[eric343]

Well, I regularly play Unreal Tournament and Q3A on my Apple Powerbook G4 (667Mhz, it's been succeeded by two generations), and there are no ghosting problems whatsoever. The viewing angle is amazing - I can rotate my laptop and still see what's on the screen from ANY angle - the only limit is the fact that I'm looking at it at a really flat angle. It's almost like a sheet of paper... Sure, the color/contrast does change, but it IS readable!

Also, all the flat panels I can remember (with the exeption of the 18 inch (but only 1024x768) Sylvania we have upstairs) run at 60hz, and do so without any flickering/flourescent interference/etc.

 

[Duncan]

Eric...

I myself am amazed at MAC TFTs... they have a quality that in my opinion far supersedes any TFT for the PC (or at least their marketing sectors if the TFTs are transferrable from one platform to another)

I especially like the 21" widescreen TFT that has been out for about 6 months now, that has got so much definition and clarity, but with a $3500 price-tag... it should have!

 

[Flasken]

It's not how many hertz an lcd runs at that determines the amount of ghosting. It's the individual pixel resfresh rate. I don't think LCDs will be truly suitable for gaming until the rate is down to around 10-15 ms. It's currently around 20-30 ms on the faster displays.

 

[lethoso]

Quote:

Originally posted by BoyElroy J&R has them (SONY SDM-X82) for $649.99 after a $100.00 Sony rebate.

here downunder that model costs ~50% more..... i hate living in a land with backwards electronics prices

samsung make some damn nice lcd's though, dunno how their prices compare with sony in the us, but over here they are much cheaper....

 

[BoyElroy]

Hi Wallijonn,

It's almost 1 pm here and I'm going to check out some of the Vietnamese restaurants on my way down to J&R to return my Sony

. It could be my imagination, but it seems like they have one of those St. Genaro street festivals every week during the summer. The smell of the sausage and onion heros hangs in the air here from June 'til September.

Hi Flasken,

Check out the Hitachi CML174 17.4" LCD monitor.
Quote:

the Hitachi shows the fastest pixel refresh rates we've ever seen, totaling 16ms (12 rise, 4ms fall). Hitachi is really pushing this as a major feature of this monitor, as no one else in the industry has been able to achieve such great refresh rates.---GamePC

Here's the review

 

[CaptBubba]

Its easier to think of an LCD as being updated instead of being refreshed. Only the pixels that need to change do so, which is why it doesn't flicker, even though it is running at 60Hz. For example, wave you wand back in forth in front of an LCD and a CRT, with the CRT it should look like your hand is in a strobe light, while the LCD won't do that unless you have a moving picture on it.

 

[andrzejpw]

From what I understand, LCDs DON'T have a refresh rate. It's either "on" or off.

 

[Flasken]

BoyElroy,

WOW!! They are here!

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Stoopid noob question re: LCDs

Is there REALLY that big a difference in eye strain between a good CRT and a decent LCD? Meaning, would you sacrifice screen real estate (from going with a larger CRT) to a comparably priced, but smaller viewing area LCD for usual office type work (e.g., text and basic database work but not photo editing or intense graphics work)?

I've avoided comparing LCDs much purely because of cost...would not be able to outfit our office with anything but 15-17" LCDs to replace the existing (and, unfortunately recently purchased) 20" flat tube CRTs. But, if there is a dramatic reduction in eye strain, will definately be looking into it.

Thanks!
Bruce

 

[wallijonn]

Bruce,

I actually tell executives that they should have LCDs at home if they have children who use the computer because it will tend to preserve their eyesight.

LCDs can either use analogue outputs (db9 plug) or DVI (digital video interface). the dvi needs a separate, or different type of video board.

if you use your computer for more than an hour a day, you should get computer glasses. these glasses basically adjust the far-sight to be half of your actual far-sight. (40-40 vision?).

the refresh rates contributes greatly to eye strain, but the major damage comes from training the eye to focus at a fixed point in space. your vision will therefore adjust to this distance. if you wear glasses, you'll find that your eyesight will tend to change every year. with the computer glasses there is a much lesser chance of this happening. the other major contributor is the radiation released by monitors, but this has been greatly lessened by the newest designs which dump the radiation from, or through, the back of the tube. what doesn't change though is the different degrees of light produced from crts. think of CRTs as vinyl and LCDs as CDs when it comes to light. by there very nature LCDs can not produce the same spectrum of light, or at least it's limits. wait until 128 bit colour comes in - everyone will have to upgrade. then you'll see real progress made.

just as you should take "typeing breaks", you should take "eye breaks" and "ear breaks".