Flat Screen Monitors Sales to Reign This Year

swimfastom writes "Yahoo! News reports that sales of flat-panel computer monitors will top sales of bulkier traditional models this year, signifying a long-expected turning point in the computer monitor market. Flat-panel screen sales are expected to grow at a 49-percent compounded annual growth rate from 2001 through 2006, giving them an 82-percent share of the desktop computer market."

Comments

I am not surprised at all

[geddes]

I do tech support for my college, and at the beginning of the year as I went from room to room in the dorms to help people set up and configure thier computers, I noticed that about 90% of them had new flat-panel monitors. Most were 15'', but they had them. Not just the iMacs either, the kids with Dells _all_ had Dell branded flat screens. This was a huge change from last year, where 90% of the incoming freshmen had brand new computers with CRT monitors.

The rise of the flat panel is very good for colleges, not just in terms of power-saving costs but also in terms of space. The CRTs just take up a lot of space on the small college desks. My CRT/keyboard prevents me from even having room for a notebook and pen to do math problem sets on - I need to go to the library to do any non-computer work. Whenever I go support someone with an LCD I eye it with envy, and the day approaches when I will be forced to get one for myself :-)

someone better get their terms right

[frovingslosh]

There is an awful ambiguity here between flat screen displays such as LCD displays, and flat screen monitors, which are still big bulky CRT based monitors, but have a flat screen rather than the slightly curved screens on earlier CRT monitors. Many manufacturers, including mainstream names like NEC and Viewsonic market Flat Screen Monitors . If these are getting into the count of expected sales then of course they will top sales of bulkier traditional models this year, but it will not do much to make space available on your desk.

Re:low refresh rate

[Guspaz]

Actually they're usually more like 60hz, which is more than sufficient. LCDs don't work the same way as CRTs; they don't fade between scans, so you don't get flicker.

The 60hz number on an LCD is confusing, try thinking about it like 60FPS. 60FPS high enough that most people see smooth movement anyhow, so it's quite sufficient.

Gaming with a LCD screen

[Boiling_point_]

Hmmmm - LCD vs CRT - the first holy war of 2003!! :)

I just bought a Samsung 172T (read an early glowing review). It's the first LCD screen I've owned, although I've used plenty before; I have a laptop for work.

Just like plenty of comments from this thread from yesterday, plenty of non-LCD-owning people here seem to have a strong opinion on the matter :)

I couldn't be happier with my new screen. At the stated response rate of 25ms, I have an effective screen refresh rate of 40 updates a second, ie. faster than my eye can detect. The monitor can handle being fed 72Hz at 1280x1024 (native res), which is better than my old Acer 77c 17" could manage. I've always played games with v-sync switched on to prevent tearing in the past (for the uninitiated, v-sync means the card sends the same number of frames per second as the screen refresh rate, so that monitor doesn't try to display parts of two frames at once and cause visible tearing). The long and the short of all this is that the screen is happily updating as fast as my eyes and brain need it to. As a bonus:

• I have a "true" 17" viewable monitor (equiv. to a 19" CRT)
• a screen that doesn't hurt to look at for day-long gaming sessions
• I can lift it with two fingers! ie it's portable for LANs
• It chews far less power than a CRT
• it gives off far less HEAT than a CRT - a cool room makes for a cooler PC
• it looks way cooler than any CRT on the planet
• I can use a smaller desk, or fit more on my existing desk
• My girlfriend thinks I'm cooler for owning it :)

Yes it cost more. But doesn't almost everything worthwhile cost more?

Sure - many gamers won't get an LCD because on paper they doesn't match current CRT capabilities. But good ones come close enough.