Quantitative Analysis

Luminance

Brightness ranked as one of our most important display qualities. The largest mistake that we see people make when they buy a new LCD is to put their new, bright LCD in a dim or dark room (and as a result, turn the LCD down to 25% brightness). Not only is this terrible for your eyes, but it also offsets hues unnecessarily. A blue screen in a dark room doesn't look the same as a blue screen in a well lit one! Staring at your monitor shouldn't feel like staring into the sun. If you have plenty of ambient light around, you would be surprised on how much of a difference a 250 nit LCD looks compared to a 300 nit LCD.

Below, you can see a comparison of the brightness for each of our LCD monitors. All monitors are set to the maximum brightness level and this was maintained for the duration of the review. The blue bar represents the advertised luminance and the red bar indicates the measured.


Much to our surprise, the NuTech LCD actually performed brighter than what the AUO spec sheet would have us to believe.

Our Contrast Ratio

For all the bad things that we said about contrast ratios on the previous pages, don't let us mislead you. Contrast ratios are important; they just aren't measured on any sort of level playing field, since manufacturer A and manufacturer B will measure them differently in order to market their product better. We do not have equipment as sensitive as manufacturers to test our monitors, but if we tested them all with the same conditions, we will still show a meaningful distribution of our monitors.

 Observed Contrast Ratio
   Highest Recorded  Lowest Recorded  Observed Contrast Ratio
BenQ FP931 256.4 3.6 71.2
Dell 2001FP 222.6 4.6 48.4
NuTech L921G 278.2 2.6 107.0
Planar PE191M 234.0 3.0 78.0
Samsung 193P 230.4 2.2 104.7
Samsung 910V 219.8 2.6 84.5
Sony SDM S94 233.8 3.0 77.9
ViewSonic Q190MB 261.8 2.6 100.7

As you can tell, things pretty much run the gamut here. We were very surprised to see the NuTech L921G showing up with the highest observed contrast ratio, but as you will note from our measurements, we were only able to measure within an accuracy of 2/10 candela per meter squared. As we get better testing equipment, we will continue to update the results of these LCD units that we bought for the lab in future reviews.

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  • archcommus87 - Saturday, December 4, 2004 - link

    Additionally, what are your thoughts on response time? I see that many of the monitors reviewed here are 20-25 ms monitors, however so many people claim that anything over 16 is simply unacceptable for gaming. Is this true or would 25 be plenty fine?
  • archcommus87 - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    So SOME out there are actually 4:3 physicall. How do you know which ones? They do list l x w x h, but I'm assuming that includes base. So you must read a review or physically measure it yourself to know this?

    Kristopher: What is your opinion on the quality of the image when it is upscaled in such a way, say trying to run a game at 10x7 on a 19" 1280x1024 monitor.
  • GOSHARKS - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    KristopherKubicki, that may be the case with some models - BUT you imply that ALL 17-19" LCDs that are 5:4 in resolution are in reality 4:3 physically, which is incorrect and confusing for people reading your review.

    "Most 19" and 17" LCDs have an aspect ratio of 5:4 (1280x1024). This is OK, but you're looking at a 5:4 signal crammed in a 4:3 box."
  • KristopherKubicki - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    archcommus87: LCDs will naturally interpolate pixels if you choose a non-native resolution. Only a few monitors will scale the image down to the correct pixel size (ie the Samsung 192T). Of course, if you do that you just turned your 19" LCD into a 17" one.

    Kristopher
  • KristopherKubicki - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    GOSHARKS: As i stated above in the comment addressed to #14, there are LCDs that are not the correct aspect ratio. A few viewsonic models come to mind. That was the only thing I was addressing in the aspect ratio portion of the guide.

    Kristopher
  • KristopherKubicki - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    Peter: For these LCDs you are correct, they are all the correct aspect ratio. However, we have looked at 17" and 19" pannels in the past that are 4:3 (and not surprisingly they did not get good reviews).

    Kristopher
  • archcommus87 - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    Are the options presented thus far really the only options for running games at resolutions other than native? If so how could anyone want an LCD for gaming? Unless you're positive you'll always have a beefy enough computer to run games at 1280x1024 or higher. Or unless you don't mind playing the game with black around all sides.
  • vailr - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    No information as to "color accuracy". Maybe this device would be useful?
    ****************************
    Color Plus
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    http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?p...

    Mfg Part #: GEU104
    Product Information
    (Based on manufacturer's information)
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    ColorPlus corrects your CRT, LCD, or notebook monitors for accurate and consistent color - day-to-day and image-to image. Spend more time behind the lens or printing your photos instead of wasting time, paper, and ink. Pros correct their monitors at least once a month - now you can too in your home.

    Experts agree - the #1 tip for positively great prints - Calibrate Your Monitor. Monitors are like snowflakes, everyone is different and they change over time as they age.

    Now with ColorPlus, your colors can finally look their best and brightest. ColorPlus corrects your CRT, LCD or notebook monitor for accurate, reliable, and consistent color - day-to-day and image-to-image. It also gives you a wider range of colors, better flesh tones, and more open shadows. Now you can use the same tools the pros do and make your images studio grade.

    ColorPlus includes an award-winning, patent-protected color hardware sensor and wizard-based monitor calibration software. The color hardware sensor connects to your computer using USB and easily attaches to your CRT, LCD, or notebook monitor. In a few easy steps, the software guides through the entire process to deliver precise color in the widest range your monitor can produce. ColorPlus automatically calibrates your monitor to industry standards for color, gamma, white point, and luminance

    Recommended for all digital camera enthusiasts
    Corrects your monitor for accurate and reliable color
    Lets you trust what you see on your screen
    Produces a wider range of color, better flesh tones, & more open shadows
    Simple to use and AFFORDABLE
    High-tech and cool-looking color hardware sensor
    Save time, paper, and ink
    Includes Adobe® Photoshop® Album Starter Edition for FREE
    Free technical supportso your results are accurate and consistent from day-to-day.

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    Free USB port

  • Peter - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    Or does the Anandtech high-tech lab not feature such an old fashioned tool like a wooden stick with a scale on it?

    http://emoties.murphology.com/strips/displayimage....
  • Peter - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link

    ... and I had said exactly that in #14 already. No correction so far? Boo...

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