... a Samsung 959nf, a 19 incher.
I think it has great screen update frequency (the best ones):
2048x1536; 65 Hz
1600x1200; 85 Hz (85 Hz is really minimum acceptable with 19")
1400x1050; 96 Hz (the one I prefer, more readable text)
1280x1024; 100 Hz
1024x768; 120 Hz
800x600; 120 Hz
These were the usable resolutions.
Great sharpness and colors, the screen doesn’t move or flicker at all. Great.
Yes, you guessed it, here comes the downside of it.
It has two annoying lines across the screen, from left to right, thinner than a piece of hair but still visible if I look for it. One 2.5” from the top, one 2.5” from the bottom of the screen.
I did some research and found out that it’s because it has Sony’s Trinitron Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) technology, but Samsung call it “Diamontron”.
Another annoying part was the sharpening of the screen image, it increases the luminescence behind the the text or anything dark, but the light is skewed to the right making it very easy to see and it’s annoying too of course so I don’t use it.
The extra light or “Highlight Zone” as they call it may disappear after a while so I have to reactivate it once or twice a day.
I kept the monitor anyway because I didn’t want to go through the trouble of hunting for a new one, and because of the positive reasons mentioned above.
I give it a 7 anyway on a scale from 1 to 10 because of its strengths, it’s still better than most of the other monitors I stumbled on during my search.
The lines are a characteristic of Trinitron tubes. I had one so I know. That monitor was one of the sharpest CRTs I’ve seen. However, mine stopped working about 1 week after the one year warrantee expired. Sony wanted 300 dollars to fix it. I sent it to a cheaper repair shop and they “lost it”. I never did get compensated. 500 dollars down the drain. Apparently the failed part was a Sony proprietary part. It was my last dealing with Sony. Their “customer service” is best described as an oxymoron.
I complained by phone to customer relations in Florida. They replied that they did not handle complaints. When I asked what “customer relations” actually did, they hung up.
I’m sorry to hear about it and hope it was just bad luck.
It’s a shame I have to tinker with it each time I start the Mac.
1) I push the Highlight and then the Menu-off button to make it brighter.
2) The image is a few milimeters down but is slowly moving to the right place when it warms up.
3) If I want to view a movie is Color 2 usually the better and warmer choice, the coldest Color 1 is best for computing.
CRT monitors are a dying breed - 100 watts is too much; I had just hoped they had evolved a bit more than this anyway.
About your third point. Could you set up a profile for your monitor in System Prefs and switch to the saved profile for a particular purpose? I did that for my Sony because it was easier than using the OSD. Then all I had to do was select the profile from the monitor icon in the menu bar.
I’ve never heard about people having such terrible luck with crt moniters. I’ve seen them go bad but they were abuse or from an odd brand. I know a lot of people who have had problems with desktop LCDs though, my mother’s would interact with their phone and produce a humming sound that would drive her nuts, they eventually had to ditch the moniter because the noise got so loud.
CRT monitors are a dying breed - 100 watts is too much; I had just hoped they had evolved a bit more than this anyway.
They won’t be until LCDs can get better refresh rates and brighter with lower prices. A 14” LCD costs more than a 17” CRT that is brighter faster and has a more wide viewing angle.
LCDs always have the corners darker than everywhere else on the screen.
LCD’s are better at displaying sharp text. They are better for doing fine work on 2D graphics. They are easier on the eyes especially at these tasks. They are worse at displaying moving images in movies and games. They only have one resolution. Digitally connected monitors offer superior images whether LCD or CRT.
CRT monitors are a dying breed - 100 watts is too much; I had just hoped they had evolved a bit more than this anyway.
They won’t be until LCDs can get better refresh rates and brighter with lower prices. A 14” LCD costs more than a 17” CRT that is brighter faster and has a more wide viewing angle.
LCDs always have the corners darker than everywhere else on the screen.
My iMac’s screen isn’t troubled by any of this (not even cost, apparently). It doesn’t have normal refresh because that’s not how LCD screens work, so you don’t get any flicker at all; it’s plenty bright for all my needs (sometimes too bright, so I have to turn it down); considering this computer has a 17” LDC widescreen and retailed for $1300, plus has a G5 processor, I’d say that’s a pretty good price for the parts, including the screen; and the viewing angle is incredibly good… it’s a little brighter from above and darker from below, and slightly darker from the side, but it’s still viewable (and those aren’t angles anyone would be using anyway, at least here, since it’s easily adjustable).
I’d say this is a great time to get an LCD screen, since I know there are brands as good or better than Apple.
CRT monitors are a dying breed - 100 watts is too much; I had just hoped they had evolved a bit more than this anyway.
They won’t be until LCDs can get better refresh rates and brighter with lower prices. A 14” LCD costs more than a 17” CRT that is brighter faster and has a more wide viewing angle.
LCDs always have the corners darker than everywhere else on the screen.
My iMac’s screen isn’t troubled by any of this (not even cost, apparently). It doesn’t have normal refresh because that’s not how LCD screens work, so you don’t get any flicker at all; it’s plenty bright for all my needs (sometimes too bright, so I have to turn it down); considering this computer has a 17” LDC widescreen and retailed for $1300, plus has a G5 processor, I’d say that’s a pretty good price for the parts, including the screen; and the viewing angle is incredibly good… it’s a little brighter from above and darker from below, and slightly darker from the side, but it’s still viewable (and those aren’t angles anyone would be using anyway, at least here, since it’s easily adjustable).
I’d say this is a great time to get an LCD screen, since I know there are brands as good or better than Apple.
That’s sortof an integrated deal though, I used LCDs because I have a laptop. If you buy it seperately it’s pretty expensive compared to the equivilent CRT.
It doesn’t have normal refresh because that’s not how LCD screens work, so you don’t get any flicker at all
Response times, not refresh rates, many LCDs have a slight lag in response to a changing video signal which is noticed primarily by gamers.
It’s not something I notice, and I do pretty much all my gaming on computers with LCD screens these days, whether it’s here or at Nexus. I’m guessing the higher-quality monitors don’t have the lag you mentioned, or it’s lower, because neither my iMac nor the 20-something computers at Nexus with LCD screens have laggy response time.
And either way, there’s no refresh and thus no flicker.
It doesn’t have normal refresh because that’s not how LCD screens work, so you don’t get any flicker at all
Response times, not refresh rates, many LCDs have a slight lag in response to a changing video signal which is noticed primarily by gamers.
Yes that’s correct. Response times are the critical issue with LCDs. In another post you mentioned refresh rates. Refresh rates are not a problem at all. That’s what you meant, right?
It doesn’t have normal refresh because that’s not how LCD screens work, so you don’t get any flicker at all
Response times, not refresh rates, many LCDs have a slight lag in response to a changing video signal which is noticed primarily by gamers.
Yes that’s correct. Response times are the critical issue with LCDs. In another post you mentioned refresh rates. Refresh rates are not a problem at all. That’s what you meant, right?
