LCD Monitors: What to look for.

There are numerous manufacturers that are offering many different models, and all of them will have a different set of specs. You should look at all of the following specifications before you make a purchase.

1.      Native Resolution
2.      Contrast Ratio
3.      Viewing Angle
4.      Analog vs. Digital input
5.      Brightness
6.      Response Time

The native resolution is the maximum resolution that the screen can display before the image starts to expand past the edge of the screen. If your screen has a native resolution of 1024x768 and you have your video card settings at 1280x1024 the image is bigger than will fit on the screen and you will have to scroll around to see the outer most portions of your image. Generally speaking as the physical size of the monitor goes up so does the native resolution. For example a 15 inch LCD monitor may have a native resolution of 1024x768, but a 17 or 19inch will probably be 1280x1024.

The contrast ratio is defined as the ratio of the luminosity of the brightest and the darkest color the monitor is capable of producing. The greater the contrast ratio the more distinct the colors will be. This all helps in the image quality of the final image you sit and look at on the screen.
 

 The viewing angle is the maximum angle from the side that you can view the screen with out any image quality loss. When you exceed the viewing angle rating of the monitor the colors start to get distorted and the brightness and contrast ratio drop considerably.
 

The difference between a digital and analog input for a monitor is the type of plug it uses to connect to your pc. The video card on your pc may have either connection or sometimes both. The analog style is the one that had been around for a very long time now. Also called a VGA plug, it is probably still the most common connection for all types of monitors. The digital connection has been around for a couple years but still is not as widely used. This connection is called a DVI plug. The digital interface between the video card and monitor gives you a better, crisper image.
 

The brightness of an LCD monitor is also an important thing to look at. Some of the lesser expensive monitors will have very low brightness ratings. This means that if you are using it in a very well lit environment, or even just have a light close by it may be hard to see the image. You should look for a high brightness rating.
 

The response time of a monitor is the amount of time that it takes the monitor to refresh a video or moving image on the screen. Playing a DVD movie or playing a video game for example. If the response time were too high it would take too long for the monitor to refresh the image. This leads to distortion and other image quality loss.
 

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