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Monitor Basics - LCD vs. CRT
Herbal V wrote in with a little article discussing the differences between LCD and CRT. Briefly summarizes all the major issues (Price, Refresh Rate etc). More of a beginner level piece, but as LCD prices are dropping like rocks, it's good to be aware.
Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.
Typical, a story about monitors comes along, and mine decides to censor it.
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The article only briefly mentions response time -- doesn't explain it. Response time was the reason I returned the LCD I bought and went back to my CRT -- DVD playback was awful. I imagine there are people who don't notice it, just as there are people who are more sensitive to lower CRT refresh rates, but it was hellish for me.
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It's funny, the main reason why I dumped 3 of my 20" Sun monitors for an Apple Cinema Display was the health issues. Sure, we have herd all the stories about special cameras that can read the material on your CRT through walls (and the person sitting in front of it), but that didn't stop me. No, I went ahead and set myself up with enough radiation to cook lunch. 5 months later, I found myself having trouble shaking off common colds, and my appetite went down hill. People should be aware of the health issues, not just specs.
Un ortun tely, my LCD sc een su fer fr m a h rible case of de d pixels. So tim s it is very dif cult to re ly to the any gre t ar icles on Sla dot and other f ne for ms. Oh wel , I will gladl pay the price j st so hat I may ska e on the e ge of the raz and la gh at t se moron with their big du b box . Ha Ha Ha !
I just recently purchased my first Mac. Scary I know but I promise not to become a Slashmacbot... Anyway, in line with the purchase I figured why not move to an LCD setup as well? This article explains several of my reasons for doing so but leaves one out...
Energy Consumption
LCD monitors definitely hold the edge over CRT monitors when it comes to being energy efficient. The huge tube in a CRT monitor is the source of most of its energy consumption, and a comparably sized LCD may use just a fraction of the electricity. Taking a look at this 19" Jetway LCD monitor shows that it consumes 48 Watts during normal operation, which is less than your typical light bulb. In contrast, a 19" CRT such as this one from Viewsonic may draw up to 160 Watts. Therefore the fraction of electricity used in this case is 3/10, and could translate to noticeable savings on your electric bill.
I currently have two 17" CRT monitors on my L-shaped desk. One is a newer model "flat screen" and the other was a freebie HP branded CRT. I know that they are sucking power and sending that power back out as radiation directly into the side and front of my face (as they are surrounding two of the three sides of my head). I have switched to a lot of energy saving bulbs in my house and I plan to switch more as the bulbs die off. I have switched to a programmable thermostat (that isn't 5 degrees off like the one that the original owners had) to save electricity/gas during the day and evenings. Why not my computer crap too?
I have even gone so far as to make sure that if I am not going to be home for more than 24 hours my non-essential computer equipment is off. A few bucks here and there equals beer later.
Personal Health and Comfort
The main benefit that LCDs have when it comes to comfort is the reduced strain on your eyes. The reduced glare on the screen's surface, and the elimination of a typical CRT's "refresh", can prevent your eyes from getting tired from extended use. A CRT monitor redraws the image on the entire screen as it refreshes, whereas an LCD monitor only changes the necessary pixels during a refresh.
There may also be the unquantifiable effect of reduced electromagnetic emissions on LCD monitors. The exact impact of electromagnetic emissions may not be fully understood, but in general less is considered to better, as addressed in this article. And, your back may also appreciate an LCD when it comes time to move, as the example above shows a 19" LCD monitor weighs about ¼ as much as its CRT counterpart.
What I have noticed is that using both at work (and now both at home) that I have significantly MORE eyestrain. Moving back and forth between the two seems more harmful than just sticking with one or the other. Sadly I am going to be in this situation at home for a while yet but at work I have only this 20" CRT to replace. The 23" LCD is in IT and waiting for install so it won't be too long. I was QUITE surprised when I went to pick up the 17" LCD at the FedEx hub that it fit easily in my trunk and was light enough for me to hold with one arm safely. I can't say that much about lugging my 17" CRTs around. Woo for that.
My other reason for loving LCDs is desk real estate. With my CRTs tons of desk space is lost to their screen, their rear ends, and their bases. With the new LCDs I have quite a bit more room to stack cans, plates, etc. It also makes me feel more "free" to move around in the tight space that my computer area is located.
I look forward to my second LCD at home and the savings in health, energy, and space it will give me.
Kind of OT, but important - if you are running XP with an LCD screen, don't forget to turn on ClearType. ClearType dramatically improves the quality of text displayed on screen, to the point where my work laptop almost looks as good as my OS X box w/CRT at home.
ClearType takes advantage of the fact that LCDs make coloured pixels out of three adjacent sub-pixels (usually R-G-B), rather than a CRT which focuses all three of its guns on the same spot. By varying the intensity of the three colours in each pixel, ClearType effectively triples the horizontal resolution of type. The trade-off is some slight colour-banding in small fonts, but the payoff is a much more readable screen.
I stumbled across the settings by accident. With the increasing popularity of LCDs, I'm surprised that Microsoft doesn't promote it more.
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
Actually, these beginner guides and technology simplified articles are handy for us geeks to have.
Presenting facts and information to the layman can be a difficult task, and its good for us to see how its done.
Instead of us all saying something like "let me try try to explain it" to a family member or friend, you can direct them to an article written with them in mind, and with enough information to answer most of their queries.
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