Which monitor? - upgrade 17" to 19"/20"?

Dodge777 · 14 May 2006 at 09:00

Hello everyone

Have had a 17" Hitachi TFT for two years now and given the rapid reduction in prices in TFT technology, I figure I'm gonna step it up a notch. Considering getting a 19 or 20" TFT. I use my PC for everything - movies, work, games, so it should be a great all round performer. I had a look at the Viewsonic 20" listed on VX2025. It seems a great little model and fits my price range - around £350.

Was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what monitor to go for?

Thanks!

Baddass · 14 May 2006 at 11:05

The VX2025WM is a very good screen and well priced. A great all rounder certainly. I think coming from a 17" it would be nice to upgrade to a 20"WS since you're gaining a fair bit extra size and resolution over your current screen. this article might help you too regarding the 20"WS market right now.

Dodge777 · 14 May 2006 at 16:00

One thing I did read about this monitor, is that it doesn't support HDCP. So when Vista comes out, it won't be able to play protected HD content. I watch quite a few movies on my computer, so this is an issue. Will there be a way around it?

Mikey1280 · 14 May 2006 at 16:49

no one cares

Mikey1280 · 14 May 2006 at 16:51

Dodge777 · 14 May 2006 at 17:12

Try not to be too helpful.

Eliot · 14 May 2006 at 17:45

nope im afraid there isnt a way around it, have you looked at *** dell 2007? i believe that has hdcp.

Dodge777 · 14 May 2006 at 19:13

The Dells have quite high response times, so I'm guessing gaming may be an issue. The one Dell on OCUK which has a low response time is up at around £600 which way exceeds my budget!

It is worth then going for a 19" with low response times and HDCP?

Eliot · 14 May 2006 at 19:23

dont think a 19inch with hdcp exists

Dodge777 · 15 May 2006 at 08:53

So does that basically mean, for now anyway, that you won't be able to watch HD DVD films on any monitor under 20"? And even those hardly have HDCP!

I'm not sure about all this malarchy Microsoft is doing. Why should you need a token in the first place?! I don't get it.

Dodge777 · 15 May 2006 at 15:29

Just thought of another thing. I watch quite a lot of Xvid movies/tv shows. Is the Viewsonic any good for those? Or anyone else have any comments to add or suggestions?

Baddass · 15 May 2006 at 18:31

Dodge777 said:
Just thought of another thing. I watch quite a lot of Xvid movies/tv shows. Is the Viewsonic any good for those? Or anyone else have any comments to add or suggestions?

it's about the best you can get in the 20"WS market currently for movie playback. Good responsiveness ensures no ghosting visable, good viewing angles thanks to P-MVA panel technology, limited movie noise thanks to well controlled overdrive and good panel technolgy for this purpose. Some of the other modern 20"WS models suffer from quite poor movie playback due to excessive noise. this BeHardware comparison has some more info

igors · 15 May 2006 at 22:24

Dodge777 said:
Just thought of another thing. I watch quite a lot of Xvid movies/tv shows. Is the Viewsonic any good for those? Or anyone else have any comments to add or suggestions?

I don't want to disappoint you, but LCD monitors technology is still far from perfect for the movie playback, especially from the close proximity. I guess that this is the reason why (generally) plasma TV screens are still the 1st choice for the movie reproduction. Generally, movie playback should be "fine" on any LCD screen (if you watch from the distance) unless you are picky and demands the perfection.

I would, personally, always dedicate the LCD monitor just for the PC and use other sets for the proper movie playback. If we exclude the plasma, usually LCD TV screens are much more optimised for the movie playback. Essentially,they are using the same LCD panels as the monitors, but additional panel control circuit is improving the movie playback (not to mention the filtering of the LCD noise). For the movie playback joy, I'm using the 32" LCD TV in combination with this little beauty:

http://www.kiss-technology.com/?p=600en&v=users

Playing (streaming) the DivX HD/WM9 HD 720p content via network or USB storage with the help of Kiss DP-600, HDMI and decent LCD HDTV is simply stunning.