Flat is good: the budget LCD roundup
By Ryan Block 
posted April 11th 2005 2:02AM
posted April 11th 2005 2:02AM
You're still rocking the CRT? Man, you must be doing print or design work, because if you're not on it specifically for the color representation you're just about out of excuses to switch to flat and free up all that electricity and deskspace (we're not even going to touch the response time argument). Oh, and then there's the bit about cutting out staring at an electron gun firing at your face. We won't spoil it for you by telling you which budget LCD won at FiringSquad's roundup, but we all know the real winner in all this is the end-user. Trust us, your tumorless brain will thank you later.
And how many confirmed serious side-effects are there from using CRT?... oh yeah.. none.
I once got a massive eye and headache from working on a client's flickering CRT--that's a side effect. He was so used to the crappy refresh rate that he didn't even see it flicker, it was bizarre.
Injuries from moving 100lb monitors could be bad side effect as well. :oP
Apparently you can get some sort of eye condition staring at a tube for long periods of time. I wonder if that applies to LCDs.
I'm running my Sony with X-Brite technology via analog. I want to get a dual-DVI video card, but will a AGP card work in a new PC that only has a PCI Express slot? I'm guessing not.
NEC comes out on top again.
a 3 thousand dollar apple lcd shows so much ghosting that only someone with preposterously low standards would watch video on it for any purpose whatsoever. nevermind that it also makes any image look as if it's floating in a mist of 3d fuzz, or that it renders less-than-huge text as if it's been done on an etch-a-sketch.
and this 'electron gun firing at your face' argument? you nerds play too many video games.
"And how many confirmed serious side-effects are there from using CRT?... oh yeah.. none."
well they did a research in norway, which concluded that CRT screen can cause "Computerskin", which is short words will give you a feeling of burning, icthing red skin. They also condluded that if the skin was exposed for the CRT screen for a long time, it could make the person allergic to other eletric devices like TV, cell phones etc.
well that was just in short words, if you can read norwegian, then the article is found here->
http://www.bt.no/forbruker/helse/article336034
CRTs killed my eyes, especially if it was displaying anything under 70Hz. Went with dual LCDs and I'll never go back.
to: CreamofCow
I've read that the average frequency of human brain waves is around 60hz with variation from person to person. Thus, suposedly, if the refresh rate of your monitor is set either very close to (a multiple of) your personal frequency or very far away from it, that's when you start getting more side effects like headaches and such.
I personally have had one of our users call me down to fix his 'flickering' screen and arrived to find two of his collegues/office mates arguing over whether or not the screen was in fact flickering. One guy didn't see any flickering at all. Another person complained of the same thing, and this time *I* didn't see it, and just kept adjusting the refresh rate until she said the flickering was gone. I'm given to understand it's the same basic effect as when you see TV's on tv shows and in movies. Usually you see them seem to flicker, or a line going up the screen at least. But occassionally it looks just fine (and is obviously not a superimposed image).
So your client may have NEVER seen the flickering at all, he probably just enjoyed the fact that no one could look over his shoulder for very long without becoming violently ill...:)
As for the electron gun...tests, studys, blah blah blah. Scientific test have at various points proved that bathing is unhealthy, emphetamines are safe, and tobacco 'aids ones digestion'. If that extra radiation isn't HELPING my brain, I'd rather not have it. Give me the flat panel (and what ever toxicity and or carcinogens IT comes with)...
'Sides, if I want to fry my brain (or grow a second one) I've still got my cell phone...
And yes, I'd definitely rather lug a 19" FP up the stairs (which I have to do frequently, since I work in a protected 'historical' building) than a 19" CRT (though they have gotten lighter in recent years).
um, I can still buy a 17 inch CRT for less than a third of the price of an LCD. Is that still a valid excuse?
I have a 19" highend CRT monitor and it's friggen heavy!!! I'd say it weighs about 65lbs. It also takes up a bunch of desktop space and consumes about 200 Watts of power! I've been waiting to switch to LCD when the price for a 20" display is within my budget. CRTs will always have geometry, convergence, and fuzziness issues. The only big benefit I see with CRTs is price, but LCDs are getting cheaper and cheaper and will eventually replace all CRTs. If you can't afford LCD then yes that would be a good excuse.