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21" LCD Monitor Kits?
Dee asks: "My firm has an opportunity to build a 21" NEC flat panel LCD monitor into a custom enclosure. As the OEM, we can do pretty much anything with the case. We're looking at deep drawn aluminum cases, anodized in any color you can name. A search on here shows that a generic 18" LCD in a plastic enclosure retails for $649 or so. What price range are people willing to pay for a 21" LCD? Would people be interested in a DIY kit for the display?" Frankly, I'd be more interested in seeing what one of these monsters might look like before I'd be able to say how much I'd pay for one, still the idea sounds intriguing in and of itself. Pricewatch has them in the $2-3k range, these days, in case you were wondering.
Well, I'm currently staring at a 19", IBM fixed frequency monitor, and it often seems too small. On the other hand it was cheap $50 and works, even if it does take up half the space on my desk.
I've been watching the LCD panels with interest, but I'm not willing/able to pay much of a premium price for one.
Yes, $2-$3k seems high end for LCDs. If the visual quality of the NEC doesn't match up with other LCDs in that range, then don't choose an enclosure that puts the LCD out of its league.
The only people I know that consistently wish for an LCD are the same people that can't see the difference between a $150 shadow mask CRT and a $1200 aperture grille CRT or the difference between 70Hz and 85Hz.
Unless it is impossible to use a CRT in a certain application, I personally wouldn't be too interested in an LCD.
Jesus saves....And takes 1/2 damage.
I have an 18" LCD that I use everyday, at least 10 hours a day. Its great - it doesn't flicker, its not too bright, and it gives me less eyestrain. Not only that it takes up less deskspace than a CRT, and draws less power (ergo it produces less heat, and my electricity bill is cheaper).
LCDs are often slated for their slow refresh rate - but I don't play games - I'm a developer, it only needs to keep up with my keystroke rate (which is actually quite poor...).
I can't praise my LCD enough, but it was very expensive. Thats the only let down with these things...
I'd certainly be interested in a larger LCD, but at the moment I'm poor...
What's this about too slow refresh rates for LCDs? 60Hz vertical refresh on an LCD is just fine.
The primary reason for having high refresh rates on CRTs is to reduce flicker. The flicker exists because a CRT only lights a point on the screen at any given time and scans horizontal lines from top to bottom.
In contrast, an LCD lights the entire image at all times, so there is no flicker and no need to go faster than 60Hz vertical refresh. A CRT, however, will benifit greatly from a higher refresh rate.
BTW: I have a Nokia branded Sony Triniton CRT display sitting next to an SGI 1600SW LCD (Mitsbishi made display, like the Apply Cinima Display). The SGI LCD has superior focus and notably less flicker than the CRT when the CRT is used at 85Hz (which I do think is far better than the CRT at 60 or 70HZ).
I also do video work with the SGI LCD. It is plenty fast enough for that, so I gather it's fast enough for most games.
"Luncheon meats make the sawdust in your stomach explode."
I have at work wonderful black IBM T750 TFT screen, which is 17-inch and is much less expensive then 18-inch IBM T86H. They both have 1280x1024 as a native resolution. My dream is to have laptop with 17 or 18 TFT screen. Now when prices are so low at least for 17-inch model I wonder how long will take to see first laptop (??) of this kind. Is anyone sharing the same dream with me?
I think there is still some additional programming productivity to be had from a bigger monitors, so I think it would be an appealing purchase for software devopers if you could get it down to ~$2k (hopefully due to volume).
By the way, for anyone whose sights are set higher than this, there was an article about how IBM also makes a similar 22" 3840x2400 TFT monitor that they were selling for $16k.
Oops, sorry. Here is the correct link for the IBM ITQX20.
I am writing this on a system running the new Dell 2000fp 20.1" LCD monitor running 1600x1200x32. This thing is a monster, just fantastic, and anyone can buy one from Dell now for $1599.
That, my friends, is a Price Point.