Hey, good lookin'

In an LCD market saturated with exciting and affordable display technologies, it’s a great time to change the face of your PC. Not only will we introduce you to a range of monitors, but we’ll take you through the tech specs and jargon it’s helpful to know when buying.

We sent a call out to vendors, asking for a selection of monitors to represent the wide range you’ll find on local store shelves and on websites. Our only stipulation was that they sit in the 21.5- to 24-inch range.

We received five screens in response. A couple did come in oversize, but we let them slip through: all the better to show you what your display-dollars can buy. More importantly, our selection of monitors boasts a broad spectrum of features: TN and IPS panels, 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, passive and active 3D, CCFL and LED-backlighting; you name it, we got it.

But what do all these terms mean? Which ones are better and which ones can you safely ignore? That’s what we’re here to help you with.


How we test
We put each monitor through a combination of tests both objective and subjective (measurements and opinion), plus we’ve laid down all the specifications for a side-by-side analysis.

Viewing angles, response times and highlight/shadow details were all graded between Poor, Good, and Excellent after being run through the LCD calibration tests at www.lagom.nl.

One thing we've looked quite closely at is transition times, such as “black to grey (0-128)”. These are an analysis of how fast a monitor can switch its sub-pixels from one brightness level to another. Brightness levels range from 0 (black) to 255 (white), with 128 (grey) being a midpoint. If a monitor has a slow response time, a bright image moving over a dark background (or vice versa) will leave a ghost-like trail behind it, which detracts from gameplay or movie watching.

Bear in mind that no expensive colour/gamma analysis hardware was used to test these screens – simply a trained eye and basic web-based calibration tools. If your job depends on an accurate monitor, I would urge deeper research into a screen, preferably with results of professional calibration, before making a purchase.


Monitor Roundup

	AOC i2340ve 24-inch LCD monitor	Many love IPS monitors for their wide viewing angles and accurate colour reproduction, but are put off by the higher cost compared to the more common TN monitors. AOC looks to buck that trend with the i2340ve: an IPS monitor with pricing almost on par with TN technology.
	Asus ML239H 23-inch LCD monitor	Asus has joined the bargain-basement IPS monitor bandwagon with the 23-inch ML239H - at the time of writing, the cheapest IPS monitor to come through our test lab doors.
	LG D2342 24-inch 3D LCD monitor	The LG D2342 is a 60Hz, LED-backlit LCD monitor with passive 3D capability. The visual quality doesn't match that of active (shutter-glasses) 3D technology, but the price is good and additional glasses cost next-to-nothing.
	HP ZR24w 24-inch LCD monitor	HP’s ZR24w has been around for over a year now, but remains a popular screen due to its high quality IPS panel and low price tag compared to professional monitors.
	Samsung S27A950D 27-inch 3D LCD monitor	The Samsung S27A950D is a big, beautiful monitor with a massive 27-inch screen sitting inside a super slim bezel atop a curved aluminium base. What’s on the inside is just as awe-inspiring – the 1080p, TN-based panel supports a true 120Hz refresh rate with active 3D capability.

Display technology: IPS, TN & VA, CCFL vs LED
Two of the main parts of an LCD monitor are the backlight and what is generally referred to as the “panel”. Backlights literally provide the light, and the panel manipulates that light into the pixels which make up the image you see on screen.

Backlights come in two flavours – cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) or light-emitting diode (LED). Up until a couple of years ago all LCD monitors came with CCFL backlighting, but in newer models it is swiftly being replaced by LED backlighting.

LED backlighting allows greater dynamic contrast, slimmer screens, and less power usage, but is not to be confused with full-blown LED screen technology (which is the next big thing in TVs – stay tuned).

Panels on the other hand come in three main varieties – TN (Twisted Nematic), IPS (In-Plane Switching) and VA (Vertical Alignment).

TN panels are cheap and cheerful – fast response times and low price tags make them popular with gamers and budget system builders, but have inferior colour accuracy, narrow viewing angles and poor contrast ratios.

IPS panels are expensive but can provide the best image quality in terms of colours, viewing angles and contrast ratios.

VA panels are somewhere in between TN and IPS in most respects. Better colour accuracy and viewing angles than TN (but poorer response times), and cheaper than IPS.


Connectivity: VGA, DVI, DisplayPort & HDMI
Before purchasing a monitor, it’s always worth checking what inputs it has to ensure it suits your situation. There are a few different connections you’ll find on modern monitors, so let’s take a brief look at each one.

DVI is the most commonly used connection. Virtually all modern monitors come with a DVI port. Those that don’t will usually have an HDMI connection instead, and will ship with an HDMI to DVI cable. All modern graphics cards have a DVI output. Ensure you use a “dual-link” DVI cable for active 3D/120Hz monitors – single-link cables will not work with these features.

HDMI essentially carries the same video signal as DVI, however cannot transfer active 3D/120Hz signals at full 1080p resolution. It can transfer a digital audio signal – handy if you want to use the headphone jack on your monitor without running an extra audio cable.

DisplayPort (DP) is an alternative to HDMI. No real advantage except for being required if you want to run a multi-monitor setup via AMD’s “Eyefinity” technology (although adaptors can be purchased to get around this) and the latest versions support full 1080p 3D/120Hz signals where HDMI does not.

VGA is now a dying standard, and the most limiting in terms of resolution and refresh rate. You only need VGA if you’re hooking up a really old pre-DVI computer or laptop.


Passive 3D (polarised-lens)
A passive 3D screen has a special filter built in to it which polarises all the odd lines of pixels at a 90 degree angle to all the even lines of pixels. The glasses which come with these screens are polarised, which means that one lens will block out all light from the odd lines of pixels, and the other lens will block out all the even lines.

Coupled with special 3D software, this allows different images to be sent to the left and right eye, creating depth perception for the 3D effect.

The advantage of passive 3D is mainly one of cost. You don’t need a 120Hz-capable monitor, nor do you need expensive battery-powered shutter glasses. The disadvantage is that the screen still has to display all odd and even lines at the same time – when each lens in the 3D glasses filters out half of these lines, the result is that you lose exactly half of the perceived resolution.

The 3D software which ships with passive 3D screens generally isn’t compatible with 3D Blu-ray movies, so don’t plan on using one of these screens for a cheap 3D Blu-ray setup (even if the software did work, you’d still get only half the resolution).


Active 3D (shutter glasses) & 120Hz refresh rates
Active 3D screens are currently the only way to display true, full-resolution 3D content. Like all 3D technology, a slightly different image needs to be sent to each eye to get any depth perception going on. An active 3D screen works in synchronisation with a pair of shutter glasses (glasses which can shut out most light entering the lenses for a fraction of a second). When the screen sends an image intended to be seen by your left eye only, the shutter on the right lens of your glasses will be engaged to block your right eye from seeing it. Each frame will alternate between left and right, and voila! You have a 3D effect.

The advantage here is that each eye gets a full resolution image each frame – as opposed to passive 3D where only half the resolution comes through. The disadvantages are the fact that you have to use an expensive 120Hz monitor (to send 60 images to each eye per second), and shutter glasses are far more expensive than passive glasses (ten times the price or more). They also need to be powered, either by a disposable coin-cell or a rechargeable battery.

Outside of 3D, 120Hz screens do have another advantage over their slower 60Hz counterparts to help justify the price difference. Backed by a powerful enough graphics card, the higher frame rate will provide noticeably smoother animation in games and applications.


Resolution
The most common resolution on screens these days is 1920 x 1080 pixels, otherwise referred to as ‘Full HD’ or ‘1080p’. This is a 16:9 ‘widescreen’ aspect ratio and is good for gaming, using office applications, and watching movies. Monitors with this resolution are mostly available in sizes ranging from 20 to 27 inches diagonally.

Smaller resolutions like 1600 x 900 and 1366 x 768 are still available, however the price difference is almost negligible due to the popularity of 1920 x 1080.

The next up from 1920 x 1080 is 1920 x 1200, which has a 16:10 aspect ratio. This means you get slightly more vertical screen space, which is good for editing documents and browsing the web. If you’re watching a 16:9 widescreen movie, you’ll see black bars along the top and bottom of a 16:10 screen.

Above this are 2560 x 1440 monitors (16:9). This resolution is generally available only on screens 27 inches and above, so they tend to be quite expensive. Also remember that if you’re a gamer, a higher resolution means more work for your graphics card, so make sure your system is up to the job!


Conclusion
The five monitors we tested are something of an eclectic bunch, featuring many different technologies.

Three screens were based around IPS technology – they all provided vastly wider viewing angles compared to TN, and excellent colour accuracy, but varied in their ability to portray detail in dark areas on screen. IPS response times were also a mixed bag.

With that said, if any sort of gaming were to be involved, I would pick the HP unit over the rest for its excellent response times and flexible adjustment options. For purely document or image-based use, the slightly smaller AOC screen puts up a good fight at basically half the price.

Of the two TN-based screens, both offered a different form of 3D technology. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of stereoscopic 3D in the first place – I think it’s a cool feature, but until all the kinks are ironed out, I wouldn’t pay extra for it or even recommend it to others. I do encourage people to check it out for themselves however: it’s just one of those love/hate kind of technologies.

Regardless, the active 3D technology in the Samsung screen is clearly superior to LG’s passive technology. You pay for it though – even the 23-inch version of the Samsung 3D monitor sells for $200-$300 more than the passive 3D screen from LG.

The Samsung also has a true 120Hz refresh rate, meaning you can pump up to twice as many frames per second into it compared to a 60Hz screen. It ticks all the right boxes for me – all except the “affordable” box, perhaps.

So like many things, what you want to use a monitor for will determine which model suits you best. You have many options, and these five monitors represent only a tiny portion of what’s out there.

Out of this month’s roundup, my overall favourite would be the HP ZR24w. It is just so flexible – literally and figuratively. It’s excellent for image and document work, suitable for gaming, has more vertical resolution than 1080p screens, and is perfect for a multi-monitor setup in either landscape or portrait layout.

It’s not perfect however. If a future version of this model were to have LED-backlighting, a lower black level, and a 120Hz refresh rate, it would be a 5 star product in my book. I won’t hold my breath, however.

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