Hey guys,
I have found the need to make some major changes to the OP given the current market, my current opinions, and also for my and others' convenience. I've probably waited too long to do many of these changes. First of all, the HTPC section is basically dead. It's pretty much the "LCD TV" section and I don't keep up with reviews of those too much. I still love keeping up with the technology but am not too interested in LCD TVs since many of them don't have serious issues or lack of features like monitors still do. Buying a TV at the store is easier than buying a monitor at the store. (Although, of course, if you're extremely enthusiastic and picky about LCD TVs you may this statement is false.) TVs also have far more on-display PVA or IPS panels than monitors do.
I'm trying to make it easier still for the average joe to find an LCD. Listing 6-bit+Hi-FRC and the specific model number from AUO or LG doesn't really help that. I'm getting rid of this information. 8-bit is now hopelessly ambiguous (see
here). That's after I found out even my LCD2690 may be doing FRC (see the patterns in my review). And LCDs using what he calls "static dithering"; "simple temporal dithering" will as much as possible not be recommended; these are the bad, annoying, and noticeable methods. Almost all LCDs today use more advanced temporal dithering, also called Hi-FRC, so it's not an issue. People can't really notice Hi-FRC. Since panel numbers change and revisions change, I'm getting rid of the specific panel type information. That can be researched very easily elsewhere if you need it, and the panel searching resources like flatpanels.dk/panels.php and tftcentral will remain linked in the OP's useful links section.
The Gaming section never really has been solid. It went from being no strict requirements to being under one frame max to being under one from avg, 2 frames max, and now simply to being <=2 frames max. I have ascertained that 2 frames of input lag is the cut-off and that's just how it's going to be. And I realize people have different opinions about that...that's fine. We can't mislead people into thinking 70% of the monitors out there are unsuitable for gaming because this is quite elitist. When you take the part of those 70% that have a brand name, a good default color setup, and good feature set, you have a very low number of monitors to recommend. We cannot act like we being so picky as to seem obsessive and bothersome. We are only trying to be a little selective and helpful when it comes to picking out features and assets in a monitor.
(and actually I'm still unsure whether to make an actual cut-off of 2 frames or just do it like I used to by judgment)
I also realize a lot of people have been asking 'what about LCD x21kd00043k' or 'LCD ysdas0i3k'......as much as I'd love to know everything about every model out there, I just don't. I could reply to these and say "I just don't know", or just ignore them. So if I ignore your post about something don't take it personally. I probably know nothing more about the LCD than you do, mainly due to a lack of pro reviews as the famous saying goes. Remember, I am primarily a collator, not a reviewer. Your resources are the same as mine and I do not receive review samples nor is it likely I will ever. (However, any LCD I pick up will certainly be reviewed pretty in-depth.) I mean it when I say I don't have any more info on it than you do.
Last but not least, the new entries will look like the following:
Name, Size, Res, Aspect, Panel Type, Image Delay (only prad, tftcentral), Spec Sheet, Prad 'More Info', Inputs (including HDCP), Ergonomics, Scaling modes, Notes, Price (major US retailers like Newegg,Amazon,Buy.com,Circuit City,Best Buy,HP,Dell only, no more Froogle)
I'm not using DigitalVersus as an input lag source anymore. Their figures don't coincide with other sources, sadly enough. I can't keep becoming DigitalVersus's damage control. I still trust their reviews and other figures to a certain extent. There could be regional differences at work.
I might decide to prune some of the older models I have up there, since frankly, they don't need to clutter the list when several better models are above them. I'm sorry about those for whom the older models may still be useful, like those who live outside the US where newer models aren't as prevalent. I have to take a utilitarian approach when it comes to the OP, but you can still inquire and I will help you find the best LCD in your area.
A lot of people want info about VESA mounting or pivoting. That information will be easily accessible now. And HDMI, DisplayPort, etc...
I'm also going to try and list the scaling modes like 1:1, stretch, aspect ratio scaling. Because the 1920x1200 DSP chart never got updated anyways, and this info should be available for any size monitor.
Category names are going to stay the same. I like the setup. Except the HTPC section cannot be updated or at least I can make no guarantees about keeping this section up to date. Really, it's always been that way. Office Work will now only contain matte LCDs and
some of the huge expensive LCDs will be out of the list. NEC's LCD3090 is simply overkill for typing Word documents. Gaming is going to be less strict. All categories other than HTPC are being updated as much as possible and should be current with the market.
If you have serious objections to any of that then let me know, otherwise I'm going to push the gas and go full speed ahead with the new plan.
With that, the LCD Thread can continue and be updated like usual. Happy holidays.
But really, I needed to post about all this last month. And it may be awhile till these changes really take effect but I have a month off soon sooo.... This thread's still really important to me and I intend to keep it updated until eternity, or I mean until FED/SED/OLEDs come out...
P.S. here is the upcoming, new, pruned recommendations list:
OFFICE WORK
--------------
HP LP3065
Dell 3007WFP-HC
Planar PX2611W
HP LP2475W
LG L226WTQ/L226WTY
Samsung T220
HP LP2065
Dell 2007FP
HP L2045W
HP LP1965
GAMING
--------------
LG L227WTG-PF
BenQ G2400WD
ASUS VW222U
Samsung 2493HM
Acer G24
Samsung T220
LG L226WTQ/L226WTY
Acer AL2216Wbd
Planar PX2611W
Dell 3007WFP-HC
MULTIMEDIA
--------------
NEC LCD2690WUXi
NEC LCD2490WUXi
NEC LCD3090WQXi
Dell 3007WFP-HC
Planar PX2611W
HP LP2475W
Samsung 305T
BenQ FP241VW
Dell 2408WFP
Lenovo L220X
HP LP2465
BenQ G2400WD
Acer G24
Samsung 2493HM
HP w2408h
HP LP2065
LG L227WTG-PF
LG L226WTQ/L226WTY
ASUS VW222U
Acer AL2216Wbd
PRINT-TARGET MEDIA PROCESSING
--------------
NEC LCD2690WUXi
NEC LCD3090WQXi
Dell 3007WFP-HC
Planar PX2611W
HP LP2475w
Samsung 305T
Dell 2408WFP
Lenovo L220X
PHOTO EDITING/WEB DESIGN
--------------
NEC LCD2490WUXi
NEC LCD1990SXi
HP LP2065
Dell 2007FP
HP LP1965
(and NEC 24WMGX3 will be looked at soon.)
Due to the intense repetition of several models on the list, I'm also thinking of redoing the model list as a reverse lookup, as in:
HP LP2065: good for sRGB Photo Editing, Multimedia, Office Work....like I said same category names or maybe some rating system incorporating them.
This would mean easier updates, less errors. Makes more sense. People don't just use their PC for one purpose.