Community Newsletter: Q&A: 12/16/05

(NT) You are very welcome!

CRTs VS LCD Monitors

In reply to: 12/16/05 by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

I own both LCD and CRT Monitors and I agree that LCD monitors have their place and numerous practical advantages but, when doing critical graphic design work or technical wriring, the shaper, crisper image makes the CRT a winner hands down.

A friend who does nothing but desktop publishing and is involved with formatting translated (language) documents has two 21 inch CRT monitors connected to her system. She displays the English version of a document on one and the foreign language version of that same document on the other. The small text, images, and illustrations, would make it difficult for her to work on LCD displays with their lesser sharpness.

When comparing High Definition LCD, Plasma, DLP TV sets to something like the High Definition 4:3 aspect ratio Sony Trinitron (now discontinued) the clearest picture by far is on the Sony CRT whether you are watching an HD broadcast, DVD, or analog broadcast. The drawback of this Sony set was that it weighed 340 lbs.

A friend who is an executive with Panasonic tells me the CRTS will disappear strictly because it costs too much to ship these heavy tube TVS. It is a cost issue. Even he readily admits that in spite of the high quality pictures that Plasma, DLP and LCD sets deliver they still do not compare to the CRT. After looking at a lot of TVS I concurr. But, what will my next purchase be, probably one of the flat panel Plasmas or DLP or even an LCD set because they are getting better and better and are available in larger sizes and their pictiure quality is good enough for me.

Ron in New Hampshire

Motion video

In reply to: 12/16/05 by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Paul's answer is entirely correct as far as the technical differences between CRT and LCD displays.

The ONLY thing left out is VIEWER preference! I would have to say overall, base the purchase on what YOU the user prefer.

Go a store and look at every display there then make up your mind. Some people don't like LCD's, they find it hard to read as the text is generally smaller than that of a CRT.

While both CRT's and LCD displays will operate at different resolutions, LCD panels will only look good at their native resolution while CRT's will look good at any resolution they are capable of displaying.
For example, a 15" LCD native resolution is 1024x768 pixel resolution. Make it display at 800 x 600 and you will see a very blobby picture. That same resolution change on a CRT will be totally useable and crisp.

And then there is motion! To this day, CRT's are still better for motion since LCD displays tend to have far more "persistance" or video lag. CRT's are far superior for motion and if you do any sort of video editing or gaming it may be wise to have a dual monitor setup, one LCD for graphics/text/applications and one CRT purely for video.

The bottom line is, check out a potential purchase before committing, try it out in every aspect you will be using the monitor. Don't assume it will look great in motion because text or graphics look good, try it out in very way you will be using it!

As far as flicker is concerned with a CRT, the refresh rate can be cranked up to 75Hz and will produce no noticeable flicker. Out of the box computers are set to 60Hz refresh which will make you sick within the hour AND seriously beat with overhead or in room fluorescent lighting!

Recording studio

In reply to: 12/16/05 by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Thanks so much for the in depth layout.
I had not thought of switching before but this info hits aon a few issues I have had and makes me think.

All of your thoughts are well and good but I have an added question.

I have a recording studio.
Do you or anyone else in here have an familiarity of how LCD monitors effect audio? I see how the audio might effect screens and I have two just inside each speaker to my left and right with a hole in the middle for a window to the tracking room.

The CRTs I have noticed will effect sound in a certain way if not placed right but I need room and also have a slight glare issue so some of what you menioned seems to have some value to me. IF it is less likely to add audio issues then I think I might be sold on an upgrade in monitors, maybe one at a time. In addition, do LCDs require a different card or just th

More hidden costs of CRT monitors.

In reply to: 12/16/05 by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Excellent post. While CRTs may have an initial cost advantage over CRTs, they have 3 hidden costs:

1)as noted, energy consumption is much higher (3-6x higher) and over the life of the monitor this can be more significant than the cost savings.

2) as noted, the lifetime is much less, and so the cost per hour on is much higher (as a percentage of initial purchase price and typically in absolute terms as well).

3) Disposal fee. CRTs, because of very high lead content in the glass, are hazardous waste. In most municipalities, you cannot just put them out with the trash. You have to take them to a hazardous waste facility and PAY to get rid of them. The last time I did this (3 years ago) the cost was on a sliding scale by screen size and I paid $30 to dump a 17'' monitor. I think a 20'' monitor was twice that.

These are all definite costs. The next 2 vary by usage.

4)Special furniture: You need a deep, sturdy desk to hold a big CRT whereas a thin light LCD could be set on an existing ''normal'' desk or "built in" or hung on the wall. Plus the big desk and monitor will take up more floor space. This may not be such a big deal in, say, Alabama as compared to, say, Mahattan.

5)Shipping: If you move, it will cost more to pack and ship the big CRT based on both volume and weight.

Yup

Exactly, and this is the reason I have about 5 old monitors in my garage, currently I don't have the 150.00 to get rid of them. I could put 2.00 on them at a rummage sale and say "AS IS" lol. I feel we as a consumer are getting kicked in the rear for what companies make though. I have often asked why the companies that make the monitors don't have a disposal plan. So instead we get the fee for it. I do have a sledge hammer and safety glasses, which could make tiny pieces out of a monitor.(kidding)
Take care , Paul

CRT vs LCD

In reply to: 12/16/05 by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Consumer Reports' June 2005 articles on computer monitors provided the information George needed in a succinct, less wordy manner than the person CNET chose.