Any improvements in LCD display quality using VGA connect?

[Tim_Lookingbill]

Shopping around on the web for an LCD to replace my 9 year old 19"

CRT. It's getting slight color casts on opposite sides of the screen.

Walmart and OfficeMax are the only vendors in town that carry LCD's and

I've had to return them because of their low quality even after calibration.

 

For me to get a DVI computer just to run an LCD I'ld have to fork over at

least a $1000. I'm using a 2000 G3 Powerbook running OS 9.2.2 so a

new video card isn't possible except for the $250 Village Tronic VTBook

32MB PCMCIA DVI video card. However the card's I've used in the cardbus

slot has overheated causing lockups so that's not something I want to

deal with right now.

 

Do all LCD's display the same with a VGA connect regardless of price and

brand? What image degradation arises with this type of connection. I have

the EyeOne Display so hardware calibration isn't a problem.

 

I've been looking into getting a Viewsonic G90fB4 19" CRT but where I'm

at I'ld have to buy sight unseen as I would with any display. Returning it

would be a big headache if it isn't up to par with my current CRT.

 

Any LCD models that stand out with an analog signal?

 

Any suggestions and reported experiences would be very appreciated.

[re_photography]

I guess my question is, what is it that you are using said screen for that you are able to do this efficiently on a 2000 G3......I'm not trying to be argumentative, just understand what your needs are.

 

It is not likely that either Walmart or OfficeMax will ever carry a display of any sort that is intended for graphics editing; it isn't in their best interest to do so since their average customer buying computer equipment is either using it for business applications or as an affordable home-computer for general use. You are not likely to find new LCD screens meant for graphics work running on VGA connections mainly because manufacturers asume that anyone who would be interested in purchasing a monitor meant for graphics work would not be working on a machine which could not connect to a digital input monitor. This said, to the best of my knowledge, there are some very good LCD screens in existance which run on VGA connections made by Viewsonic, since you mentioned them, and other companies who traditionally made CRT monitors meant for editing. I have also used a few Sony LCD monitors, though it is my understanding that Sony has dropped their entire desktop computing (and monitor) line in favor of profits from laptop computers. I've used a number of displays, but I believe it or not my personal preference is still for my 17" widescreen on my Sony VAIO laptop, good color acuracy, auto-dims/brightens to the ambient light, and it squishes in 1920x1200 pixels.

[Tim_Lookingbill]

Thanks for the response, Ryan.

 

My funds are limited. I'm not working as a professional but enjoy

doing research, exchange info on the web on the subject of

digital imaging as a hobby. I do occasional photo restoration

projects for family and friends.

 

I've gotten used to the look of a CRT and have read how LCD's

have improved compared to the Walmart models I tried out

several years past. Hoping that these improvements have

arrived at a point where they're good enough to calibrate decently

with a VGA connect. Was wondering which models and brands

do this best and what types of visual anamolies are still present

if any.

 

Just curious to see what they're like before I buy online. I live in a

rural area and will have to travel 70 miles to try them out at

CompUSA, Circuit City and Best Buy and I'm not sure which

ones will have the S-IPS type panels if that still matters.

[louie_bustillos]

My Samsung LCD did a great job with calibrated well with a VGA hookup. They don't make my model anymore but I have to assume that the most recent model will also be able to.

[re_photography]

As to the update of the situation in question: got ya. You might try buying used LCD or CRT screens, especially as lots of people in the industry who have been working on VGA connect CRT and LCD screens may be selling them in favor of digital connections either for actual better quality or for the perception of better quality. What you will be garanteed though is that a couple hundred dollar couple year old VGA display (in great condition) which originally sold for many hundreds of dollars is certainly a better option than a new display priced at a couple hundred dollars. FOr example, one of the best CRT monitors to my knowledge is the LaCie Electron Blue which came in both 19" (17" viewable) and 22" (20" viewable) versions. The school I weant to in 2004-2006 had two digital postprocessing labs, one with about 40 19" versions and the other with about 50 22" versions. The monitors are no longer produced, but you can find them on Ebay. There is currently one with a minimum bid of $125 and a "Buy it Now" of $200. This is a monitor which listed new at well over $750 as far as I know.

 

http://search.ebay.com/lacie-22-crt_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8QQsatitleZlacieQ2022Q22Q20crt

 

I don't know that your graphics card could handle the maximum resolution of 2048x1536, but it should work OK at least at lower resolutions.

[Tim_Lookingbill]

Thanks for the link, Ryan.

 

I've been researching all day on the web and have found so

many conflicting reports from users pro and amateur. I just came

across this 2005 photo.net thread on Delta E measurements on

a PVA type panel Samsung 910T LCD:

</p>

 

<p>

<a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DS

Np">Any good 19" CRT's left in the world</a>

</p>

 

<p>

There's a nonPN thread where someone posted shots of a

Samsung 215tw multifunction widescreen LCD with his Canon

20D and I was surprised at the quality. It wasn't an s-ips panel.

He even showed comparisons to his Viewsonic CRT and

screenshots of EyeOne calibration results for both.

</p>

 

<p>

I've been more amazed at the voracity of many trying to find a

good quality display than finding a particular model that would

suit me. There's a lot of folks looking with quite a few

disappointments.