Originally posted by: cluelessly
I'm searching for 20-23" monitors. My main interest is in watching HD quality movies and being able to look at very sharp and clear pictures. I'm not a gamer and I don't need HDMI, but I would like to view HD quality movies. I'm leaning towards deciding from Samsung, LG, or HP models, but I'm open to other suggestions (I just found out about BenQ so I don't know anything about their quality relative to Samsung or LG)
I went to the store and looked at a couple of models: Samsung 2443bwx, 2343bwx, 2253lw, and the LG L227wtg-pf, L227WT.
A few models from the recommendation list here caught my eye too:
Lenovo ThinkVision L220X, HP LP2465 (I know this is 24"), HP LP2065, Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM (this also 24").
Can anyone help me how I can decide which specs are appropriate for me and which brand is the best relative to those specs?
The Lenovo L220X is a great monitor for your purposes due to its VA panel. But the LP2465 would also suffice if you can afford that.
Also, regarding glossy and matte monitors- I know that the usual complaint against glossy is that it's too reflective. Assuming I can control the lighting environment pretty well to reduce the reflection, which type has better image quality in terms of better/truer color and sharper images?
Glossy.
I'm wondering because I heard that glossy monitors don't display colors accurately, and that the colors only "look brighter" because they aren't really accurate. Is this true?
Not really. Glossy increases the transmissivity of the glass. You are seeing what you are supposed to be seeing. Reflection can make it look artificial, but like I say, if you don't have tons of reflections it'll look great.
And how would the two types compare in different conditions, such as complete darkness, a dim environment, or a bright environment without a light source directly reflecting off of it? What differences do you get between monitors that have glossy and TN, or glossy and VA, or matte and TN, or matte and VA?
Lastly, are the Samsung Touch of Color LCD's primarily used for non-PC monitors?
Thanks for the help.
In complete darkness, glossy looks better, as there are few reflections.
In dim environments, glossy looks better, as there are few reflections. The small amount of light also gives glossy monitors a huge advantage.
In a bright environment, sometimes glossy's reflections can be annoying, but sometimes you can forget about them.
So, I usually declare glossy to be a winner for 2/3 conditions.
The underlying panel type doesn't really change how matte/glossy work. The same properties of these coatings hold regardless of the panel type.
Samsung's ToC monitors with model numbers ending in HD are for multipurpose or TV. Their ToC series not ending in HD are for computers.