Do you prefer TFT monitors or CRTs?

Interesting Ian

Banned
I
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
7,675
I think I'm going to replace my CRT with a TFT, mainly because of radiation concerns.

I'd like to know from people who have had experiences with both which type of monitor they prefer?? In particular what's it like reading text on a TFT compared to a CRT??

Also are the "TN" TFT's cr@p? Much obliged with any responses.
 
I'd like to know from people who have had experiences with both which type of monitor they prefer?? In particular what's it like reading text on a TFT compared to a CRT??
Click to expand...
It's like night and day.

Seriously, TFT's are so much sharper and clearer than CRT's that it's not even really any contest. Plus since TFT's don't flicker, there is way less eye-strain. Staring at a TFT all day is basically no different than staring at a sheet of paper.

When I bought my first laptop about 4 years ago, I got spoiled by its display. I can't even stand to use CRT's anymore.

I'm not familiar with "TN" TFT's.


Dr. Stupid
 
I concur with Stimpy. We have several TFT monitors in our lab, and they're superior to the CRT monitors in every respect, including text readability.

They also take up a lot less room, which is handy if, like me, you enjoy piling up huge numbers of papers on your desk.
 
Concur. TFT's are superior, the only reason I'm still working at a CRT is that at the time I was buying, high-resolution TFT's was quite expensive. Unfortunately, that still seems to be the case. I require at least 1400x1050 in resolution (and frequently use 1600x1200).
 
I bought a Philips 15" TFT about a year ago. Since then the 17" Sony Trinitron CRT has sat in a corner. That said, I don't play video games, and have a very basic 64MB graphics card.
(Heck, I even have avatars switched off.)

Easy checked though. Take a hike to PC World* and have a look at a few. You might find one with a 9800 card.

* I don't suggest you buy it there, but looking's free.
 
There are advantages to both. The LCD will have a superior look in its native resolution. The CRT will do better when the resolution changes frequently.

A good LCD will look good off axis. The cheap ones will change color or the apparent contrast will increase or decrease.

Avoid the "shiny glass front" unless you wear dark clothing !
 
Stimpson J. Cat said:
It's like night and day.

Seriously, TFT's are so much sharper and clearer than CRT's that it's not even really any contest. Plus since TFT's don't flicker, there is way less eye-strain. Staring at a TFT all day is basically no different than staring at a sheet of paper.

When I bought my first laptop about 4 years ago, I got spoiled by its display. I can't even stand to use CRT's anymore.

I'm not familiar with "TN" TFT's.


Dr. Stupid
Click to expand...

This article explains what TN monitors are and the other types. It's pretty negative towards TFTs, but I feel it's more important to hear about peoples' real life experiences with TFTs v CRTs.

I'm going to buy one and I feel at the present time I'll probably buy this one.

Does anyone know what acer monitors are like? Looking at the specifications does it seem ok for the price?
 
From my experience, and there is a lot of rubbish out there, but you have to expect it for the amazingly cheap prices you pay for what is incredibly advanced technology, avoid Acer if you can. In my experiecen, (they make Benq as well, IIRC), they are the Sanyo of Korea. Cheap rubbish. My rule of thumb, don't buy the cheapest, but the next rung or two up. You get what you pay for.
 
TFT No contest!

Its like asking if it is better to go on a horse or in a car (exaggerated I know, but its just to make a point).

I would not trade my Dell 2001FP for anything but their newer 24 inch widescreen beauty.

Believe me, I did my own research, going from my good ol trinitron IBM workstation CRT screen (17inch, 1600x1200@75Hz, flat screen, you name it) to a Benq 17 16mseg to my still new 2001FP.

Clearer, faster, bigger, better.
 
I give up: what the flip is a "TFT" "Totally Flat Tubed?"
 
Re: Re: Do you prefer TFT monitors or CRTs?

nimzov said:
Hi.

To your knowledge are there any studies linking CRT to health issues ?

nimzo
Click to expand...
The link is supposed to be between radiation (EMF) and health, the answer is .... No
I doubt TFT-screens expose the user to less EMF radiation than CRT-screens anyway.
 
a_unique_person said:
From my experience, and there is a lot of rubbish out there, but you have to expect it for the amazingly cheap prices you pay for what is incredibly advanced technology, avoid Acer if you can. In my experiecen, (they make Benq as well, IIRC), they are the Sanyo of Korea. Cheap rubbish. My rule of thumb, don't buy the cheapest, but the next rung or two up. You get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

Ooops. I've just ordered it. I could find nothing negative said about acer whatsoever and I've been doing a thorough search over the past 2 days.

As I said in another thread, this particular model has received 20 reviews from customers at amazon uk, and every review is extremely positive and each review gave it 5 out of 5. I also found a couple of other customer reviews on the Net and they were also extremely positive.

Are you saying you've had hands on experience of Acer monitors? What problems did they have? I can always cancel this order but one person's experience over about 30 extremely favourable impressions doesn't swing it. Are there any links to other people having problems with this particular model or over acer models generally?
 
I've found my TFT (a ProLite E430S) is vastly superior to the CRT I used to use. It's only downside is that if you change resolution the picture becomes much poorer than normal because the resolution you've picked doesn't match up with the number of actual dots on the screen. But really, I barely ever change resolution so that's not a problem.

I used to use an Acer CRT and it wasn't great; after a year or so the tube started to go so you had to have the brightness up full all the time, and the picture wouldn't go square along the edges no matter what you did. Don't know about their TFTs though.
 
bigred said:
uhhh thanks.

In English that means.........? :cool: ie we talking flat-panel monitors or - ?
Click to expand...
Yeah, those fancy flat screens that cost from 2 to 3 times the prize of an old CRT.

On the sublect:

Flat screens take up much less space, and they're crisp and clear and flicker-free for all kinds of office use.

For gaming and graphics, ye olde CRT still has a few edges (no doubt rapidly vanishing).

As for radiation, the only thing that has ever scored even remotely likely test results are static charges from the HT generator used in the CRT monitor. If your screen is less than a decade old, that has been effectively screened, but for Ian, I would recommend a piece of Rose Quartz. It is said to sceen all kinds of radiation and is dead cheap.

Hans
 
MRC_Hans said:
Yeah, those fancy flat screens that cost from 2 to 3 times the prize of an old CRT.
Click to expand...
au contraire Pierre, they're very competitively priced nowdays. I'd buy one if mine wasn't working fine and I had nothing better to spend money on.
 
Think carefully - test drive if you can....

As stated before, running non-native resolutions looks blurry.

Running some crazy 1280x1024+ native resolution makes text so small you end up pulling the screen closer, thus negating all that desk space you just freed up.

They are not very good at "odd" refresh rates so emulators are out.

Also, they are not as good as CRT for scrolling images so FPS shooters are out.

Bottom line: good for office use, weigh up the odds for home / gaming use.

Cheers, Bfef.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom