The Eyes Have It

Choosing an appropriate display can often get very confusing, particularly if you don't know the terminology. We've covered this in our display reviews, so if you're not sure what the various specifications mean you can start there. One area that we didn't cover in that glossary is panel technologies, but once again we've discussed that elsewhere. For those that don't like to follow links, here's a recap.

Many LCD specifications are prone to inflation by the manufacturers or have become largely meaningless. Take contrast ratio for example. That's the white level divided by the black level, and if you could actually get pure black on any LCD contrast ratio would be "infinity". In practice, anything over 500:1 is sufficient, and 1000:1 is about the best you can see before the manufacturers start playing tricks. What sort of tricks? How about dynamic contrast ratio, where the backlight intensity changes according to the content currently being shown on the display. Now you can take the maximum white level at maximum brightness and divide it by the minimum black level at minimum brightness, which results in substantially higher contrast ratios. Unfortunately, in practice the varying intensity of the backlight can be distracting to say the least, and color accuracy greatly suffers because of the constantly shifting brightness levels. Our advice: ignore dynamic contrast ratios, and if your display supports the feature we recommend disabling it.

Pixel response times are another area that has been inflated -- or deflated in this case. We have looked at various LCDs boasting anywhere from a 2ms to 16ms response time; honestly, we would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between most of them. All of the comparison images we've captured show similar best/worst case scenarios for pixel response latency, with one or two afterimages present. A bigger problem these days is processing lag (aka "input lag"), which is the delay between the time a signal is sent to your LCD and the time the internal circuitry finishes processing it and actually shows it on the LCD panel. We have measured lag as high as 50ms, which makes gaming very frustrating and is even noticeable/irritating during general Windows usage.

The one item that manufacturers don't usually make a big deal about happens to be the aspect of any display that seems to matter most: the actual panel technology. There are three general categories of panel technology: TN (twisted nematic), MVA/PVA (multi-domain vertical alignment/patterned vertical alignment), and IPS (in-plane switching). Opinions about which technology is actually best differ somewhat, but there's no denying the fact that TN is substantially cheaper to produce whereas PVA and IPS are more expensive. These days, the vast majority of LCDs are once again using TN panels, largely because of the pricing advantage. If you want a higher quality panel using MVA, PVA, or IPS you will need to be prepared to pay anywhere from 50% to 300% more -- depending on overall quality and the target market. Here's a quick overview of the panel technologies.

Viewing angles on TN are substantially worse, particularly vertical viewing angles, and all TN panels are natively 6-bit panels that use dithering to approximate 8-bit color. Most people won't notice the difference in color accuracy, but imaging professionals would definitely prefer something better. The advantage of TN panels is that -- at least on the ones we've tested -- input lag is not a problem. Response times are usually lower on paper, but again it's difficult to actually see the difference between a 2ms panel and a 6ms panel, especially when the display refreshes every 17ms.

PVA and IPS are basically the exact opposite of TN: great viewing angles, very good color reproduction, and true 8-bit colors. However, pixel response times are a little lower (it's not something that has ever bothered us). The other big problem? At least on the S-PVA panels that we've tested, input lag has been a major concern, ranging from as low as 20ms up to nearly 50ms. Ouch! S-IPS panels don't seem to have a problem with input lag, at least on the models we've tested -- which all happen to be 30" LCDs. That said, Dell's 3008WFP is the exception, which seems to be caused more by the digital scaler than by the IPS panel.

A less common panel type is MVA, which in practice is similar to PVA but seems to perform better in regards to input lag. We've only tested one LCD that uses an MVA panel, the BenQ FP241VW (a review is forthcoming), and input lag appears to be equal to that of our reference LCD. Color quality and other aspects are also good, but pricing and availability is a concern, not to mention the fact that we're not super keen on the frame/stand for the FP241VW.

That was a really long-winded introduction to our display choices, but it's important to understand the above information before you start looking at the various options. Frequently, the choice will come down to getting something larger with a cheaper TN panel versus getting a smaller LCD with a PVA/IPS panel. Even among the same panel technology, however, there are wide variations in quality. Most LCD panels are manufactured by one of only a few companies, but similar to processors these panels are "binned" based on quality. The bottom line is that you often get what you pay for, so if you're wondering why LCD X seems to have the same specifications as LCD Y but costs significantly less, it's very likely that the panel doesn't meet the same quality standards. Color uniformity is one of the big differences between various LCD panels, with the best panels often ending up in displays that cost twice as much as LCDs that are otherwise equal in terms of specs. So now let's look at our various recommendations for the different price points.

Sub-$200 Options

There are plenty of options under $200 these days, but we tend to have a philosophy of "go big or go home" when it comes to LCDs. Do you really want to get a slightly better quality 19" LCD when $20 more will get you a 22" LCD? We certainly don't, and thus our recommendation ends up going to one of the many 22" LCDs currently priced under $200. Acer is more of a value brand in the LCD market, but that doesn't mean the LCDs aren't good. In fact, other than flimsy base stands we've never had a complaint with any of the Acer LCDs we've used. Specifications are pretty much meaningless at this price point -- all of the 22" LCDs that cost under $200 will be very similar, i.e. TN panel, 1680x1050, 5ms response times, HDMI and/or DVI -- so it really comes down to price and availability. Acer is a global company so their products are available around the world, and their prices are also very good. The Acer X223Wbd won't be the best LCD around, but for only $170 it's hard to complain. It is missing HDMI support, however, so if that's important we would recommend the ASUS VH226H, which also happens to bump up the resolution to 1920x1080 and only costs $40 more.

$200-$400 Recommendations

Not surprisingly, this is by far the largest category in terms of the available options. You can get everything from good quality 22" LCDs (or 20" S-IPS LCDs) up to and including 28" monsters of somewhat dubious quality. If the latter catches your fancy, check out the Hanns•G HG-281DPB at Newegg, currently going for only $380. Yes, that's less than most 24" LCDs, so we wouldn't expect best in class performance. What would we actually recommend? 22" offerings are going to be slightly better in terms of features and quality, but we would recommend going for a 24" LCD. Our overall recommendation goes to the Gateway FHD2401, a slight update to our Bronze Editors' Choice FHD2400 that uses a matte panel instead of a glossy panel. You still get a plethora of input options, and one of the best base stands that we've ever used.

If you're still looking for other alternatives, Dell has recently launched their 23" SP2309W that has a native resolution of 2048x1152 -- yes, higher than 1080P. We actually think 1080P movies will look best on 1080P displays, but for Windows work a slightly higher resolution might be useful. You still get a TN panel, and the price is quite a bit higher than 22" 1080P LCDs at $380. Acer once again shows up with the X243Wbd for $290, and we also have the BenQ E2400HD that we recently reviewed, now at $330. We wouldn't call the BenQ E2400HD perfect, but honestly for the price it's very good, especially if you never intend on using it at anything other than the native 1920x1080 resolution -- and we always recommend using native resolution on any LCD. Its "younger brother" E2200HD should also be available shortly, with a price in the low to mid $200 range.

$400-$800 High-End LCDs

As we move into the high-end LCDs, generally speaking we are looking at 24" and larger displays. One offering that you might want to jump on his the Dell 2408WFP, currently on sale for just $482 (though we're not sure how long that sale will last). We gave this monitor or Silver Editors' Choice award, as it has great features and also delivered some of the best color accuracy results we've seen to date. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that it scored 1.74 average Delta E without any calibration -- that's better than some LCDs do with calibration. The only drawback to the 2408WFP is a significant amount of input lag, although we understand that later revisions have reduced the lag to the point where it might be acceptable. We haven't been able to personally test the later revisions, so we don't know for sure how much the situation has improved, but if your primary concern is color quality this is still an excellent LCD.

Other options in this category are interesting, in that you can actually find a few S-IPS or S-MVA. For an S-IPS display, the HP LP2475w runs $585, which is more expensive than a lot of the competition, but our personal preference is still IPS over any of the other technologies. S-MVA panels are few and far between for whatever reason, and at present we are only aware of one LCD in the US that uses an S-MVA panel, the BenQ FP241VW... and it no longer appears to be in production. Still, prices have dropped significantly since the LCD launched, and our own testing indicates that input lag matches the best any of the other LCDs we've tested can offer. That means you can get wide viewing angles, good color accuracy, and still not have to sacrifice gaming potential. Finally, there are a few higher quality 22" LCDs that also fall into this category, like the Lenovo L220X, a 22" 1920x1200 LCD with an S-PVA panel. At $485 it costs as much as the Dell 2408WFP, but that's the price of a high resolution non-TN 22" LCD it seems. Finally, the Planar PX2611W is a 26" S-IPS panel that is very highly regarded by many owners, although it is priced quite a bit higher than the 24" LCDs, coming in at $765.

$900+ Dream LCDs

Last we have the ultra high-end LCDs, with prices that are more than most people will spend for an entire system. Generally speaking, if you're going to spend this much money we would recommend picking up a 30" LCD, but there are also imaging professionals that will want best in class performance. Most of the 30" LCDs use S-IPS panels and have similar performance characteristics, so it comes down to features. The Dell 3007WFP-HC and HP LP3065 go head-to-head at around $1200 -- the HP costs $50 more at present. The primary difference is that Dell has a single dual-link DVI input along with flash media slots, while HP skips on the flash reader but includes three dual-link DVI inputs. If you never intend on connecting your LCD to more than one computer, either LCD will work fine; if you might want to use a KVM switch down the road, however, know in advance that dual-link KVM switches are extremely expensive. We would give the edge to the HP LP3065, but the margin of victory is extremely small.

If you're looking for other 30" options, a slightly cheaper alternative that's worth a look is the DoubleSight DS-305W, which again uses an S-IPS panel but carries a $950 price tag. We haven't personally tested the display (yet), but $200 is nothing to scoff at compared to the HP LP3065. If you might prefer something other than an S-IPS panel, Samsung offers the 305T with an S-PVA panel for just over $1100. Input lag is reputed to be better than the 24" and 27" S-PVA panels, but we're not sure it's at the level of the 30" S-IPS panels. Finally, we should note that the newer Dell 3008WFP includes a bevy of input options, but apparently also suffers from severe input lag, making the $2000 price tag much more than we are willing to pay.

The final two options in the dream LCD category target imaging professionals, and both come from NEC. The 26" LCD2690WUXi uses an H-IPS panel and is priced at $1050, but among users that demand accurate color it has a very good reputation. The other option is another 30" S-IPS panel, the LCD3090WQXi that retails for $2000. If your livelihood depends on accurate colors in print media, the price premium over competing 30" options may not matter. Most users looking to pick up a 30" LCD will probably be more than happy with one of the cheaper options, however.

Other Thoughts

One possibility that we didn't even touch on yet is the option to use an LCD HDTV in place of a computer monitor. There are pros and cons to taking such a route, but if it's something that you're interested in doing there's nothing to stop you. HDTVs do have a few really nice features compared to computer monitors, like built-in speakers that actually sound decent if not great, numerous input options, and a remote control for those times when you want to sit back in your chair. Perhaps one of the best reasons to consider an HDTV is that you can get a 32" 1080P LCD for a lot less than a 30" computer LCD, and you also get larger pixels so text might not be quite as difficult to read. Speaking from experience, those without great eyesight may find 2560x1600 on a 30" display to be difficult on the eyes when reading text -- I usually work at 150% magnification in Microsoft Word, for example. You could even go nuts and get a 50 inch or larger "display" and use a wireless mouse and keyboard from 5 to 10 feet away.

Right about now, you might be thinking that HDTVs as computer monitors sound like a great idea. While they certainly work, there are some important caveats that you need to remember before taking the plunge. First, LCD HDTVs typically don't have base stand with adjustable height/tilt, so you will need a desk that puts the display at eye level. Second, HDTV LCDs tend to weigh more than computer LCDs, in part because they include larger speakers and other features. Finally -- and potentially the real killer -- HDTVs often come with a large amount of the internal processing lag. 50 ms or even 250 ms really doesn't make any difference when you're just watching TV and videos, provided that the audio and video remain in sync. Before going out and purchasing an HDTV for computer use, you might want to browse around the web first and verify that processing lag is not an issue. Some HDTVs include a "game" mode to bypass the video processing, which is something else to consider.

Because of the type of environment most people expect when using a computer, we would stick with LCD HDTVs that are at most 32" -- although some people might be okay with up to 42" displays. Definitely stick with 1080P options, unless you don't mind having really big pixels. As far as particular models are concerned, Sharp makes some 32" LCDs that are quite popular for gaming/HDTV/computer use. Overall, HDTVs tend to excel in video playback but fall behind in other areas. Regardless, it's definitely an option to consider if you're looking for a large display. As usual, you get what you pay for, so don't just go out and grab the cheapest option you can find. The better HDTVs will use IPS panels, whereas inexpensive models again make use of TN panels.

To wrap things up, here's a table summarizing some of our LCD recommendations. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but we do feel all of the displays in the following table are at least worth considering.

As a final thought, just remember that your computer display is one part of the computer that you constantly look at, so spending more money to get a higher quality display is definitely something your eyes will appreciate. Not only can it have an immediate and dramatic impact on how you use your computer, but also keep in mind the fact that computer displays tend to stay in use for five years or more, as opposed to being out of date the instant you buy them. That being the case, we recommend trying to spend more money and get a nicer display if at all possible.