Flatscreen LCD Monitors are now the displays of choice for computer users. But what exactly are LCD…
In this article I am going to review the Samsung Syncmaster 205BW, which is a flat-screen monitor.
Flatscreen LCD Monitors are now the displays of choice for computer users. But what exactly are LCD monitors and what special features do they possess? Here is the low down on LCD monitors and what you should look out for when buying one.
How they operate
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitors work by passing an electric current through kinematic liquid crystals. The liquid crystal don’t emit light themselves, but work by modulating the light that is supplied by an external source. This light also passes through p two polarizing filters to create images.
Comparison between former and modern LCDs
The earliest LCDs were passive-matrix, which uses integrated circuits to charge a given pixel. However, modern LCD monitors use active-matrix which use thin film transistors to motive the pixels, improving on the slow response times that plagued passive-matrix displays.
Resolution
Each pixel in a LCD has three sub-pixels consisting of the primary colors of red, blue and green. Through the modulation of the voltage applied, each sub-pixel can be made to display over 256 shades, allowing the LCD to display an extraordinary 16.8 million colors.
Modern LCD monitors use an extremely high number of transistors. A typical monitor that supports resolutions of 1,024 x 768 will use over 2 million transistors etched onto the glass. A malfunctioning transistor will create a ‘bad pixel’. Most active-matrix LCDs have a few ‘bad pixel’ on the screen.
Although the cheapest LCD monitors are illuminated by fluorescent tube, better quality newer ones have LEDs which provide far better quality thanks to better control over individual pixels.
Aspect Ratio
Although viewing angles used to be restricted on LCD displays, technological improvements have enabled modern displays to have a 180 degree horizontal viewing angle although the vertical viewing angles continues to be restricted, mainly due to cost reasons.
LCD displays come with different aspect ratios, which is the ratio of width to height. Most modern displays have an aspect ratio of 16:9 to accommodate high-definition film, although 4:3 ratios are also common.
Advantages
Compared to CRT monitors and plasma TVs, LCD monitors consume much less power, enabling it to be used in battery-powered devices such as laptop computers. Their slimmer profile and great picture quality, combined with their environmentally friendly operation go a long way in explaining their great popularity.
When choosing a new LCD display, try and buy one that has LED lighting for even better quality and energy efficiency.
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BenQ XL2411T |
BenQ LCD Monitors | ||
24 Inches
![]() 1 review – 17 user opinions – 2 news – 1 video
BenQ XL2411T
DigitalVersus —
01-2014
While the BenQ XL2411T beats the XL2420T on response time and input lag, it doesn’t offer quite as many connections and there’s still a trace of reverse ghosting. You also need to change a fair few… Hide
BenQ XL2411T | Read more
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£110 to £470
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BenQ XL2720T |
BenQ LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 4 reviews – 118 user opinions – 1 news – 9 videos – 10 photos
BenQ XL2720Z
DigitalVersus —
02-2014
The BenQ XL2720Z doesn’t make too many crazy changes to the excellent XL2720T gaming monitor. In fact, with the same casing and stand plus the same basic hardware features, it’s more like a revamped… Hide
BenQ XL2720Z | Read more
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£342
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Dell P2314T |
Dell LCD Monitors | ||
23 Inches
![]() 3 reviews – 41 user opinions – 6 news – 1 video – 6 photos
Dell P2314T
DigitalVersus —
01-2014
Essentially, the Dell P2314T is just the same as the P2714T, so it’s only logical to see the same strengths and weaknesses in both models. As well as offering decent image quality (Delta E = 3.4),… Hide
Dell P2314T | Read more
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£35 to £40
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Asus MX299Q |
Asus LCD Monitors | ||
29 Inches
![]() 1 review – 36 user opinions – 1 news – 5 videos – 6 photos |
£65 to £380
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AOC E1659Fwu |
AOC LCD Monitors | ||
16 Inches
![]() 1 review – 255 user opinions – 5 news – 5 videos – 5 photos |
£90 to £300
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Acer B276HUL |
Acer LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 1 review – 22 user opinions – 1 news – 1 video – 6 photos |
£10
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Acer B296CL |
Acer LCD Monitors | ||
29 Inches
![]() 2 reviews – 16 user opinions – 1 video – 1 photo
Acer B296CL
DigitalVersus —
04-2014
The Acer B296CL is a good monitor. Colour fidelity is decent, response times are respectable and there’s a good range of hardware features. All in all, it’s a versatile display. It’s a shame that… Hide
Acer B296CL | Read more
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£10
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ViewSonic VA2446M-LED |
ViewSonic LCD Monitors | ||
24 Inches
![]() 289 user opinions – 1 news – 1 video – 4 photos |
£22 to £271
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Philips 242G5DJEB |
Philips LCD Monitors | ||
24 Inches
![]() 1 review – 27 user opinions – 2 news – 2 videos
Philips Brilliance 242G5DJEB
DigitalVersus —
12-2013
The Philips Brilliance 242G5DJEB is a perfectly suitable display for gamers. The response time is fast enough for action-packed games like FPS, and the good choice of connections, USB hub, remote… Hide
Philips Brilliance 242G5DJEB | Read more
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£4 to £32
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LG 23ET83 |
LG LCD Monitors | ||
23 Inches
![]() 2 reviews – 12 user opinions – 7 videos – 13 photos
LG 23ET83V-W
DigitalVersus —
11-2013
Although the LG 23T83V-W does have plenty of qualities, this 23″ touchscreen monitor has one key downfall—the stand just isn’t designed to make touchscreen use practical or comfortable. This makes… Hide
LG 23ET83V-W | Read more
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£72 to £654
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ViewSonic VP2772 |
ViewSonic LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 4 reviews – 4 news – 3 videos – 1 photo
What this professional monitor lacks in style it makes up with exceptional picture quality
TechRadar —
04-2014
The increasing availability of cheaper 4K monitors has had our collective fingers waggling excitedly over ‘buy’ buttons in recent months, placing the onus on manufacturers to up the appeal of panels… Hide
What this professional monitor lacks in style it makes up with exceptional picture quality | Read more
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£719
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Dell P2714T |
Dell LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 3 reviews – 2 user opinions – 9 news – 2 videos – 6 photos
Dell P2714T
DigitalVersus —
12-2013
Selling at a similar price to 27″ WQHD (2560 x 1440p) monitors, the Dell P2714T sticks with Full HD (1920 x 1080p) resolution but comes with touchscreen controls. Pay your money, take your choice. Hide
Dell P2714T | Read more
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£35 to £40
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Philips 298P4QJEB |
Philips LCD Monitors | ||
29 Inches
![]() 3 reviews – 12 user opinions – 1 news – 5 videos – 5 photos
Philips Brilliance 298P4QJEB
DigitalVersus —
10-2013
The Philips 298P4JEB is a practical 29″ 21:9 monitor with excellent colour fidelity. However, it faces very tough competition from the likes of the ViewSonic VP2770-LED, which can offer a more… Hide
Philips Brilliance 298P4QJEB | Read more
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£65
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Iiyama ProLite GB2773HS |
Iiyama LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 1 review – 3 news
Iiyama ProLite GB2773HS
DigitalVersus —
12-2013
The Iiyama ProLite GB2773HS is a decent gaming monitor that will work just as well hooked up to a PC as a games console. With its speedy refresh rate and good response time, this display is suitable… Hide
Iiyama ProLite GB2773HS | Read more
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£390
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Acer G276HL |
Acer LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 293 user opinions – 1 video – 4 photos |
£80 to £280
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Samsung SyncMaster S24C750P |
Samsung LCD Monitors | ||
24 Inches
![]() 1 review – 17 user opinions – 4 photos
Samsung S24C750P
DigitalVersus —
11-2013
With colour fidelity that could be better and a screen that’s not responsive enough for gamers, the Samsung S24C750P is only really suitable for office-style computing. Still, those kinds of users… Hide
Samsung S24C750P | Read more
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£24
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Asus MX239H |
Asus LCD Monitors | ||
23 Inches
![]() 2 reviews – 106 user opinions – 4 videos – 18 photos |
£80 to £374
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Iiyama ProLite XB2779QS |
Iiyama LCD Monitors | ||
27 Inches
![]() 2 reviews – 4 news – 1 video
Review: Iiyama ProLite XB2779QS
Hexus —
12-2013
A recent spate of high-end graphics card launches – Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti and Radeon R9 290X, for example – have ably demonstrated that gaming at a full-HD resolution (1,920×1,080) is alarmingly… Hide
Review: Iiyama ProLite XB2779QS | Read more
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£390
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Asus PQ321QE |
Asus LCD Monitors | ||
32 Inches
![]() 4 reviews – 5 news – 2 videos – 2 photos
The 4K future is here, but it’ll cost you
TechRadar —
11-2013
Thirty inches. 2,560 by 1,600 grid. Four million pixels. That was the gold standard in PC displays. But it’s just been blown away. Welcome to the wonderful world of ultra-high-definition visuals. Hide
The 4K future is here, but it’ll cost you | Read more
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£80 to £374
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AOC q2963Pm |
AOC LCD Monitors | ||
29 Inches
![]() 2 reviews – 242 user opinions – 3 news – 6 videos – 9 photos
Review: AOC Q2963PM 29in UltraWide IPS LED Monitor
Hexus —
08-2013
PC enthusiasts and gamers understand that modern graphics cards are able to play the latest games at resolutions way above the standard 1,920×1,080 (1080p) available on a wide range of inexpensive… Hide
Review: AOC Q2963PM 29in UltraWide IPS LED Monitor | Read more
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£90 to £300
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