Hi folks I feel like splashing on a large monitor so that I can see whatI am doing with vue on a bigger scale. Can anyone recommend a large flatscreen monitor for this purpose,or does anyone who is already using a pretty large screen have any comments. I know that Dell has a 30" "TV" that doubles as a monitor,but I have read a lot of poor reviews of it.

Most flatscreen monitors have a resolution of 1280x1024 px max, even the 19" ones. I'd still recommend a CRT - higher resolution, better colors, and a lot cheaper. A good 24" CRT will cost you, but not as much as a 21" flatscreen, and you'll get a much better image quality. By the way, you'd better also make sure your graphics card can handle the resolution you want to work with, and handle it quick. My old Ti4200 can display resolutions of up to 2048x1536, but it's just not fast enough.

Juts bought a Phillips 201b4, 20 inch, 1920x1440, $350 at newegg.com. Worth it. Not a true flat screen, but a crt has better colors and sharpness than any LCD. Can watch 1080p HD too.

The Samsung SyncMaster 243T is excellent. 1920 x 1200 LCD, 24 inch. As good as the best CRTs for color. And a lot of space to work in Vue. In my opinion even better than the Dell 2405. 2 years ago, CRTs were still better than (good) LCD, but this time is over. Take a look at this monitor, you won't be disappointed. I certainly wasn't.

A good tip - now that flatscreen TFT monitors are becoming standard on new machines, you can pick up 21" monitors at a steal on Ebay. I recently got me one, and am considering replacing my second monitor with another one. I run in dual-monitor mode and the Trinitron tube on the left by far outperforms the older 19" on the right. In fact some of the higher resolutions I want to go up to are not supported on the older monitor, so there would be a good reason.

The response time on the Samsung is an abysmal 25ms though. My roommate has a 16ms and even on that I see noticeable (and irritating) ghosting. This is most noticeable when watching movies or playing games, but even in regular use it can get annoying. And you can get a 24" widescreen CRT with higher resolution for less than half the $1600 cost of the LCD. The LCD has the advantage in power use, weight, and size by far, but the CRT will still have advantages in viewing angle, color accuracy, etc. LCD technology is also, at present, totally incapable of producing a true black because there is always light leakage and they use a backlight. Rather than lighting only the active/colored pixels, it lights the whole LCD uniformly and "black" pixels are closed to light. Full coverage is impossible with current technology so there is leakage and you get more like a dark grey in areas that should be black. This is particularly noticeable in a dark room. So I think a declaration of the current supremacy of LCD's is a bit premature. - Oshyan

I switched to a flat screen 21" IBM CRT two years ago and I don't regret it. Sure it takes a lot of space, but I still find it sharper and more comfortable to work with than the best LCDs I can find at work (and I have seen some pretty impressive LCDs around here :) ).

You could not pry my Phillips 19" flat CRT of my desk. You'd have to kill me 1st :) LOL

What ? Religious opinions ? I don't believe it :) Well Mr LightPanther I have only one good advice : don't listen to us ! Take the time to see the monitors you are interested in for yourself, because in the end you pay, so your opinion is the only one that counts. I would just say that from a practical point of view, the response time of the Samsung 243T is not abysmal at all. Figures don't tell everything you know. I work, use 2D/3D software, play games and watch films on it everyday. As I test hardware for a living, I've seen my share of monitors. I do not care if it's a CRT or a LCD. If it's good, it's good. I have a 22 inch Iiyama Vision Master Pro 510 (A201HT) too. I am not trying to sell you a 243T, but as it is the best LCD I've seen to date for graphics work on the PC, I think it is useful to share my experience. To work with this monitor in Vue, Poser, Cinema 4D or Photoshop is a dream, and the 'abysmal' response time is quickly forgotten when you play Battlefield 2 or Half-Life 2 in 1920 x 1200. Again, this is my experience, others might disagree (they'd better not ;) Just to be informative, here is a review on the net : http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=243t&page=1 Good day to you all !

Attached Link: Samsung SyncMaster 930B

He should have bought the 19" Samsung SyncMaster 930B. 8ms response time on it, and zero ghosting. I'm an avid gamer, this monitor rocks. I might also add you need to be certain your LCD has a DVI connection. If it does, buy the DVI cable. Of course, your graphics card will have to include the DVI output. Expensive, but it makes all the difference in the world. I have the same success at 3D art with my new Samsung as I ever did with a CRT. I also have less eye strain. Another thing to consider is the fact that some manufacturers (Sony, NEC) are ending production of the larger CRTs. A few more years and they may be a thing of the past.

My 19" Samsung 930B cost me $459 including the optional DVI cable. After a $50 rebate, $409. I'm very pleased. Message edited on: 07/25/2005 19:02

I've seen the 913N too from Samsung which is not expensive and really very good (color, response time). But in any case I wouldn't compare a 19 inch (1280 x 1024, 5:4 ratio) monitor with a 24 inch (1920 x 1200, 16:10 ratio) monitor. Different animals, each has its strong points, for different uses. But we are in the Vue forum, not a gaming forum, right ? :)

Yeah, LCDs are the future, everyone wants one and the profit margins are better because of the price tags. BUT in 2010 I'll still be luggin my old 50 pound cathode ray tube hehe.

For games, 1280x1024 is fine. For DVD, 1920x1200 is fine. For Vue, I want the highest resolution my graphics card can deliver. 2048x1536. Why? I want to SEE on screen whether two objects intersect. I don't want to discover it after a two day render! I'm saving for a good 24" CRT that can run at 2048x1536 or better at 75 Hz or better. There are no LCD screens on the market that can handle 2048x1536, at least not that I know of.

svdl, you can always render a small portion of the screen (where the intersection is). As for 2048 x 1536, the Iiyama Vision Master Pro 510 can handle it, as the Viewsonic P225f. But they are 22 inches, which means 20 real inches (I measured it). An LCD is always a TRUE 24 inches. I found this monitor which has what you want, except it is really a 22,5 inches. http://www.techex.co.uk/info.asp?product=62 Weight ? 92.6 lbs. (42kg) LMAO 1920 x 1200 on a good LCD (which I can actually carry) is good enough for me thank you :)

If you're serious about graphics, you should be calibrating your monitor (e.g. Pantone "Spyder" device). It might be hard to calibrate a non-tube monitor. Used to be impossible a couple of years ago, don't know how much improvement today, but i'm still on a 20" CRT with a Trinitron type system (Sony's Trinitron patent expired several years ago and many manufacturers now use that technology, under several names). I like Viewsonic's higher-end CRT monitors.

The new Pantone ColorVision Spyder 2 works well with LCD and CRT. It is affordable, but I am afraid it is not the best available. Gretag-Macbeth and X-Rite are more precise.

Hey, thanks louguet - will check out those other calibrators.