Steggy
03-16-2010, 02:38 AM
Sorry to infringe upon Nevermind's thread, but after reading it I thought you guys might want a little more information to help you buy a TV/Monitor than just looking for response time.
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This will serve as a guide to follow when purchasing a TV or monitor for gaming use. It will explain different specifications a display will have, and what numbers to follow to determine the better display using those specifications. Please note the recommendations section at the bottom of the guide to give you a selection of choices. Before you post a question here, think about what you are asking. Questions such as "What is the absolute BEST display for gaming?" isn't exactly the question to ask. There is no "best" display. Every display has its advantages and disadvantages, it is up to you to decide what your priorities are, weighing in the numbers, and deciding which one is the best for you. If you ask that type of question, you will get nothing but opinions from people who own the monitor they are suggesting, but haven't necessarily had experience with other displays that they are weighing theirs against. So if you ask that question you are going to be buying a TV based on the preference of someone else, and not your own. Do yourself a favor and get the display for YOU. this guide will help you find that, but it can't do all of the work.
Also note when asking questions: I do not personally review displays, I can only interpret the information available online on a display, and not every monitor has all of the necessary information released online, so bear with me.
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Section I: Looking for a Display
Determining the type of TV for you
1. What type of TV is it?
There are 3 main types of TV's at your fingertips. CRT, LCD, and Plasma.
CRT - You all know this type of TV. Chances are you still have one of these somewhere in your house. While you might not have thought it looking at it, but these displays are excellent for gaming. They have amazing reactivity and nice color purity. If you read below on response times, you see that LCD's are measuring their numbers in milliseconds. CRT's have the same numbers, but in nanoseconds. They are considerably more reactive. I myself still use my 20 something inch CRT TV to play all of my games. An even better choice for gaming are flat screen CRT monitors. The drawbacks of CRT displays include their size/weight, and the quality isn't as crisp as an LCD or plasma.
Plasma - Plasma TV's are considered one of the main contenders nowadays facing LCD's. They offer a very vibrant display, but there is a problem when looking at plasmas. Size. Plasma TV's are only about 37" and up for TV's. not very practical for gaming or a small room to house these behemoths. They also have a problem called "burn-in", though this problem has been minimized due to today's technologies. To put it simply, burn-in is when stationary objects on your plasma start to become etched in permanently into the display. If you're dealing with an older plasma TV, really watch out for this. You should be totally fine with a brand new one though. If you take proper care of it during its breaking in period (around the first 100-150 hours of its life), and turn on any of its anti burn-in features, you will be all set.
LCD - Liquid crystal display. This is probably going to be the option you go for nowadays. With a vibrant display, low response times, and a huge range of sizes to choose from, they are a very popular choice. For gaming, the sizes we are going to be recommending will be ~22 inches. This opens up the possibilities of monitors or TV's. Keep in mind, if you purchase a monitor, you can use it as a TV if it is HDCP compliant(look for this on the product description page). All you need to do is use a digital cable box with the proper output that matches the monitor(most common match will be HDMI)
Glossary of Terms
Resolution:
What is the difference between Interlaced and progression?
To begin with the “p” in 480p and 720p indicates progressive. Progressive images are “painted” vertically consecutively line 1, and then line 2, followed by line 3, etc. Computer Monitors are always progressive allowing users to sit very close with minimal eye strain. 480p indicates 480 Progressive lines (typically called Enhance Definition) and 720p indicates 720 Progressive lines (one of two American High Definition standards)
The “i” in 480i and 1080i indicates interlaced. Interlaced images are drawn vertically line 1, and then line 3 to the bottom of the screen, followed by a second sweep filling in line 2, followed by line 4, etc. This is done quick enough to fool the eye / brain into seeing a coherent image. American television (standard definition) has been interlaced since 1941.480i indicates 480 interlaced lines (standard definition) and 1080i indicates 1080 interlaced lines (the second American High Definition standard)
Different resolutions for your tv:
480i (NTSC, 720x480 split into two 240-line fields)
SDTV: 576i (PAL, 720x576 split into two 288-line fields)
EDTV: 480p (NTSC, 720x480)
HDTV: 720p (1280x720)
HDTV: 1080i (1280x1080, 1440x1080, or 1920x1080 split into two 540-line fields)
HDTV: 1080p (1920x1080 progressive scan)
This is your set of resolutions for your TV. When you are looking for a display, the higher the native resolution the better. For 22 inches, you won't be seeing many 1080p resolution displays, but it's not like the difference between 720p and 1080p will be severely noticeable at that size. When you have your display, remember it is always the best to set the resolution to the displays max resolution, or "native resolution"
Response Time - Response time is often regarded as the most important feature on a TV. People are under the impression that response time = delay. Response time is actually the speed at which an LCD television’s pixels change from one color to the next and back again. Response time is measured in ms (milliseconds). The quicker an LCD television’s response time, the less likelihood there is for ghosting or after images appearing when displaying fast-paced images (games and movies). So it isn't the timing of the image changing, it's the clarity of the moving image. For response time, you want to get 5ms or lower to avoid major ghosting. Most monitors are 2ms now, but 5 is acceptable. A great feature displays have nowadays is a gaming mode or an overdrive for response times, which gives the display a boost the time of the life/death of a pixel.
Brightness - (luminosity) is often measured in candelas or cd/m2. Most LCD televisions today can provide over 500 cd/m2, which is more than sufficient for normal use. Games and movies may benefit from somewhat higher brightness levels. A higher contrast ratio allows a monitor to provide a greater range of dark and light details.
Contrast Ratio - is the degree of variation of the whitest and darkest parts of the image, is a very important factor to note. If the LCD TV has a low contrast ratio, dark images will look muddy and gray, while light images will look washed out. A good contrast ratio to have in an LCD TV is 1,000:1 or higher.
Input Lag - Input lag is the time it takes from when you execute a command on a controller or mouse to when the action takes place on the screen. You won't find this measurement on newegg or vendor sites, you will need to use a site like www.digitalversus.com to find out the timing for a monitor. The most reactive monitors I've seen right now average at around 10ms.
Dot Pitch/Pixel Pitch - The distance between pixels of the same color in a monitor. It is measured in hundredths of a millimeter. In this case, the lower the number the better. An LCD will fetch around ~.20-.30mm for a dot pitch. As long as it's below .30mm, you will have a sharp picture. But remember the lower the better. It's an ok way to guess how sharp a monitor's picture will be if you can't see it firsthand or if a review isn't available.
Viewing Angles The angles at which you can watch a monitor without discoloration of picture. Look at www.digitalversus.com for actual photos of different angled views of displays.
Inputs/Outputs - You aren't going to want to forget about these. They are sometimes overlooked in the craze of spec comparisons. My personal preference/minimal requirement is at least HDMI and VGA inputs. This way I can hook a 360 up through HDMI, and my computer through VGA. You can also look into the possibility of KVM switches to use VGA for both hardwares, freeing up an HDMI port for a Blu ray player or PS3. As long as you have the inputs, your opportunities are endless. You also want to note if the monitor or tv has a headphone jack/line out jack, and speakers, so you can figure out your gaming setup. You would also want to see if your inputs will be HDCP compliant. This is important if you were to hook up a cable box to the HDMI port of a monitor to get TV on there. And as far as the whole "which one is less input lag?" deal, HDMi and VGA will amount to the same performance for input lag in monitors, but in HDTV's, use VGA. Just steer away from component altogether
So that will basically wrap it up on some key points to look for in a monitor for gaming. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. You can drive yourself nuts looking into every detail on a monitor's spec sheet, analyzing their diagnostic tests, etc. I mean, there are different screen technologies to look at(TN, VA, etc), color accuracy, etc. The best thing to do is to shop for monitors that have full information on them. For the stuff you won't find on Newegg's specs sheet for the display, refer to the recommended links in the last section.
----------------------
This will serve as a guide to follow when purchasing a TV or monitor for gaming use. It will explain different specifications a display will have, and what numbers to follow to determine the better display using those specifications. Please note the recommendations section at the bottom of the guide to give you a selection of choices. Before you post a question here, think about what you are asking. Questions such as "What is the absolute BEST display for gaming?" isn't exactly the question to ask. There is no "best" display. Every display has its advantages and disadvantages, it is up to you to decide what your priorities are, weighing in the numbers, and deciding which one is the best for you. If you ask that type of question, you will get nothing but opinions from people who own the monitor they are suggesting, but haven't necessarily had experience with other displays that they are weighing theirs against. So if you ask that question you are going to be buying a TV based on the preference of someone else, and not your own. Do yourself a favor and get the display for YOU. this guide will help you find that, but it can't do all of the work.
Also note when asking questions: I do not personally review displays, I can only interpret the information available online on a display, and not every monitor has all of the necessary information released online, so bear with me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section I: Looking for a Display
Determining the type of TV for you
1. What type of TV is it?
There are 3 main types of TV's at your fingertips. CRT, LCD, and Plasma.
CRT - You all know this type of TV. Chances are you still have one of these somewhere in your house. While you might not have thought it looking at it, but these displays are excellent for gaming. They have amazing reactivity and nice color purity. If you read below on response times, you see that LCD's are measuring their numbers in milliseconds. CRT's have the same numbers, but in nanoseconds. They are considerably more reactive. I myself still use my 20 something inch CRT TV to play all of my games. An even better choice for gaming are flat screen CRT monitors. The drawbacks of CRT displays include their size/weight, and the quality isn't as crisp as an LCD or plasma.
Plasma - Plasma TV's are considered one of the main contenders nowadays facing LCD's. They offer a very vibrant display, but there is a problem when looking at plasmas. Size. Plasma TV's are only about 37" and up for TV's. not very practical for gaming or a small room to house these behemoths. They also have a problem called "burn-in", though this problem has been minimized due to today's technologies. To put it simply, burn-in is when stationary objects on your plasma start to become etched in permanently into the display. If you're dealing with an older plasma TV, really watch out for this. You should be totally fine with a brand new one though. If you take proper care of it during its breaking in period (around the first 100-150 hours of its life), and turn on any of its anti burn-in features, you will be all set.
LCD - Liquid crystal display. This is probably going to be the option you go for nowadays. With a vibrant display, low response times, and a huge range of sizes to choose from, they are a very popular choice. For gaming, the sizes we are going to be recommending will be ~22 inches. This opens up the possibilities of monitors or TV's. Keep in mind, if you purchase a monitor, you can use it as a TV if it is HDCP compliant(look for this on the product description page). All you need to do is use a digital cable box with the proper output that matches the monitor(most common match will be HDMI)
Glossary of Terms
Resolution:
What is the difference between Interlaced and progression?
To begin with the “p” in 480p and 720p indicates progressive. Progressive images are “painted” vertically consecutively line 1, and then line 2, followed by line 3, etc. Computer Monitors are always progressive allowing users to sit very close with minimal eye strain. 480p indicates 480 Progressive lines (typically called Enhance Definition) and 720p indicates 720 Progressive lines (one of two American High Definition standards)
The “i” in 480i and 1080i indicates interlaced. Interlaced images are drawn vertically line 1, and then line 3 to the bottom of the screen, followed by a second sweep filling in line 2, followed by line 4, etc. This is done quick enough to fool the eye / brain into seeing a coherent image. American television (standard definition) has been interlaced since 1941.480i indicates 480 interlaced lines (standard definition) and 1080i indicates 1080 interlaced lines (the second American High Definition standard)
Different resolutions for your tv:
480i (NTSC, 720x480 split into two 240-line fields)
SDTV: 576i (PAL, 720x576 split into two 288-line fields)
EDTV: 480p (NTSC, 720x480)
HDTV: 720p (1280x720)
HDTV: 1080i (1280x1080, 1440x1080, or 1920x1080 split into two 540-line fields)
HDTV: 1080p (1920x1080 progressive scan)
This is your set of resolutions for your TV. When you are looking for a display, the higher the native resolution the better. For 22 inches, you won't be seeing many 1080p resolution displays, but it's not like the difference between 720p and 1080p will be severely noticeable at that size. When you have your display, remember it is always the best to set the resolution to the displays max resolution, or "native resolution"
Response Time - Response time is often regarded as the most important feature on a TV. People are under the impression that response time = delay. Response time is actually the speed at which an LCD television’s pixels change from one color to the next and back again. Response time is measured in ms (milliseconds). The quicker an LCD television’s response time, the less likelihood there is for ghosting or after images appearing when displaying fast-paced images (games and movies). So it isn't the timing of the image changing, it's the clarity of the moving image. For response time, you want to get 5ms or lower to avoid major ghosting. Most monitors are 2ms now, but 5 is acceptable. A great feature displays have nowadays is a gaming mode or an overdrive for response times, which gives the display a boost the time of the life/death of a pixel.
Brightness - (luminosity) is often measured in candelas or cd/m2. Most LCD televisions today can provide over 500 cd/m2, which is more than sufficient for normal use. Games and movies may benefit from somewhat higher brightness levels. A higher contrast ratio allows a monitor to provide a greater range of dark and light details.
Contrast Ratio - is the degree of variation of the whitest and darkest parts of the image, is a very important factor to note. If the LCD TV has a low contrast ratio, dark images will look muddy and gray, while light images will look washed out. A good contrast ratio to have in an LCD TV is 1,000:1 or higher.
Input Lag - Input lag is the time it takes from when you execute a command on a controller or mouse to when the action takes place on the screen. You won't find this measurement on newegg or vendor sites, you will need to use a site like www.digitalversus.com to find out the timing for a monitor. The most reactive monitors I've seen right now average at around 10ms.
Dot Pitch/Pixel Pitch - The distance between pixels of the same color in a monitor. It is measured in hundredths of a millimeter. In this case, the lower the number the better. An LCD will fetch around ~.20-.30mm for a dot pitch. As long as it's below .30mm, you will have a sharp picture. But remember the lower the better. It's an ok way to guess how sharp a monitor's picture will be if you can't see it firsthand or if a review isn't available.
Viewing Angles The angles at which you can watch a monitor without discoloration of picture. Look at www.digitalversus.com for actual photos of different angled views of displays.
Inputs/Outputs - You aren't going to want to forget about these. They are sometimes overlooked in the craze of spec comparisons. My personal preference/minimal requirement is at least HDMI and VGA inputs. This way I can hook a 360 up through HDMI, and my computer through VGA. You can also look into the possibility of KVM switches to use VGA for both hardwares, freeing up an HDMI port for a Blu ray player or PS3. As long as you have the inputs, your opportunities are endless. You also want to note if the monitor or tv has a headphone jack/line out jack, and speakers, so you can figure out your gaming setup. You would also want to see if your inputs will be HDCP compliant. This is important if you were to hook up a cable box to the HDMI port of a monitor to get TV on there. And as far as the whole "which one is less input lag?" deal, HDMi and VGA will amount to the same performance for input lag in monitors, but in HDTV's, use VGA. Just steer away from component altogether
So that will basically wrap it up on some key points to look for in a monitor for gaming. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. You can drive yourself nuts looking into every detail on a monitor's spec sheet, analyzing their diagnostic tests, etc. I mean, there are different screen technologies to look at(TN, VA, etc), color accuracy, etc. The best thing to do is to shop for monitors that have full information on them. For the stuff you won't find on Newegg's specs sheet for the display, refer to the recommended links in the last section.