LCD Monitor Key Features

So what do we know about LCD monitors? Firstly, they vary in size and color. Secondly - at a price. Thirdly, they are produced by more than a dozen different companies. This, perhaps, the knowledge of an ordinary computer user is limited. We will try to expand them.

The most important consumer characteristics of an LCD monitor (or LCD monitor) are as follows: price, aspect ratio, resolution, diagonal, contrast, brightness, response time, viewing angle, presence of defective pixels, interfaces, matrix type, dimensions, power consumption.

Price
Regarding pricing: in general, the more expensive the monitor, the better. However, there are nuances. Two manufacturers can create their models on the basis of the same matrix, but the price difference can reach more than a thousand rubles. All due to the design, marketing policies of the company and other factors.
In addition, each additional function or feature increases the final cost of the monitor. Moreover, these improvements are not always necessary for the user. Many of them have enough picture quality and functionality of cheap models based on TN-matrix. But some require accurate color display, which can only provide more expensive models based on IPS-based or * VA-matrix.
Prices for the cheapest 18.5- and 19-inch monitors start at $ 100.

Screen format
Outdated CRT monitors had a standard aspect ratio of 4: 3 (width to height). The first LCD monitors were also produced as such (plus 5: 4 format was produced). Now it’s already difficult to find them on sale: large formatters are on store shelves - models with an aspect ratio of 16:10, 16: 9, 15: 9, which is associated with the active introduction of video in HD format (16: 9).
Monitors 4: 3 are more preferable for web surfing, work in text, publishing and other programs where work is carried out mainly on vertical objects (pages). But as a home monitor and a means of entertainment (viewing a variety of video content, three-dimensional games), a widescreen monitor will be the best choice.

Screen resolution
This parameter shows how many points (pixels) are placed on the visible part of the monitor. For example: 1680x1050 (1680 horizontal dots and 1050 vertical dots). This parameter is determined based on the frame format (the number of points is a multiple of the aspect ratio). In this case, it is 16:10. There are a finite number of such pairs of numbers (the permissions table can be found on the Internet).
In CRT monitors, you could set any resolution that is supported by a monitor or video card. In LCD monitors, there is only one fixed resolution, the rest are achieved by interpolation. This deteriorates the quality of the picture. Therefore, when choosing between monitors with the same resolution, it is better to choose with a larger diagonal. Especially if you have impaired vision, which in our time is not uncommon. And yet, the resolution of the LCD monitor should be supported by your video card. Problems can occur with outdated graphics cards. Otherwise, you will have to set a non-native permission. And this is an unnecessary distortion of the picture.
Buying a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 (Full HD) or 2560x1600 is not necessary at all. Because your computer can pull 3D games at this resolution, and movies in Full HD are still not very common.

Screen diagonal
This value is traditionally measured in inches and shows the distance between two opposite angles. The optimal diagonal for today in size and price is 20-22 inches. By the way, with the same diagonal size, a monitor with a 4: 3 format will have a larger surface area.

Contrast
This value shows the maximum brightness ratio between the lightest and darkest points. It is usually indicated as a pair of numbers such as 1000: 1. The greater the static contrast, the better, as this will allow you to see more shades (for example, instead of black areas - shades of black in photographs, in games or movies). Please note that the manufacturer can replace information on static contrast with data on dynamic contrast, which is calculated differently and which should not be relied upon when choosing a monitor.

Brightness
This parameter shows the amount of light emitted by the display. Measured in candelas per square meter. A high brightness value will not hurt. In which case it will always be possible to reduce the brightness depending on your own preferences and the illumination of the workplace.

Response time
Response time - the minimum time a pixel needs to change its brightness from active (white) to inactive (black) and back to active. The response time is the sum of the buffering time and the switching time. The characteristics indicate the last parameter. Measured in milliseconds (ms). Less is better. A long response time results in blurry images in fast scenes in films and games. In most low-cost models based on the TN-matrix, the response time does not exceed 10 ms and is quite enough for comfortable operation. By the way, some manufacturers are cunning by measuring the transition time from one shade of gray to another and giving out this value for the response time.

Viewing angle
This parameter shows at what viewing angle the contrast drops to a given value. In this case, distortion becomes unacceptable for viewing. Alas, each company calculates the viewing angle in its own way, so the best thing is to carefully look at the monitor before buying.

Defective pixels
After manufacturing an LCD matrix, it may contain image defects, which are subdivided into dead and hot (dependent) pixels. The appearance of the latter depends on some factors: for example, they can occur with increasing temperature. You can try to remove “hot” pixels using the “remap” procedure (damaged pixels will be turned off). It is unlikely to get rid of pixels.
Agree, it is unpleasant to work on the monitor with a constantly burning green or red dot. Therefore, when inspecting the monitor in the store, run some test program to determine the presence or absence of defective pixels. Or, alternately fill the screen with black, white, red, green and blue and take a closer look. If there are no broken pixels, feel free to take it. Unfortunately, they may appear later, but the probability of this is not high.
One more thing to be aware of: the ISO 13406-2 standard establishes four quality classes for monitors by the permissible number of dead pixels. Therefore, the seller may refuse to exchange the model if the number of dead pixels does not go beyond the quality class specified by the manufacturer.

Matrix type
In the manufacture of displays, three main technologies are used: TN, IPS and MVA / PVA. There are others, but they do not have such a distribution. Technological differences are uninteresting to us, we turn to consumer properties.
TN + film. The most popular and cheapest panels. They have a good response time, but a poor level of contrast and a small viewing angle. Color rendering is also lame. Therefore, they are not used in areas where accurate color work is needed. For home use - the best option.
IPS (SFT). Dear panels. Good viewing angle, high contrast, good color reproduction, but long response time. The only ones that can convey the full gamut of RGB colors. Developments are currently underway to reduce response time, further expand the color range and improve other parameters.
MVA / PVA. Something between TN and IPS both in cost and in performance. The response time is not much worse than TN, and the contrast, color reproduction and viewing angle are better.

Interfaces
Modern monitors can connect to a computer using analog and digital interfaces. Analog VGA (D-Sub) is outdated, but is likely to be used for a long time. Gradually superseded by digital DVI. There may also be digital HDMI and DisplayPort interfaces.
You, in fact, need to know one thing: is there an appropriate interface on your video card. For example, you bought a new monitor with digital DVI, and only analog on the video card. In this case, you will have to use an adapter.

Dimensions, design, power consumption
The monitor must be chosen not only on the basis of consumer characteristics, but also appearance. But this is an individual parameter. As we already wrote, beautiful design increases the cost of the monitor. You can ignore the power consumption. In almost all modern models, it is quite small. The power passport is indicated in the passport of the device: active (in operation mode) and passive (when the monitor is turned off, but not disconnected from the network).
Another question: take a monitor with a glossy finish or with a matte? Gloss gives greater contrast, but glare more and get dirty faster.

Cons of LCD Monitors
Despite the fact that liquid crystal monitors have several advantages over CRT monitors, a number of disadvantages should be noted:
1) only one “regular” resolution, the rest are obtained by interpolation with a loss of definition;
2) color gamut and color accuracy are worse;
3) a relatively low level of contrast and black depth;
4) the response time to image changes is longer than that of CRT monitors;
5) the problem of the dependence of contrast on the viewing angle has not yet been solved;
6) the possible presence of fatal defective pixels.

The future of LCD monitors
Currently, LCD monitors are in their heyday. But a few years ago, experts began talking about technology that could someday replace them. The most promising are OLED displays (matrix with organic LEDs). However, their mass production is still fraught with difficulties and is limited by a rather high price. In addition, the manufacturing technology of LCD monitors is constantly improving, so the announcement of their imminent demise is premature.

Good day to all, my dear readers and visitors. Today is Friday, then tomorrow is the weekend, and my family and I are going to go to the Moscow Zoo. But more about that later. My friend here was going to take a new monitor for himself for his personal computer and asked for advice on a small one. I asked about the main characteristics of the monitor, what is responsible for, etc.

The first thing to start is with a view. Over the decades, there have been some changes.

CRT This species refers to those who have gone into oblivion. If someone has it, then these are the remains of former luxury. This species is based on a cathode ray tube (CRT). Remember pot-bellied monitors? So it is they. The truth is a little later, the paunch was removed and they began to produce flat CRT monitors. My first computer was just a CRT. The infection was severe, but at that time very good.
LCD This is a more modern kind of monitors, which are called liquid crystal display (liquid crystal display). Monitors have already lost their former severity, are thin and comfortable. The picture quality is noticeably better, and the power consumption is much less than that of a CRT. Luminescent lamps are used here.
LED. This is also a type of LCD monitors, but it is much more modern and better. The technology involves the use of light-emitting diodes, which provides better color reproduction and better quality than LEDs. Although some may not even notice the difference between LCD and LED.

Size specifications

The main thing that is customary to pay attention to today is the resolution of the monitor and its size with the ratio.

Resolution

I think many already know what permission is. But if someone has forgotten, then this is the number of pixels (dots) horizontally and the number of pixels vertically. And the larger the resolution digits - the better the image?

It turns out that if the monitor has a resolution of 1024 * 768, then the display consists of 1024 horizontal dots and 768 vertical dots. Naturally, if you take a monitor with a resolution of 1920 * 1280, then the picture will be better, since more points are used in image formation.

Screen size

The size of the monitor screen is determined by its diagonal length. It is customary to take inches (2.54 cm) for a unit of measurement. I remember when I bought the first CRT monitor, it was 17-inch. And it was actually considered pretty good. But today, 17 inches is already considered very small. In use 23-24 inch monitors, but this is far from the maximum. There are 27 and 34 inches.

But in addition to size, you must also take into account the aspect ratio. More on this later.

Aspect ratio

Previously, all monitors were in 4: 3 format. This meant that no matter how many inches there were (15, 17, 19, etc.), its ratio would always be the same, i.e. 4 parts horizontally and 3 parts vertically. For example, with a resolution of 1024 * 768, it turns out that there are 4 parts of 256 pixels horizontally, and 3 parts of 256 pixels vertically.

But conventional 4: 3 monitors are no longer in vogue. Widescreen versions have long appeared, and their aspect ratio is 16: 9 or 16:10. It has become much more convenient to work with widescreen screens: more visibility, more space, and watching a movie becomes much more comfortable. In general, there are much more ratios now, but these are the most basic.

Many people think that each ratio has its own purpose, for example 16: 9 for games, and 16:10 for work (and vice versa!). But personally, I think this is nonsense.

But if you choose from these formats, then between 16: 9 and 16:10 I would still choose 16: 9. But in reality - this is everyone’s choice.

Matrix

No. This is not a 1998 film. This is one of the characteristics that is responsible for exposure to liquid crystals to produce an image.

I will not go into the technical features of each matrix and talk about the behavior and arrangement of crystals in each case. Just under this explanation you can really fall asleep. The following types of matrix can be observed:

TN (TN + Film - Twisted Nematic). This type of LCD is the oldest and most inexpensive. The main problem of such monitors was that at different viewing angles the picture was displayed in completely different ways.
IPS (In Plane Switch). In this model, there is no longer such a problem as in the previous one. Such monitors have awesome color reproduction and the best viewing angle, so this type is ideal for photographers and designers. But there are also disadvantages, namely a longer response time than TN and, of course, the price is an order of magnitude higher.
PVA / MVA (VA). Despite the fact that this matrix appeared later, it is considered to be a cross between TN and IPS. Therefore, this model can be used as a compromise. But if there is money, then of course it is better to take IPS.

Connection sockets

An important characteristic is the connection connector. On old devices, everything is simple: There is one input and you do not bathe, but as for today's realities, we look:

VGA (D-SUB). The oldest of the presented connectors, although so far it has not lost its relevance and is present on various monitors. The essence of the connector is that it is analog, which is why quality is lost when connecting LCD monitors and plasma panels.
DVI This interface implies a digital connection, which makes the quality an order of magnitude higher. You can connect to an analog VGA input using a special cable with different connectors or an adapter.
HDMI This type of interface also implies a digital connection while maintaining picture quality, but in addition to transmitting a video signal, this interface is also capable of transmitting audio signals. This connector is now customary to install on all monitors. You can connect to a DVI port using a special cable or adapter, but connecting to a VGA is not possible.

In general, these are the main characteristics you need to watch when buying a new monitor. Of course, there are many different others, but they are more likely to be additional.

Well, on this I conclude my small overview of the characteristics. I really hope that my article will help you in choosing a monitor or simply expand your horizons. By the way, be sure to subscribe to my blog, then you will be the very first to know about the most interesting. Good luck choosing. Bye Bye!

Sincerely, Dmitry Kostin.

The monitor converts digital and (or) analog information into a video image.
The monitor in its appearance and functionality resembles a regular TV.

Monitor classification

By color

colored
monochrome

By the type of information displayed

alphanumeric

graphic

By structure

CRT - based on a cathode ray tube CRT - cathode ray tube)

The device of a color picture tube.
1-Electronic guns. 2 - Electron rays. 3 - Focusing coil. 4 - Deflection coils. 5 - Anode. 6 - The mask, due to which the red ray hits the red phosphor, etc. 7 - Red, green and blue grains of the phosphor. 8 - Phosphor mask and grains (enlarged).

The main characteristics of the monitor are the length of the diagonal of its screen, resolution and image display frequency. The length of the diagonal of the monitor is usually measured in inches (1 inch is 2.54 centimeters).

LCD - LCD Monitors LCD - liquid crystal display) - a flat monitor based on liquid crystals. Thin-film transistor is one of the names of the liquid crystal display, which uses an active matrix controlled by thin-film transistors. The TFT amplifier for each subpixel is used to increase the speed, contrast and clarity of the display image. The most important features of LCD monitors:

Resolution: The horizontal and vertical dimensions, expressed in pixels. Unlike CRT monitors, LCDs have one, “native”, physical resolution, the rest are achieved by interpolation.
Point Size: The distance between the centers of adjacent pixels. Directly related to physical resolution.
Aspect ratio (format): The ratio of width to height, for example: 4: 3, 16: 9, 16:10.
Visible diagonal: the size of the panel itself, measured diagonally. The display area also depends on the format: a monitor with a 4: 3 format has a larger area than with a 16:10 format with the same diagonal.
Contrast: the ratio of the brightness of the lightest and darkest points. Some monitors use an adaptive backlight level; the contrast figure given for them does not apply to image contrast.
Brightness: The amount of light emitted by the display is usually measured in candelas per square meter.
Response Time: The minimum time a pixel needs to change its brightness. The measurement methods are ambiguous.
Viewing angle: the angle at which the contrast drop reaches a predetermined angle is considered differently for different types of matrices, and often can not be compared.
Matrix type: LCD technology
Inputs: (e.g. DVI, VGA, HDMI, etc.).

Plasma - based on the plasma panel
Projection - a video projector and screen placed separately or combined in one housing (as an option through a mirror or mirror system)

Modern monitors are divided along the diagonal length as follows: 14 ”, 15”, 17 ”, 19”, 21 ”, 22” - inch. The longer the diagonal, the better and therefore more expensive the monitor. The most common are 15 ”and 17” inch monitors.

Monitor resolution is the number of horizontal and vertical dots that a monitor can show.

As a rule, the longer the diagonal of the monitor, the greater its resolution. For 15 ”inch monitors, the optimal resolution is 800x600 (800 dots horizontally and 600 dots vertically), for 17” inch monitors - 1024x768.

Monitor Image Display Frequency is the number of times the monitor displays the image per second. It is measured in Hertz (Hz). The higher the frequency, the better the image quality that the monitor shows, as well as the higher the frequency, the less tired your eyes are when working with the monitor.
At different resolutions, monitors have different frequencies. At the moment, the optimal frequencies of modern monitors are 100 Hz at a resolution of 800x600 and 85 Hz at a resolution of 1024x768.

The model of the modern monitor has low radiation, low radiation of electromagnetic waves, low static charge. Therefore, almost all modern monitors (since 1996) are almost harmless to humans.

The most critical parameter of the monitor is the frequency of image display. It is she who determines how quickly a person’s eyes will get tired when working with a monitor. T.O. when working with a monitor, it is recommended to set its maximum frequency.
Now more and more common are liquid crystal monitors

Types of Monitors

v Monitors on electron beam the handset.

Electron beam a tube It is an electronic vacuum device in a glass flask, in the neck of which there is an electron gun, and at the bottom there is a screen coated with a phosphor.

When heated, the electron gun emits a stream of electrons, which move with great speed towards the screen. The flow of electrons (electron beam) passes through the focusing and deflecting coils, which direct it to a certain point covered by the phosphor of the screen. Under the influence of electron impacts, the phosphor emits light that is seen by a user sitting in front of a computer screen.

v Liquid crystal monitors

LCD (Liquid crystal display) monitors are made of a substance that is in a liquid state, but at the same time has some properties inherent in crystalline bodies. In fact, these are liquids with anisotropy of properties associated with ordering in the orientation of molecules. Molecules of liquid crystals under the influence of electricity can change their orientation and, as a result, change the properties of the light beam passing through them. Based on this discovery and as a result of further research, it became possible to detect a relationship between an increase in electric voltage and a change in the orientation of crystal molecules to ensure image creation. Liquid crystals were first used in displays for calculators and in quartz watches, and then they began to be used in monitors for laptop computers.

v Sensory monitors

In these types of monitors, communication with the computer is carried out by touching a finger to a specific place on the sensitive screen. Touch screens are often found in modern digital cameras. There are many different types of touch screens that work on different physical principles. For example: horizontal conductors are applied to the glass, vertical conductors are applied to the membrane, and when the screen is touched, the conductors touch. The controller determines which conductors are closed and transfers the corresponding coordinates to the microprocessor.

v Plasma monitors

This technology is called PDP (Plasma display panels) and FED (Field emission display). The work of plasma monitors is very similar to the work of neon lamps, which are made in the form of a tube filled with an inert low-pressure gas. Plasma screens are created by filling the space between two glass surfaces with an inert gas, such as argon or neon. In fact, every pixel on the screen works like a normal fluorescent lamp. High brightness and contrast, along with the absence of jitter, are great advantages of such monitors. In addition, the angle with respect to the normal, under which you can see the normal image on plasma monitors, is significantly greater than 45 °.

v OLED monitor

To create organic LEDs (OLED) thin-film multilayer structures consisting of layers of several polymers are used. When a positive voltage is applied to the anode, the electron flow flows through the device from the cathode to the anode. Thus, the cathode gives electrons to the emission layer, and the anode takes electrons from the conductive layer, or in other words, the anode gives holes to the conductive layer. The emission layer receives a negative charge, and the conductive layer is positive.

Under the action of electrostatic forces, electrons and holes move towards each other and recombine when they meet. This happens closer to the emission layer, because holes in organic semiconductors have greater mobility than electrons. During recombination, the electron energy decreases, which is accompanied by the emission (emission) of electromagnetic radiation in the region of visible light. Therefore, the layer is called the emission layer. The device does not work when a negative voltage is applied to the anode. In this case, the holes move to the anode, and the electrons in the opposite direction to the cathode, and recombination does not occur. Tin doped indium oxide is usually used as anode material. It is transparent to visible light and has a high work function, which facilitates the injection of holes into the polymer layer. Metals such as aluminum and calcium are often used to make the cathode, since they have a low work function, which facilitates the injection of electrons into the polymer layer.

v Virtual retinal monitor

The system detects the eye and projects an image on it. Three laser beams (red, blue and green) draw an image directly on the user's retina. When using VRD, the image quality is similar to the quality of modern desktop monitors. Moreover, unlike the displays currently used for wearable computers, VRD broadcasts an image from a computer without blocking what is in front of your eyes. The transmitted computer image just hovers in front of the eye, and the user sees everything that happens around.

Main characteristics of monitors:

W The size screen monitor - measured at inches (1 inch - 2,54 cm) and usually makes up 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21 inch. Than more the size screen monitor by more comfortable behind him work, special by who engaged in computer graphics;
W Maximum frequency regeneration images - shows how time at flow seconds monitor can completely change picture. Frequency regeneration measure at hertz (Hz) and minimally acceptable value for comfortable work behind screen monitor consider value 75 Hz (75 time at give me a sec) the norm - 85 Hz (85 time at give me a sec) and comfortable - 100 Hz (100 time at give me a sec) and more;

Class protect (conformity sanitary requirements).

User question ...

Good afternoon. Please help, I want to buy a monitor exactly the same as mine now, but I don’t know its exact model. All that is is a sticker on the device’s case, on which only its brand is indicated (Samsung). How can I find out the model of my monitor without disassembling it and without taking it to the store to the master (and is this possible)?

Hello.

There are several ways to determine the monitor model and they are all quite simple. And, by the way, I should note that the monitor model is sometimes needed not only in cases when you want to replace it, but also in order to know its capabilities and acceptable modes of operation.

Consider a few ways below ...

Monitor Model Definition

Method number 1: sticker on the case

The easiest and fastest way to determine what kind of monitor you have is to find a sticker on the device. If there is no sticker or inscription on the front side, then in most cases it is on the back of the device, next to the VGA (D-Sub), HDMI, etc. inputs.

The example below is shown in the photo: AOC F22s + monitor model. Actually, knowing the monitor model, you can easily find out all its characteristics on the Internet (on the same Yandex market) ...

Method number 2: using special. utilities (Aida, Everest, Astra 32)

Sometimes, there is no sticker on the monitor case (it could, for example, just come off after years of use of the device ...).

In this case, I recommend using one of the utilities to determine the characteristics of the computer. There are quite a lot of them now, but not everyone can get the maximum information about your monitor. I recommend using Everest or Aida 64 (link to them below).

Computer Characterization -

In a programme EVEREST just open the tab Display / Monitor , then you will see the following information: monitor name, its ID, model, monitor type, serial number, brightness, resolution. aspect ratio, frame rate (sweep), etc. In general, all that was required!

Program AIDA 64 works the same way: you need to open the same tab Display / Monitor : see about the same information (by the way, the displayed information still depends on the model of your monitor, the screen below shows the monitor properties of the laptop Dell Inspiron 3542 - LG Philips LP156WHB (Dell DCR74)).

The program may show slightly more advanced information. ASTRA 32. It has a whole section devoted to monitors connected to your computer (laptop). Having entered it, you will find out almost all the data about your monitor that you can get (probably as much as there is in the passport for this product).

ASTRA 32 - monitor: manufacturer, release date, gamma factor, aspect ratio, serial number, monitor ID, display type, input signal, firmware manufacturer, driver status, etc.

Method number 3: in the properties (through the Windows control panel)

You can also get partial information about the monitor in Windows. To do this, open the control panel at the following address:

Next among the devices, you should see your monitor. You need to right-click on it and go to it properties or options . This way you will find out current resolution (and as much as possible) sweep frequencymonitor model (some of the information may not be available if you do not have drivers installed on the monitor (not to be confused with the drivers on the video card!)).

On sim, I have everything, for additions - special thanks in advance. Have a good definition of type and model!