MonsterVision
Kong-size screens! Incredible shrinking prices! We test 14 new 19-inch monitors that upgrade your image without dominating your desk.Despite predictions, just over a year ago, of shortages and threats that they would become more expensive, LCD monitors generally have sharply lower price tags. Entry-level 15-inch models have fallen the fastest, but like King Kong slipping off the Empire State Building, prices for larger screens are now plummeting. Most 19-inch models sell for under $1000, and some for as low as $699. Furthermore, prices may continue to drop in the first part of 2003. But is quality falling as well?
To find out, PC World collected 19-inch LCDs from 14 vendors, examining supersize screens from AG Neovo, AOC, Dell, GEM, Hitachi, Iiyama, KDS USA, NEC-Mitsubishi, Planar, Princeton Graphic Systems, Samsung, Sceptre Technologies, ViewSonic, and WinBook. We found that image quality was generally quite good across the board. Besides displaying supersharp text, many of the LCDs approached the quality of CRTs when displaying color images and motion.
After a very close competition, we chose two Best Buys for their combination of price, performance, and features. The Samsung SyncMaster 191T is a sexy LCD with a narrow silver bezel; the ViewSonic VX900 has a thicker silver frame that includes integrated speakers. Both have top-notch image quality, wide viewing angles, and generous tech support.
Features Comparison: Large and Luminous LCDs (chart)
Good Lookers
Most of the 14 monitors we reviewed delivered similar image quality. Our judges noted some differences after viewing a series of text and graphics screens side by side, however. We conducted all tests at the monitors' native resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels, using digital (DVI) input--which we've found to provide better image quality--whenever possible. The WinBook Display C1900 (which missed our Top 10 chart) has only an analog input, but the other monitors offer both DVI and analog--which is handy. While DVI is common on new graphics cards, most older PCs (and new ones with integrated graphics) provide only analog.
Some models we tested, such as the Samsung SyncMaster 191T and the Iiyama Pro Lite 4821DT-BK, were a shade better than others at reproducing lifelike colors. And some, like the bargain-priced KDS Radius Rad-9 and the AOC LM914, were slightly better with text. The Hitachi CML190B had the best overall image quality, taking first place for graphics and second place for text; but its scant extra features and its relatively steep price brought it to tenth place.
Our judges noted a few exceptions to our test units' generally high overall performance: The analog-only WinBook Display C1900 was the least impressive, finishing near the bottom in both our text and image tests. In addition, the AG Neovo S19 scored low on our text tests. The unit sports a hard protective glass that's intended to soften rough edges and reduce glare. However, it caused distracting reflections and made text appear slightly blurred, keeping the S19 off our chart.
The costlier models, such as Iiyama's entry, were a tad better on graphics and generally bundled more-enticing features. For instance, the Iiyama's screen pivots 90 degrees from a wide landscape to a tall portrait orientation--convenient for viewing full pages. The Princeton SENergy 981, the Samsung SyncMaster 191T, and the WinBook Display C1900 also have pivoting screens, though WinBook doesn't bundle software for switching the screen orientation. (You can buy it separately for about $50.) The AOC, GEM, Planar, Princeton, Sceptre, ViewSonic, and WinBook monitors we tested include integrated speakers. And the Iiyama, Planar, and Sceptre LCDs have USB 1.1 hubs for plugging in peripherals.
CRT Substitute?
LCDs typically beat CRT monitors for text quality and screen brightness. But historically they have fallen short in their ability to clearly display moving images (such as scrolling text, video, or action games) and faithfully reproduce color. Screen quality has been steadily improving, however, so we decided to revisit the old CRT-versus-LCD battle. For our comparison, we set two models with high image-quality scores, the Hitachi and the Iiyama, against two highly rated 19-inch CRTs from NEC-Mitsubishi and Sony.
An LCD monitor's pixel response time (sometimes called its redraw rate) determines how many frames it can display per second. Lower response times minimize streaking and ghosting effects in moving images. All of the LCD monitors we tested offer a quick 25-millisecond (ms) redraw rate. As we were finishing our review, some vendors announced new LCD models with 16-ms response times. (See "Video-Friendly LCDs?" for our first look at these screens.)
We did not detect clear differences between the LCDs and the CRTs in displaying the DVD movie Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and we saw only slight motion artifacts (blurriness or jagged images) on the LCDs while watching the game Return to Castle Wolfenstein. But in a simple test that simulated scrolling through a Web page, the LCDs lagged noticeably in redrawing text and fine graphics, producing a blurry effect.
We were most surprised when we compared color photographs displayed on the LCDs and CRTs. Despite the general wisdom that CRTs perform better, we found the views from the two monitor types to be quite similar, though the CRT images appeared a bit richer and more saturated. (See "A Tale of Two Screens" for details of our comparison.)
Most graphics professionals probably would not share our enthusiasm for LCDs, though. For example, Tim Holmes, a graphic-design veteran currently with Ogilvy PR, thinks LCDs suffice for Web design and photo editing but not for designing print art, in which the colors on screen must match as closely as possible what will appear on paper. At present, LCDs simply can't display as broad a color spectrum as CRT monitors can, though several vendors predict that better backlight technology will erase this deficit within the next couple of years.
Sidelong Glances
Another long-standing problem of LCDs is their limited angle of view. Unlike CRT monitors' images, which appear nearly the same from any angle, the color, brightness, and contrast of LCDs' images degrade somewhat when you view them from the side. This is a concern for high-end graphics professionals, who can't tolerate images changing even slightly if they move their heads from one side to the other. It can also be annoying for people sitting to the side of an LCD during a group presentation.
For all the models we reviewed, the vendors specified a 170-degree arc--both horizontally and vertically--in which image quality remains acceptable. Using our own measure of the horizontal arc, however, we found notable differences among monitors. (For details, see "The Angle on LCD Monitors.")
Reading Fine Print
When comparison shopping, look at warranties in particular. Most vendors in our review provide a three-year warranty on all parts, but Sceptre and WinBook offer just one-year warranties. KDS has a three-year warranty on most parts but covers the backlight for only one year.
Also check the vendor's policy on dead pixels, which are stuck in either the on or off position and appear as tiny, distracting dots. Two or three should not be a problem, unless they are in the center of the screen. But a larger number, or several clumped together, can be irritating. Vendors have varying policies on how many dead pixels constitute a defective panel. Two have very simple philosophies: AG Neovo doesn't tolerate any dead pixels, and Iiyama allows buyers to return a monitor for any reason--period. Others have more-complex guidelines. AOC, for instance, will replace a defective panel with two nonfunctioning pixels less than 10mm apart, with five nonfunctioning pixels on either a white or dark background, or with eight in any location. We found dead pixels on the GEM, Hitachi, KDS, Sceptre, and WinBook displays, but in each case the number was too small to easily notice, and it was within the vendors' allowed range of defects.
Your Eyes Have It
We recommend that you try to see the monitor for yourself, before you buy. Checking out models in a store can be helpful, but keep in mind that they are often hooked up to low-quality video signals and placed under different lighting than you likely have in your office or home. If possible, try to find a monitor maker or a retail store with a liberal return policy, so you can try the LCD in your own setting before committing to the purchase. When it comes to choosing the monitor you will be staring at for the next few years, your eyes will be the ultimate judge.
Roy Santos is a freelance technology writer based in Berkeley, California. Sean Captain is a senior associate editor for PC World. Jeff Kuta, senior performance analyst, designed and oversaw testing. Special thanks to Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, for help in designing our angle-of-view testing.
LCD vs. CRT: A Tale of Two Screens
LCDs and CRTs differ in more respects than simply size and weight. Here are some examples from our comparison tests.
1. Text edges look sharper on LCDs, and brightness levels are typically about twice as high. However, an LCD's square pixels may create a sawtooth appearance on diagonal lines--as in the arms of the letters A or V. CRTs, in comparison, have round pixels that may produce smoother diagonals but also result in slightly fuzzy text.
2. While colors are not as bright on CRTs, they tend to be richer. Also, CRTs can capture a broader spectrum of colors. A casual user may not notice the difference, but graphics professionals do. And any user can see that brightness and color on LCDs change when the screen is viewed from an angle.
Lab Notes: The Angle on LCD Monitors
You see an LCD's brightest light and truest colors only when you are positioned directly in front of it. Brightness, and therefore contrast, falls off and colors change as you move to the side (horizontally) or up and down (vertically)--eventually reaching a point where you can no longer discern the image. Low-cost LCDs extend the viewing range by using a diffusion film on the glass to spread the light over a wider angle. More-expensive technologies, such as in-plane switching and multidomain vertical alignment, change the arrangement of liquid crystals to increase viewing angle.
Monitor vendors employ sophisticated equipment to measure angle of view. They do not use identical methods, however, so numbers from assorted companies may not be comparable. To roughly gauge how the LCDs in this review compare to each other, the PC World Test Center devised a simple test with help from Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies. You can download DisplayMate's monitor-testing software, select "Gray-scale Linearity Check," and test your monitor yourself.
The test takes advantage of a simple fact about LCDs: Bright pixels vary much more with viewing angle than dark pixels do. DisplayMate illustrates this with a screen showing two gray rectangles: a "dithered" one, consisting of alternate fully white and black pixels, and another that is uniformly gray. The difference in brightness is easy to see when you view the monitor head-on. As you move to the side, the difference tapers off until, eventually, the two rectangles appear identical. To calculate the angle of view, we placed each monitor on a turntable and rotated it until the two rectangles reached the "no difference" point.
Because we use this measurement method, our viewing angle numbers are not directly comparable to those that monitor vendors publish. However, the dissimilarities among products in our measurements (the angles ranged from 108 to 167 degrees) do illustrate how viewing angle varies for the monitors in this review, despite their all having the same vendor-specified horizontal viewing angle of 170 degrees.
Horizontal angle of view measures the full sweep from left to right.
--Sean Captain
Entertainment: Games and Movies on LCDs
If you build an LCD for entertainment, will they watch? And
will it look any different? To find out, we examined Sony's SDM-V72W Personal
Entertainment Display, designed for games and movies, and compared it to
Apple's Cinema Display for graphics professionals and to the general-purpose
Iiyama Pro Lite 4821DT-BK.
The $1000, 17-inch SDM-V72W boasts a wide 16:9 aspect ratio and 1280 by 768 resolution (most desktop monitors have a 4:3 aspect ratio). To evaluate it, we watched Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and played the game Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The monitor displayed reasonably accurate details, even in fast-paced scenes, though we saw some graininess. Its horizontal viewing angle was excellent (180 degrees, by our measurement). Our main gripe was the tight vertical viewing angle: Looking at the screen from about 20 degrees below produced horrid colors, so slouching while you watch movies or play games could be a problem.
Iiyama's 4821DT-BK held its own against the Sony monitor; it even offered a better vertical viewing angle. Differences in video performance were barely noticeable, though you don't get the Sony's wide aspect ratio (or its beefy built-in speakers).
For about $1500 more, Apple's 22-inch Cinema Display gives users a huge 16:10 screen. Though this monitor was designed primarily for use with Macs, it was superior to other LCDs, especially on fast-action sequences, when we attached it to our PC test system. (Apple will not disclose the monitor's rated pixel response time, but it appears to be quite sprightly.) It's a worthy choice as an entertainment display, at least for folks with fat wallets.
--Roy Santos
