LCD Monitors: Digital Flat Panel VS LCD TV Monitor...

[MdDg37]

I was prepared to purchase a Dell Ultrasharp 19 inch monitor for a system I am currently building when someone suggested that I consider a Dell 17 inch LCD TV monitor instead (screen of TV a couple of inches shorter in height but a couple of inches wider). They said it would function the same, but would allow me to split screen documents (view two pages at once) and be better for video viewing (movies, presentation videos, etc.).

I do biomedical research so my primary use for this new monitor/computer will be statistical analysis (medical and financial programming (SAS, SPSS, EXCEL), internet research, digital picture analysis (MRI, CAT, ultrasound images, etc.), digital video (presentations and analysis)...and non-work related DVD viewing and music recording, burning and listening (all work and no play... gotta have a life too. ;o) ).

I'd really appreciate help to know which monitor system would be best for these uses? Would there be any difference in refresh rates or letter clarity (documents)? Ultimately I guess I am wondering about the pros and cons of each type.

Thank you *very much* once again for your help!

TV: 25ms response time, 400:1 contrast, 450 nits brightness, 1280 x 768 (WXGA) native resolution, display 21.4" x 11.4" x 3.5"

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/pro...00?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=specstab#tabtop

LCD Monitor: 25ms response time, 600:1 contrast, 250 nits (typical)brightness, 1280x1024 Pixels max resolution, Diagonal Size: 19"
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&sku=320-0699&category_id=211&c=us&l=en&cs=19

 

[MdDg37]

Isn't there anybody with any experience or background with monitors that could please give me an idea of the pros and cons of using a LCD TV monitor versus a digital LCD flat panel monitor (or vise versa) for the tasks mentioned above? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[kiwiguy]

I migrated to LCD a couple of years ago.

The text clarity is superb. On LCD, one pixel is exactly that, one pixel.
On a CRT its "about as fast as the electron beam can turn on and off as it sweeps across" and that is a variable amount depending on the cost/quality of the electronics.

Refresh rate (as in flicker) is a non-event in LCD. There is no real refresh rate as there is no phosphor to decay in brightness. No flicker therefore.

To get the best of LCD you need XP, with "cleartype" option that does "sub pixel rendering" (never quite sussed that) but the "dots" of each pixel are merged to give typeset-quality text displays.

25 ms response will be quite acceptable for movies or games. Mine are even slower (45 ms) but still do not give any visible problems, I am amused by the die-hard gamers that use the response time as an excuse.

The desk space used is minimal with LCD. The energy consumption is a fraction of the CRT. The lifetime is now greater than the CRT. There is no Magnetic or other Radiation issues.

One point you need to watch though is the "bright pixel warranty"
Ideally you buy one with zero bright pixels (failed pixels that are always "on") but these cost more.
If you are buying one that has a tolerance of several before they will replace it, view it going before you buy. If they are grouped and/or in the central area its a real bugbear.

Apart from that the LCD is the way to go.

 

[MdDg37]

Kiwiguy,

Thank you *very much* for your reply...it was very helpful!

Do you have any thoughts or preferences as to which type of LCD display...an LCD TV monitor or an LCD digital flat panel montitor?

Thank you again for your help!

 

[5mi11er]

The LCD monitor quoted will have better resolution than the TV (1280 x 1024 vs 1280 x 768 ). Normal TV resolution is worse than either of those numbers ~640x480, HDTV (in the US) can be either 1920 x 1080, called 1080i, or 1280 x 720, called 720p. So, neither of these will be able to do the 1080i standard for HDTV.

However, since most of your time is going to be computing time, I would recomend sticking with the monitor. Personal experience tells me that the monitor is going to be higher quality than the TV, but then I've not yet been tempting myself by studying HDTV sets yet either...

-Scott