Response time & contrast ratio

[FishPolice]

Thinking about a new monitor.

How important is response time & is there much difference between say 5ms & 2ms?
Also, what exactly is contrast ratio?

 

[elpedro]

With regards to response time and without going into details, the lower the better. Although I doubt anyone can distinguish a 5ms from 2ms display and it certainly isn't something to worry about being inferior when buying a modern screen.

Contrast ratio is the ratio between the white and black the screen displays. 3000:1 would mean the display produces a black 3000 times darker than the white. To confuse matters, most contrast ratios claimed in the manufactuer's spec is a dynamic contrast ratio. This is basically a technique which enhances the standard contrast ratio by dimming the backlight of the screen to make it appear darker.

 

[FishPolice]

Ah ok.
Thanks for the quick reply