Computer Screens - any recommendations?

I've currently got a Dell screen. It is approx. 38cm wide x 30cm wide. ie about 19" across the diagonal (sorry for the mixed Metric/Imperial ).

I've had it for about 5-6 years and I've realised the colour/contrast leaves something to be desired.

I'm thinking of getting a bigger screen too (24-27" - possibly/probably).

Anyone got any ideas/personal recommendations for which makes and models are worth considering, or even whether it's a good idea to go for the larger sizes?

I mainly use it for e mail, news, sites like TRC, some i player stuff/Youtube, etc. Don't need it for film & TV.

I've mentioned it to the wife now so she'll just go off and buy me one if I don't give her some guidance


I've no idea if this should be in another forum. Mods - please move if appropriate

Edit - thank you for moving it Mr/Mrs Mod

Best recommendation is it?
OK here goes;

Edit;
Right now you're in here,
Have you tried adjusting the colour / contrast levels to suit you?

Otherwise for the price of them just pop down to a PC shop and have a look see

'Computer screen'

Are you my mum?

Budget?

I've got 27" at home and work and anything smaller is like squinting through a letterbox now

Originally Posted by Slenver

Budget?

I've got 27" at home and work and anything smaller is like squinting through a letterbox now

Don't really know what's needed to get an acceptable one.


Would £250 ish be adequate?


tbh money is not the limiting factor. I just like to get what I feel is decent value - ie if one costs twice as much as another I'd want to see a significant difference for the cash, not just 10% better, if that makes sense.

I found this site quite helpful when making the transition from CRT monitors to TFT monitors for design work when my old CRT monitor finally gave up (was a few years ago now so not sure where things stand today):

TFT Central - LCD Monitor Information, Reviews, Guides and News

And a page explaining the different technologies and advantage/drawbacks of each:

TN Film, MVA, PVA and IPS - Panel Technologies

As well as the panel technology, the surrounding electronics and backlight seem quite important (one I tried although it had a good screen in the backlight wasn't controllable so it was too bright for me no matter how I tried to set it up). None of them (even the best of the best) were as good as a good CRT monitor when I looked into them but not many people still make crts and the good big ones cost a fortune now (was looking like it was going to cost well over £1k to replace my monitor that blew up).

Eizo make decent TFT screens, with good electronics and menus, though their best models can be a bit pricey (colour edge ones). You can pick up their Flexscan models from ebay second hand with not many hours on them at good prices (you can see how long they've been in use in the monitor menu) and some those towards the upper end of the flexscan range provide a good balance of characteristics for general use.The colour edge IPS panels they make are more accurate but also a lot more expensive (unless you're using it where colour accuracy is very important you probably won't notice though and they may even have some disadvantages compared to the lower models in some contexts).

I use a couple of eizo screens side by side rather than one big screen (one flipped 90 degrees to portrait mode for email and toolbars and stuff). I tried but couldn't get along with a single big monitor. I find it much better to have multiple monitors for the sort of thing you're planning to do, then you can maximise windows on each screen, and it all feels a bit more natural to me everything having it's own little separate space to live in.

Something worth considering when you're looking around is pixel density. Some of the very big screens sometimes have lower pixel density, so can seem a bit blocky/blurry compared to the smaller high resolution screens if you're used to something with a higher density.On the other hand they can be a bit easier to read everything being bigger - but with web browsers and programs being so scalable nowadays it doesn't matter so much.

@ Zenarchy

Thanks a lot for your lengthy reply. The info and the links were very useful - I can see I need to learn about the technology and pick up some acronyms


I can see a lot of reading in my near future.


Cheers

No worries. It might be a good idea to check out some of the reviews on that site and the types of panels used in the newer monitors before following my recommendation for an eizo one btw (particularly if you're thinking of buying new as they've always been quite pricey and they may have better/cheaper competition nowadays). There's a company on ebay called 'scrumpy macs' I think they were called that were quite good and seem to regularly offer hardly used good quality used and refurbed screens that might be worth checking out if you don't mind buying used (at the higher end that can offer much better value rather than spending the same on a cheaper panel monitor - some of them will record how long they screens have been in use which is helpful). I think that's where I got this one I'm sitting infront of and it only had 100 hours of use before I got it, and years later and it being on 10hrs + a day, it's still going strong.

If your description is all you need it for get a cheap one. Hannspree are pretty decent or an Iiyama. If you want a really spangly one get an expensive Dell but if you don't need the bells and whistles, don't pay for them.

Originally Posted by Loz

If your description is all you need it for get a cheap one. Hannspree are pretty decent or an Iiyama. If you want a really spangly one get an expensive Dell but if you don't need the bells and whistles, don't pay for them.

That's what I would have recommended too, but:

Originally Posted by Slowth

I've had it for about 5-6 years and I've realised the colour/contrast leaves something to be desired.

Unless it's because the colour/contrast has got a lot worse over that time, then buying another cheap dell won't help much with that.

Outside the higher end design/imaging oriented monitors the particular model and type of panel that it contains can make a massive difference. You can't just go off the brand alone where manufacturers like Dell are concerned. Dell have made some excellent monitors, but they've also made some really shitty TN film ones too. Its worth learning about the advantages/drawbacks of the various panel types, then you can weigh things up and work out what technologies are going to be OK, then narrow down your search from there.

I don't know if things have changed now, but when I last looked into it there weren't actually many companies making the panels themselves. Most manufacturers (even the big ones like dell) were buying in panels from the likes of samsung and building their own electronics around them. There were only a tiny handful of actual panel manufacturers at that time and all of the other companies were just buying them in to build their model ranges around them (was a few years ago so might be different now - but I doubt it). I wouldn't get too hung up on which brand is best, but which individual monitor is best for what you're aiming for.

Originally Posted by Slowth

Would £250 ish be adequate?

blimey-that's most of a decent 40" LED TV!

Try calibrating the old screen 1st. Adobe photoshop has a gamma facility, which I use every 6 months on a really old acer AL1712. I'd have thought a similiar calibration facility was built into the freeware photoapps or even d/l on it's own.

se also:
http://www.therevcounter.co.uk/technol...t-monitor.html

The £120ish IPS LG's are worth a look. Better colour reproduction that any TN, decent at 23in as well. Get 2 and mount them on a single desk mount.

LG IPS234V-PN - 23" LED LCD HDMI IPS Monitor | Ebuyer.com

MDM12D Dual LED/LCD Monitor Arm Stand Tilt Swivel: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Originally Posted by Loz

If your description is all you need it for get a cheap one. Hannspree are pretty decent or an Iiyama. If you want a really spangly one get an expensive Dell but if you don't need the bells and whistles, don't pay for them.

I don't really need a "spangly" one . I would like a bigger/better one than the one I have at the moment though (not difficult it would seem)

Originally Posted by Editor

Try calibrating the old screen 1st.

se also:
http://www.therevcounter.co.uk/technol...t-monitor.html

I've adjusted it to look as good as possible (IMO). I haven't calibrated it. I really would prefer a bigger screen so there's little point.

Ta for the link

Originally Posted by Chr!s

The £120ish IPS LG's are worth a look. Better colour reproduction that any TN, decent at 23in as well. Get 2 and mount them on a single desk mount.

Thank you. I'll have a look at them. From what I've seen the IPS screens get expensive at 27". Dunno why but I don't really fancy 2 screens.


For no particular reason this one has caught my eye ASUS VE278Q 27 inch LED Widescreen Full HD 1080p with HDMI Display Port 2ms Response Time Picture in Picture: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

I'll keep looking, including a wander into PC World soon.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and suggestions

Originally Posted by Slowth

I'll keep looking, including a wander into PC World soon.

NNNOOOOOooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Slowth

I'll keep looking, including a wander into PC World soon.

I'd try a compute shop first if I were you