(Continued — 3)

In addition to dot pitch, considerations with CRTs include refresh rates at the resolution you wish to work at. With our 60Hz power in the U.S., any refresh rate below 75Hz may produce flicker which is visible when you start to turn your head away from the display. Some people, like myself, are particularly sensitive to the flicker and can't stand anything less than 85Hz. Therefore, when looking at CRT monitor specifications, it is very important to look for the refresh rate indicated. For instance, a maximum resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 at 60Hz would be unacceptable for daily use. Understanding the importance of this, most manufacturers now show an "optimum" resolution with the optimum being the largest pixel dimensions with the highest refresh rate.

One very impressive performer is the Iiyama VisionMaster Pro 450. This 19 inch display has an 18 inch viewable area, a 0.25mm aperture grille pitch, and supports 1,800 x 1,440 at 80Hz with a flat-screen. Most monitors in this price range (street $625) or below offer the same viewable area and comparable dot pitch, but typically have a maxium optimum resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 at 75-85Hz. If you're really on a budget, you might consider a monitor I recently purchased, the KDS VS-195e, a 19 inch display with 18 inches viewable, 0.26mm dot pitch, and invar shadow mask CRT. It's not a flat-screen, but the color is rich, has a great white point, and supports 1,600 x 1,200 at 75Hz, although I'm running mine at 1,024 x 768 at 100Hz. It's a bargain at about $269 online.

The Other Players
If price is not a primary consideration in purchasing a new monitor, then you might consider the new Plasma displays from companies like Pioneer, Philips, etc. Plasma flat panels create images from an array of cells (pixels), composed of 3 sub-pixels, similar to the way CRTs work. Gas in a plasma state is used to react with phosphors in each sub-pixel to produce colored light. Essentially, the electron gun in a conventional CRT is replaced by gas plasma that causes the glow intensity for each sub-pixel, and thus the range of colors to appear on the screen. Because of the stability of Plasma technology it is more likely you would see screen sizes of 30 to 50 inches in this form versus LCD. With an average price of between $7,000 and $8,000 for 40 inch models, Plasma is attractive for executive board rooms, and ad agency presentations. Plasma is sharp enough for both DVD playback, and content creation. Both LCD and Plasma displays can be hung on the wall (or ceiling), but there is definitely a difference in 17 inches and 40 inches. If size matters, Plasma technology is the winner.

Another emerging technology which is worth mentioning simply because of its brave new world approach, is LEP, or "light emitting polymers." This new technology, developed by Cambridge University and Seiko-Epson, uses a type of plastic that can be charged to change color "speck by speck," and is reportedly bright and sturdy. LEP requires no backlight, can be read at almost any angle, uses little power, and are cheap to make. Unlike the MIT e-paper technology, LEP is designed to provide color moving images. LEP supposedly will cost only 60 percent as much as LCD to produce.

Keep Your Eyes Open
The most important factors to consider when purchasing any new monitor is really the kind of work you do, the importance of criteria such as color fidelity and refresh rates, and compatibility with the system(s) you use. For a time, it has been easy to simply buy from a catalog and you would generally get what you were expecting. With this new generation of technologies and choices, this might be the time to consider re-visiting a nearby computer store in person to let your eyes do the decision making.

 < E N D >