For those "in the know"

[div0]

I think at some point in the next 3 - 5 months I will be upgrading pretty much all of my current setup.

I've currently got a 17" LG TFT and it's been pretty decent. It's lasted me a good couple of years - but I'm planning on getting a larger screen when I upgrade the rest of my system.

I've done a fair bit of research on existing technology - but I'm not sure how to find out anything on "future releases".

I was hoping some of you guys might be able to help out a bit.

I use my screen mainly for gaming (FPS such as Counter Strike). I also use it for watching DVD's on a fairly regular basis. My current screen has been not bad - my main gripe is that when watching DVD's, I tend to view the screen by looking up at it from slightly below the base level - from this angle everything appears very dark and the images aren't very sharp. I know that this is to do with viewing angles but I'm not sure how my viewing angles compare with newer models.

Do any screens have a good picture when viewed from a low level? Or do the improved viewing angles tend to only affect side-on views and views from above?

I'm looking for at least a 20" screen - and there seem to be some comming out just now that should have decent response times for gaming, while hopefully keeping decent perforance for my DVD viewing!

Apart from reading these forums I'm just never sure about whats "around the corner".

Can anyone tell me:

1) a list of screens that may be out or comming out - that I should keep my eye on?

2) is there anywhere in particular I should look to try and find out about things that are "in the pipeline"?

3) is there any particular technology (type of screen) that is particularly suited to my needs?

Any info that anyone can give is much appreciated - these forums have already proved very helpful, I've managed to piece together quite a lot of information that is of interest to me already!

 

[champ222]

as far as i know mate, all 20"+ screens will be a VA type panel (or maybe ips??) which have better viewing angles than TN Film screens (what youve got now).

viewing angles one of the main issues with TN Film screens.

I have a 19" Formac Xtreme-3 MVA monitor which has exellent viewing angles, and the picture looks fantastic, the colours are very vivid too (which is another advantage of the VA panels over the TN types).

The disadvantages of the VA-type monitors, are that they are not the most responsive screens, but they are working on this to increase the speed. My Formac is said to have a response time of 8ms Grey to Grey, and i can see some ghosting when i look for it, but it isnt too bad, but if your a hard core gamer, then it might not be up to scratch.

The Viewsonic VP930 for example is a much silimar spec, but i havent heard many people complain about the ghosting on those, so maybe its worse on my formac, but i havent been able to compare them side by side.

I am particularly sensitive to these things though, partly because of my nature, and partly because of my profession, so its possible that my formac performs as well as the Viewsonic.

The formac was SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than any other monitor i could find with similar spec, so i'm happy!

there is a new technology in the pipeline called SED (i think) but i have no idea when it will be about, not for a while yet i dont think, this should be pretty impressive when it turns up, from what ive read.

 

[Baddass]

I know that this is to do with viewing angles but I'm not sure how my viewing angles compare with newer models.

your LG monitor is a model based on TN Film technology. This panel technology suffers from the main draw back of having restrictive viewing angles as you describe, especially in the vertical field. More modern screens based on TN panels arent really any better, however, there are other panel technologies available in the market and more readily used nowadays which do offer truly wide viewing angles. These include models based on IPS, MVA and PVA panel technologies

Do any screens have a good picture when viewed from a low level? Or do the improved viewing angles tend to only affect side-on views and views from above?

as said, PVA, MVA and IPS (with IPS offering a slightly wider than the other two). Vertical angles are very good, so it's not just horizontal which are improved

I'm looking for at least a 20" screen - and there seem to be some comming out just now that should have decent response times for gaming, while hopefully keeping decent perforance for my DVD viewing!

The Belinea 102035W is the first of these, being based on a P-MVA panel from AU Optronics which offers wide viewing angles, smooth movie playback AND still manages a decent responsiveness thanks to the application of overdrive. If you're wanting a screen which can handle games you will need to look at the MVA / PVA models which use this overdrive technology. This has already been well utlisied in the 19" market in popular models like the Viewsonic VP930, VP191B and Samsung 970P for example. Now, it is beginning to emerge in the 20" range in the Belinea and soon to be others....

1) a list of screens that may be out or comming out - that I should keep my eye on?

the market is ever changing im afriad. There are some models coming out from Viewsonic and Xerox which use the same panel already used in the Belinea, worth keeping an eye on. There are other 20" models emerging using TN Film panels but since these will again suffer from poor viewing angles like the smaller sizes, i would avoid them for your uses. The 20" AUO panel used in the Belinea 102035W is really the main contender here at the moment, with the other main manufacturer in this style, Samsung (making overdriven PVA panels) not really venturing into the 20" range yet. This thread had all the new 20" WS monitors listed which might be of use to you

2) is there anywhere in particular I should look to try and find out about things that are "in the pipeline"?

here is as good as anywhere really, and BeHardware do a fair amount of "news" articles in their monitors section which you could keep an eye on

3) is there any particular technology (type of screen) that is particularly suited to my needs?

overdriven PVA and MVA panels are your best bet i think. If you're wanting 20" then you're really looking at the 8ms P-MVA panel from AUO as featured in the Belinea 102035W so far. Have a look in that other thread linked above for modesl also due to feature this panel soon


hope that helps, easier to cover it point by point

 

[div0]

Thank you very much for such a detailed and in depth response.

It covers exactly the sort of things I was hoping for.

The Belinea 102035W is the main reason that I made this thread - because I had seen comments on these forums about it - and it was looking like finally the new screens were appearing that met my needs! ("wants" )

As I say - I'm in no hurry to buy anything - as my current setup would probably struggle with the increased native resolutions of the 20" screens.

But it does look like by the time I come round to buying something, there may well be a good selection of things to chose from.

Is there a way to find out what panel a particular screen is based on? I've seen a lot of posts here where people have said that X screen uses Y panel. But its not something that is generally spec'd on the retailers website at time of purchasing. Is it something that is easily found on the manufacturers websites?

The only places I've seen people mention particular panels are on review sites like BeHardware, Anandtech, THG and these forums.

Thanks again, both of you.

 

[Baddass]

knowing which panel is used is not easy, and the manufacturers do not list what they use. As a guide, you can often tell from the spec, if you can match the response time, brightness, and contrast ratio then often they are using the same panel. Also viewing angles and contrast are a give away as to what type of panel is being used. If in doubt, ask here on these forums