Have any of you looked at buying a new monitor these days...gee those damn specs are enough to scare a person off getting one.

My wife made a great deal with me, she gets my 19 inch monitor and she will give me half what a new 19-22 inch widescreen will cost me.
Problem i have is not knowing what to look for in a monitor, been told to look at a 5ms(milisecond) responce time, 1000:1 or better contrast ratio but this is from gamers and basically the thing i'm looking for is one that would be suited to imaging.

Anyone got any ideas on what i should look for even brand name of a good monitor..

Ms rate is only really important for multimedia/games etc. and most modern flatscreens are less than 12 anyway.
Everyone can say their own monitor is best, but I would suggest you go to your local store and look at the display yourself. That is the only way to choose something that you'll spend almost a quarter of your life staring at, and no two people are the same. It's all down to what you see and what you like personaly.

Quote - Ms rate is only really important for multimedia/games etc. and most modern flatscreens are less than 12 anyway.
Everyone can say their own monitor is best, but I would suggest you go to your local store and look at the display yourself. That is the only way to choose something that you'll spend almost a quarter of your life staring at, and no two people are the same. It's all down to what you see and what you like personaly.

I thought about all of this and what i intended using the monitor for mostly which is graphic work. This is one main reason why i asked for help/advice on what to look for before going to one of the many dealers in my local area as i have found from past experience 97% of the sales people don't know what they are talking about and try selling you something thats priced in the high $$$ bracket.

But thank you for your friendly advice, i will use this to helpme.

I'm looking into Samsung's myself.  My big CRT is starting to show it's age a bit.

I'm loving my apple cinema display, but its not the cheapest screen out there.
Another really nice (and cheaper) screen i've seen (and used) wich is at least as good, would be the Dell 22inch or 24inch flatscreen... the 19inch dell one i dont advice for graphics.

Well I know people say that you only need a 5 millisec response time if you game, but I don't game and I got a 5 millisec screen - & I love it, and I remember I did notice the difference at the time.

It probably helps if you have more than one thing running at a time - and I do, often.  Can't bare to be still see? gotta be up and doing allatime.

"...running at a time - and I do, often.  Can't bare to be still see?"

Ah-hah! Fran is a streaker :tt2:

Cheers (running - not bare - and hiding quickly under the nearest stone),
Diolma

I have a Viewsonic VP920b and love it.  If Milliseconds are important to you than you need to know the following.  

Make sure the value of MS is for Gray to Gray and not Black to White.   Black on an LCD is means the Pixels are OFF and White ON, turning Pixels ON and OFF at high speeds is not a problem.  However switching from one shade of Gray to another Shade of Gray is harder to do and would take longer.

So if you want a Monitor that is 5MS make sure that is Gray to Gray and not Black to White.  Gray to Gray is a better measure of Speed.

Now one of the neat features of my ViewSonic is that I can rotate the monitor from Landscape to Portrait...people doing desktop publishing or working with legal documents would make good use of this.

In my case, I love playing Arcade Classics using the M.A.M.E Emulator so for example Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, or Galaga are meant to be played on Portrait mode.

I've got an 19 in LG flatron  that is real good in my book.1400 to1 contrast  4 ms real nice color
Dells 24 in are good Samsung's are good also.
Had a Spectre did not like it at all.Had some serious ghosting even when just moving the mouse.Not to mention the stuck on pixel just off center on the screen.

Thanks all for your advice on monitors...i will just say what is really confusing me is the specs on some monitors i looked at.

These following specs are from a  monitor i have been having my eye on for the last 2 days, i have no idea what they all mean so if one of you have any knowledge on this and could help me understand it all it would be great.

**VIEWSONIC VA2226W 22"W/5MS/2000:1/DVI/VGA
**

• LCD PANEL TYPE: 22" (21.6" VIS) col TFT active matrix WSXGA LCD
• DISPLAY AREA: 18.3" horizontal x 11.4" vertical; 21.6" diagonal
• NATIVE RES: 1680x1050
• BRIGHTNESS: 300 cd/m2 (typ)
• CONTRAST RATIO: 1000:1 static (typ), 2000:1 dynamic (typ)
• VIEWING ANGLE : 170 deg horizontal, 160 deg vertical
• RESPONSE TIME : 5ms (typ)
• PANEL SURFACE : Anti-glare
• LIGHT SOURCE : Long life, 40,000 hrs (typ)
• ERGONOMICS: Tilt 5deg/+20deg
• VIDEO INPUT: Analogue/Digital RGB analog (75 ohms,0.7 Vp-p)/DVI-D (HDCP)
• Frequency: Fh: 30~82kHz, Fv: 50~75Hz
• Sync: H/V separated (TTL)
• POWER: Voltage: AC 100-240V (universal), 50/60Hz (auto switch)
• POWER CONSUMPTION: 38W (typ)
• COMPATIBILITY: PC: VGA up to 1680x1050 non-interlaced
• Mac: Power Mac" G3/G4/G5 up to 1680x1050
• CONNECTOR: Analog/Digital: 15-pin mini D-sub/DVI-D
• Power: 3-pin AC plug (CEE22)
• DIMENSIONS(WxHxD): with stand 510mm x 431mm x 225mm, WEIGHT: 5.1 kg
• : without stand 510mm x 350mm x 61mm, WEIGHT: 4.5 kg

You see, this is the biggest headache, now you have more monitors to look at.

Step one. Go into a store that sells monitors and **avoid the sales people.
**
Step  two. Look at all the monitors, they are almost always on.

Step three. Choose the monitor that A. reflects the price you can afford and B. *looks good, is easy on the eye (The display that is, not the hardware.

*I

Quote - You see, this is the biggest headache, now you have more monitors to look at.

Step one. Go into a store that sells monitors and **avoid the sales people.
**
Step  two. Look at all the monitors, they are almost always on.

Step three. Choose the monitor that A. reflects the price you can afford and B. *looks good, is easy on the eye (The display that is, not the hardware.

*I

you forgot one step.

Step Four. Take hold of a strong house brick and hit myself in the head with it... 

If you can't get to a store that carries everything, Check out a professional Review site.

I always read Tom's Reviews first.

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphics/displays/index.html

( personally own 2 Samsung Syncmasters. weighed out price & performance) 17 & 19
My Next Upgrade will be Pricey....Cintiq: http://www.cintiq.com/21UX.cfm

Good Luck & have fun.
Let us know how you make out.

Quote - "...running at a time - and I do, often.  Can't bare to be still see?"

Ah-hah! Fran is a streaker :tt2:

Cheers (running - not bare - and hiding quickly under the nearest stone),
Diolma

So?  It's hot here... so sue me.

Lol.

Go look if you can. Ratings can be deceiving. 300 candlepower is great on a 21" monitor. It sucks on a 60 incher.

Another thing with LCDs is some fuzz out or fade if you get a few degrees off center. Figure out  where yours will sit on your desk and try to look at the store display from the same angle. Is there a big sweet spot or will you have to shift your head a few inches every time you look up? Minor annoyances can build and drive you crazy over months. If it bothers you just a bit in the store don't take it home.

Take a look on internet for tests .The list of features are only the half story
I also searching LCD for graphics  I still have my 19 inche CRT
There 2-3 sites that always compare face to face :render for game,render text.grey render,contrast from manufacturer,contrast mesured,energy used ,colors rendering by default and after calibration,gamut mesuring,etc ......One  trusted is Les numériques in french (my language ) but i see the same in english and some other sites
The S-PVA Type seems better for colors rendering than TN type but it is also only one features to consider
For now my choice is Viewsonic VX 2255 or Dell SP2208 WFp for 22 inches or Dell 2407WFp or sansung 245t But new ones not tested are coming and seems interesting :new Viewsonic Vp2250 wb (ntcs gamut of 105 etc ) and Dell 2408WFp I am waiting for tests before i choose

Samsung 225bw and 226bw was on my list first (if made directly by samsung not others manufactured ) there are lots discussions on internet about diiferences between the same model from Sansung made by differents manufacturers :the quality is not the same

Good luck

http://www.digitalversus.com/
that the english version of les numeriques

The recurring names i see here are Dell 24inch and Samsung.. I've heard of multiple people being quite fond of those in real life too, including several spoiled tech geeks :-P I also saw the LG one mentioned above in action once, seems a very good price/performance option! It might be a nice one to go for if the good 24inchers of samsung or dell are out of your budget. The one you asked about from viewsonic is one i dont know at all. Actually I cant recall having seen the brand overhere before at all...

Well after looking around at different monitors i chose to go with an LG, i'm getting the LG L1953T-BF 19" LCD minitor. Best i could get in the price range the wife allowed me to spend.

I could post the full page off Specs on it but will only post what i think is all you need see

DEVICE : 19" TFT LCD Screen; Pixel Pitch: 0.294(H) x 0.294(V) mm
RES : 1280 x 1024
BRIGHTNESS : 300cd/m2
CONTRAST RATIO : 2000:1
VIEWING ANGLE : 170/170 deg (Horiz/Vertial)
RESPONSE TIME : 5ms
SUPP COLOURS : 16.2M Colours
HORIZ FREQ : 30 ~ 83 KHz; VERTICAL FREQ: 56 ~ 75 Hz
INPUT SIGNAL : Analogue Signal / Digital Signal
INPUT PORTS : RGB Port (15 Pin D-Sub) / DVI-D Port
POWER TYPE : LIPS (LCD Integrated Power Supply)
POWER CONSUMPTION: Normal: < 33W, Suspend/Standby; Power off mode: <1W

Absolutely avoid:

Glossy screens
TN-panels
Low viewing angle

The glossy screens will reflect just about everything there is to reflect unless you´re in a completely dark room, and the TN-panels( which usually are the cheap, low res, low responce time, bad viewing angled monitors) will give you neck pains. For every cm you move your head, the colors will look different.  

Quote - Absolutely avoid:

Glossy screens
TN-panels
Low viewing angle

The glossy screens will reflect just about everything there is to reflect unless you´re in a completely dark room, and the TN-panels( which usually are the cheap, low res, low responce time, bad viewing angled monitors) will give you neck pains. For every cm you move your head, the colors will look different.  

Rochr, i hope you aren't telling me that now because of the monitor i just went and purchased.

I mean are you just saying that for a general guide to all on what not to look at.

Nice choice!

I bought one of the Samsung SM2032BW at the end of last year and can't recommend it enough ( sad I'm missed the chance to say it before you bought yours ! )

 http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=itbusiness&type=monitors&subtype=lcd&model_cd=LS20PEBSFV/EDC

In any event I would avoid LCDs for computing - especialy for Brycing.

Those I have seen, and my wife and son both use 19" LCD Flatscreens, the picture is too coarse for the fine detail requiered to post-process or render.

CRTs will always be the best option as long as they are available.

Quote - Rochr, i hope you aren't telling me that now because of the monitor i just went and purchased.

I mean are you just saying that for a general guide to all on what not to look at.

Don´t worry man, that was just a general tip for anyone working with graphics, not a poor attempt to be mean. :)

Normally monitors with TN panels are the 22" Wide screens they sell out really cheap at most of the large electronic hardware stores. These are good for gaming, but, with very few exceptions, unsuitable for graphic work because of bad color reproduction and calibration possibilities..
With most of these panels, it´s basically impossible to have a proper view of the colors in an image because the colors will change depending on from where you look at them. Move your head slightly to the right, and the colors will differ etc etc...
The good thing is that it´s a problem you immidiately see.

19" with TN panels aren´t as common, so you probably did a good buy.

What Rochr said!
Nice to see a God agreeing with me!
:b_cool: