Widescreen Monitor & LCD displays - Blurry?

[katzdvd]

I have been going back & forth on the idea of buying a Widescreen Monitor. I like the idea of the extra "real estate" & also the small footprint, but I have been looking at many different models at my local box stores, & I have noticed 2 things;

1) When viewed from the side or at an angle, the LCD is very difficult to see.

2) The picture looks "blurry", not sharp, crisp contrast like my CRT. (from the side or straight on viewing)


I remember these issues being noticable when LCD first hit the market years ago, but I thought by now these things would have been ironed out! Am I just looking at "sub-standard" monitors in the stores, or do they all look like that?

For all you folks who like your digital video "clean", I can't imagine that you would settle for a blurry LCD screen!

I need to by a new monitor soon, but so far I am not impressed.

[katzdvd]

Been doing a bit of research, found this;

If an lcd does NOT run at its native resolution it will always look a little bit blurry

Is this true? Can a "blurry" LCD be corrected by changing the resolution?

Is there anything I need to look for in a video card that would make it more suitable for running an LCD monitor?

[atifsh]

depends on ur pocket, what kind of lcd ur getting, for example, my acer wide screen though cheap is certainly not crisp, but after so many months iv forgot how it was on CRT, but then my resulotion was 1024 * 768 compared to 1440 * 900 now.
DVI also makes some difference, mine is analog, then there are better lcd panels on some lcd's like for example dell have atleast 2 3 types of lcds, one named ultra sharp should be better. never used it though.

i say u look at different models, different companies before buying. wide screen models as fas as i know are fixed in terms of resolution, thus they will give better reults on that specific resolution.

i also say learn / google lcd limitations also, as cheap lcd will results in bad video quality on screen.

[anonymez]

1) When viewed from the side or at an angle, the LCD is very difficult to see.

Different screens have different viewing angles

2) The picture looks "blurry", not sharp, crisp contrast like my CRT. (from the side or straight on viewing)

Could be several things, but most likely not running at its native res.

Am I just looking at "sub-standard" monitors in the stores, or do they all look like that?

Either cheap products or badly set up. My 20.1" screen looks great

If an lcd does NOT run at its native resolution it will always look a little bit blurry

More blocky than blurry IMO. My graphics card seems to compensate for that though, i can run custom resolutions fine.

[katzdvd]

My graphics card seems to compensate for that though, i can run custom resolutions fine.

Is any "High End" graphic card good for an LCD, or does this type of monitor require something special in terms of a video card, in order to look "good"?

If an lcd does NOT run at its native resolution it will always look a little bit blurry

So, if I understand correctly, an LCD is pretty much set up to run at one resolution? You can't change it around a bit like w/ a CRT? (unless your vid card supports it)

BTW, what vid card do you have? What monitor size & resolution?

[anonymez]

Is any "High End" graphic card good for an LCD, or does this type of monitor require something special in terms of a video card, in order to look "good"?

Any DX9 graphics card should perform just as well in this area as a high end card. I prefer Nvidia.

So, if I understand correctly, an LCD is pretty much set up to run at one resolution? You can't change it around a bit like w/ a CRT?

An LCD screen will always look best at its native resolution. You can change it around but it probably won't do the job as well as a CRT. Relevant link

BTW, what vid card do you have? What monitor size & resolution?

My main PC has a 7900GT, 20.1" at 1680x1050.

[dazuk1972]

I have been going back & forth on the idea of buying a Widescreen Monitor. I like the idea of the extra "real estate" & also the small footprint, but I have been looking at many different models at my local box stores, & I have noticed 2 things;

1) When viewed from the side or at an angle, the LCD is very difficult to see.

2) The picture looks "blurry", not sharp, crisp contrast like my CRT. (from the side or straight on viewing)


I remember these issues being noticable when LCD first hit the market years ago, but I thought by now these things would have been ironed out! Am I just looking at "sub-standard" monitors in the stores, or do they all look like that?

For all you folks who like your digital video "clean", I can't imagine that you would settle for a blurry LCD screen!

I need to by a new monitor soon, but so far I am not impressed.

Even though I love watching films and TV programmes in wide screen, I'm not going to bother with a wide screen monitor because all you get is the stuff on the web sites spread out in a different order to the way you'll see them in a full-framed monitor, meaning, you won't have to scroll up and down a web page so much.

It would be awkward to create a web site with a wide scrren monitor all the time most people still have a full-framed monitor because you could set things up in your web pages that will look good in wide screen without knowning they would look wrong in a full-framed monitor.

I hate flat-screened monitors as well whether they are Laptop or Desktop PC monitors. I hate the matte look and when you look at something from an angle the image looks like a photo negitive. I prefer ordinary monitors with a glass screen because you get the gloss look.

Darren.

[katzdvd]

I'm not going to bother with a wide screen monitor because all you get is the stuff on the web sites spread out in a different order to the way you'll see them in a full-framed monitor, meaning, you won't have to scroll up and down a web page so much.

I have experienced the opposite, dazuk;

I have browsed the 'net on several WS monitors at my local Office Max & others, & I have fould that the websites seem to display better, because of the larger screen resolution.

I had a 19" CRT for a few years; it went bad & I picked up a 17" from a friend *cheap*, & I have now noticed that all websites have a horizontal bar at the bottom that I have to continually scroll back & forth to display the entire page. @ 800x600. If I set the resolution to a higher rate, the fonts, icons, etc. gets all messed up.

To me, that is very annoying; With the WS monitor, the website is rendered without the scroll bars, & that is one feature I like; My main dislike with the LCD is the topic of this thread; The Blurry Picture! If I can get past that, things should be fine!

@anony;

Any DX9 graphics card should perform just as well in this area as a high end card. I prefer Nvidia.

I would think that some of the demo pc's set up in O-Max/Staples/Other would have a decent vid card, but again, it seems that all the ones I look at "suffer" in contrast quality.

Maybe I can play around with the display properties on the store's pc, & see if I can get it to look good. I want to make a purchase soon, but I don't want to spend big bucks for something I won't be satisfied with.

I need to purchase 2, maybe 3, & will be buying them online to save some $$$, so they will be bought basically "sight unseen" (bad pun)

[toomanycats]

I have noticed that rear projection LCD are still pretty bad. The direct view panels are better but I still notice the latency problem, "jittery action scenes". I am going to stick with my LCD front projector. The small LCD panels do not have this problem and give a film like quality to the movies.

[mens_sana]

Hi katzdvd,
See my signature. I just got the LG monitor this past week. It is superb: super response and 3000:1 contrast. Native resolution is 1680x1050 and I had to switch from the default display setting to the Radeon secondary in order to run it. If you have a Spyder2 calibrator, don't bother with LG's included forteManager.

[katzdvd]

Actually, I just made a purchase yesterday! Circuit City had the Acer AL2216WBD 22" Widescreen on sale, $269 after $10 rebate.

Just in time too, 'cause yesterday morning my CRT pretty much bit the dust. It has been acting strangely for awhile, & it finally decided to go.

I am running at 1680x1050; it is very clear, not blurry as I had feared it might be. There are a few quirks however;

1) I had to speed the mouse pointer up to "max" to get it to scroll across the screen in one roll (trackball)

2) I think it may take awhile to get used to the widescreen format; some websites have everything "bunched" in the center of the screen, it appears odd.

3) The contrast at the bottom of the screen is slightly "less" than at the top of the screen; I don't really know how to explain it...it is very slightly noticeable on some pictures, & on others not really.

All in all, after approx. 8 hrs. of use, I am really happy with it. I need to purchase 2 more, & I just may get identical ones.

I would like to purchase online to save a little $$$, but I am concerned if I receive one with a few dead pixels; I can return to the store local if that would happen, but an online purchase would be more of a hassle in that case.

Side note - 22" is very large; I think I may have been satisfied with 18" or 20", but I'm not complaining!

[2COOL]

If you have a Staples nearby, they had your monitor on sale till 3-24-07, without no rebate, for $259.99.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?zipCode=94675&jspStoreDir=Staples&catalogId=10051&productId=166869&cmArea=SEARCH&errorUrl=zipcode&noredir=true&prodCatType=1&ts=1174307185155&langId=-1&storeId=10001&ddkey=StaplesZipCodeAdd

[mens_sana]

I would like to purchase online to save a little $$$, but I am concerned if I receive one with a few dead pixels; . . . Side note - 22" is very large; I think I may have been satisfied with 18" or 20", but I'm not complaining!

Try googling for a freeware pixel repair. There is one. I just don't remember where I saw it. I like the 22". I can put two full-size WORD documents up there side-by-side, and still have room for zooming. And when I open OUTLOOK, the whole thing is right there. I don't have to click on a message in order to read it.

Side Note: You may have already done this, but type is clearer if you go to Display > Appearance > Effects and select ClearType in the "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts" dropdown.

[katzdvd]

If you have a Staples nearby, they had your monitor on sale till 3-24-07, without no rebate, for $259.99.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/st...plesZipCodeAdd

Thanks, 2COOL. I can always use them for the other (2)that I need.

I'm not going to bother with a wide screen monitor because all you get is the stuff on the web sites spread out in a different order to the way you'll see them in a full-framed monitor, meaning, you won't have to scroll up and down a web page so much.

It would be awkward to create a web site with a wide scrren monitor all the time most people still have a full-framed monitor because you could set things up in your web pages that will look good in wide screen without knowning they would look wrong in a full-framed monitor.

dazuk is somewhat correct on this; I am finding that many websites are not set-up properly to display on a W/S, so I am ending up with all the text/pics in a "square" in the middle of the screen, 2 wide empty bars on the side...

It is a conspiracy, I tell you! On my TV, I have 2 wide empty bars on the top/bottom! I just can't win, it seems!

One other note; when running at this high a resolution, a lot of the text on webpages is so small that it caould be difficult to read.

Problem is, if I change to a smaller resolution, then I run the chance of the blurry screen.

[bletch]

I'm also about to buy a new LCD...looking at a 22" Widescreen wich has a native res @ 1680x 1050...i know wich to buy but im concerned that my Nividia GeForce 5300 wouldn't be able to handle the screens native resolution-- wont do to much if not- i plan to buy a new gfx card too-- but it would be nice to spend more bucks on a gfx card later...