DisplayBlog

Facts:

• 22″ wide LCD monitor
• Pixel format: 1680 x 1050, making it a 16:10 aspect ratio
• Brightness: 280 cd/m2
• Contrast ratio: 700:1
• Response time: 5ms (gray-to-gray)
• Viewing angles: 160/160
• Video inputs: VGA, DVI

Opinion: There seems to be a $20.00 mail-in rebate going on for Samsung’s 225BW. The 225BW is a 22″ wide LCD monitor with a pixel format of 1680 x 1050. Now, I prefer higher pixel formats but there is a problem with them. Current operating systems are not able to take very good advantage and what that means is that fonts and icons tend to become smaller with higher resolution (display area / # of pixels). Even Windows Vista is not very good at scaling DPI. So, for those who want a fairly good-sized user interface with fonts and icons that are very readable, the 22″ wide LCD monitor with 1680 x 1050 should be welcome. Some have said that 20″ wide with 1680 x 1050 produce fonts and icons that are a tad too small. With prices around $275.00 for Samsung’s 225BW, a 22″ LCD monitor looks like a great bargain.

Acer introduced five new LCD monitors in the US. I would like to concentrate on the 24″ wide LCD monitor, the x241Wsd. It has a pixel format of 1920 x 1200, enough to view Full HD 1080p video content, a contrast ratio of 1000:1, a brightness of 400 cd/m2 and a response time of 5ms. The external design is ok but is nothing to write home about: I think some of Dell’s new monitor designs actually look better than this, which is saying a lot about how average this Acer looks from the picture.

The 22″ version (x221Wsd) sports a 1680 x 1050 pixel format that is really good for nothing when it comes to video. That pixel format isn’t all that useful for two-page mode either since each page has only 840 x 1050 pixels. The only useful tool is Excel as you get many more columns to work with. The best, in my humble opinion, is to get 1920 x 1200. Full HD video, two-page (960 x 1200, not ideal, but better than most), and tons of columns in Excel. The x241Wsd is priced right at $600.

Source: Engadget

Viewsonic’s N2060w is a 20″ wide LCD TV with a pixel format of 1366 x 768. Viewsonic categorizes the N2060w as a desktop display. As a desktop display, it does not have enough pixels for the size. I would much rather spend less money and get more pixels. The N2060w has a 700:1 contrast ratio, 160/140 horizontal/vertical viewing angle, 8ms gray-to-gray (GTG) response time, and a brightness of 450 cd/m2. Inputs include PC, RCA, component, and S-video. Although the specifications seem to say “HD”, it only has a NTSC tuner, meaning SD. There are stereo speakers rated at 3W each. Obviously, the N2060w is geared for a child’s bedroom, a tiny living room or family room, the kitchen or a massive bathroom.

My thoughts on the 1366 x 768 pixel format is simple: stay away. Everything you see on the LCD will need to be scaled if you’re watching video. It doesn’t matter what the video source is; there is nothing that is native 1366 x 768. Go for 1280 x 720 if you can find it. I think Westinghouse Digital came out with a 27″ LCD TV that has that pixel format, but it’s not easy to find. The best thing to do is to go ahead an purchase a nice LCD TV with a pixel format of 1920 x 1080. In this case, at least you will know that 1080i content will not be scaled. Viewsonic’s N2060w is priced at $459.00 and you only get it in black.

Source: Viewsonic

Innolux Display, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of LCDs, is planning to mass produce 22″ wide LCD monitor panels later this month. Innolux is currently developing a 26″ wide LCD monitor panel and plans to mass produce it in early 2007.

Remember one of the first 22″ LCD monitors? I believe it was Apple that came out with a 22″, but the resolution was much less than what we have now at 1680 x 1050. I’m not sure why the resurgence of 22″, but it must have something to do with how G6 and G7 LCD fabs are optimized. I personally do not like the 22″ size and resolution as it does not give me any additional pixel real estate than a 20″ but costs more. Same deal with 26″: I’d stick with yesterday’s 23″ at the same resolution of 1920 x 1200.

Source: FPDisplay

The 4.3″ wide TFT LCD has a resolution of 800 x 480 and is made by TPO Displays. FYI, TPO was created by merging Toppoly and Philips’ small/medium LCD operation. TPO is expecting 30K-60K unit shipments of its 4.3″ LCD in 2007. In my opinion, the 4.3″ has a resolution that will enable viewing of DVD-quality movies in a unit about the size of the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Currently the PSP has a resolution of only 480 x 272. Hmm. A PSP spec bump to 800 x 480 with a slide up screen and QWERTY keyboard? That would be nice. Yes, kill off the mylo.

Source: EETimes