing type descriptions)
My hesitations about Acer:
-There is no way to see this monitor. Acer doesn't list any outlets other than internet, and the many US retailers on price grabber do not include any retail outlets, or ala Circuit City/Best Buy, it is online-only. My neighbor has the Dell, so I'm lucky there, but I hate to buy something sight-unseen that I may have to ship back, especially given shipping costs, restocking fees, and general hassle.
-I wonder about the panel/backlight I would actually receive. I have never seen anything to indicate that there is any other 26" panel/backlight combination that Acer sells (in spite of the UK site listing the AL2616W and the US the AL2616Wd, and the UK AL2623W), but I am still wary that I may receive something else.... BeHardware indicates the model they reviewed as the AL2623Wd, and clearly indicates this as WG-PVA, while Acer-UK lists the display as Advanced PVA, 92%NTSC colour situation (sic). But there is no mention of WG or display technology on the US site, just the same specs and the 178 viewing angle. I guess I'll just call them and see what they say (Indeed it is strange that Acer produces this WG display, but doesn't tell anyone that it is WG--it is buried on their specs page on the UK site, and otherwise there is no mention!)
So finally, my questions: What do you know about this monitor? Do you have any knowledge/experience that would make you say, definitely go for the Dell rather than the Acer (based on image quality alone--I'm leaving other issues aside)? And finally, is the reliablility of Acer so inferior that I'll regret the choice (I wouldn't consider it without the 3-yr warranty)?
Now the reply:
Even with knowledge of all the tech info (which is mostly the OP), actually finding an LCD (if you've never done it before) is pretty difficult. So, the thread itself is still a very vital thing. I was thinking of making a "decision process" section so that people know where to start should they want to attempt their own decision.
It's actually difficult for me to visualize where the difficulties lie, for somebody who has just come on the web and wants to find an LCD. So, first and foremost I would love to hear from those people. Do you find the Resources Links helpful, for example? The tech info tells them what to expect with LCDs, but not how to find a particular model.
Maybe a list of recent reviews would be helpful?
I'm just going to describe my own process and education regarding monitors in the last few weeks, and make some suggestions based on that.
Going into this, I knew basically nothing about LCD monitors (other than user experience). I thought the variables would be size and price--and when I started to see 20" widescreen monitors under $200, I thought it must be time to buy one! So my process began (as it often does) by looking at what deals are out there, and then looking for reviews of those monitors to see what I am getting. I know this might seem back-assward to some people, but really, most people are shopping on price, at least to begin with. And it's a heck of a lot easier to go to a site like pricegrabber and find all listings of lcd screens of a certain size and find prices than it is to find good information and reviews! Well, reviews of cheap monitors are often hard to come by (understandably...). I found a few reviews, and eventually one of them led me to BeHardware, where I began to get an education in LCD monitors (thank you, BeHardware!). I then realized that I had a lot to learn, and that I should try to get an overview on monitors. That is when I found that it is much easier to find reviews and opinions for specific monitors than it is to get an overview on how to choose a monitor in the first place. I began to look for review sites that had good coverage of monitors--there are not really very many. Sites like BeHardware have a lot of information in their reviews, but they don't seem to gather it together anywhere into a primer; and they're not very consistent about what they measure and report in their different reviews over time. AnandTech reviews gave me good information and another perspective, but again, I hadn't found a good primer on how to choose a screen. The primers on more consumer-oriented sites like CNet are basically worthless. I've spent many hours combing reviews and gradually pulling together enough information to make an informed decision. It was only at the end of this process that I came accross this thread. It would have been so much more useful to me to have seen this at the beginning instead of the end! So how do you drive people to a resource like this? Can you point to this thread from every LCD review on Anandtech?
Your resources are great, for someone starting out. It's very helpful, because how, for example, would I know that x-bit even bothers to review monitors? Unless I dig, and discover that reviews are in the category - other - I might miss that entirely. There are, after all, hardware review sites that don't touch monitors. Your ratings of monitors are also vastly useful, especially in that you have them broken down by intended use. Links to reviews of these monitors would be great as well.
In terms of your proposed decision matrix, this is where sharing your thought process on your monitor ratings would be helpful. Starting with the question, how do I want to use my monitor, and going from there. As a person interested in color quality and image editing, I would love to see what factors you are weighing in determining your selection. For example, as I noticed you recommend WG monitors for DTP/web work. The characteristics you list as most important don't tell me enough. The only difference in the list between DTP and Photo is removing good text reproduction as a consideration, but the recommendations are completely different. And why recommend WG displays for website work when everything done for the web is going to be in sRGB anyway? Some more insight into how you are weighing the variables in making your recommendations is needed. You do a great job of laying out all the variables--then you jump right in to making recommendations. I guess what I want is more detail in your parameters section, so that I can see how you came to select the monitors, and see if I would weigh things the same or might come up with a different list.
The realization I have come to is that the end use/end product intended from the monitor makes a huge difference. Is it for your own enjoyment (games/video)? Are you producing something to share with others, where you want someone else to see what you see on the screen? Will they be seeing it on another screen, or in printed form? You can then target resources, ie, point somene to information on color management in the chain from camera to lcd screen to printer, to give them context on how the monitor fits in that chain. A decision matrix that weights different intended uses (I use my monitor for 75% games and 25% photo editing and photo quality is my most important consideration, for example) and then points to use-specific resources (and specific monitors?) would be a fabulous tool.
I guess you'd then need a matrix that leads back to specific monitors based on as many variables as you care to define--the part about finding a particular model. You'd have to make a listing of variables and allow users to specify as many as are important to them in order to come up with a list of monitors to consider--find me monitors with high brightness, deep blacks, accurate color, a low response time, and high viewing angles, for example. You've already done this to some degree, you could get further along by expanding on your general characteristics and expanding on the specs you note for each monitor.
Sounds like a lot of work! Sorry to go on and on. I'll stop now.