How to buy the best monitor on the market
TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW:CRT
resolution: the number of pixels in the whole image.
For example, a resolution of 1,280x1,024 pixels means that 1,024 lines are drawn
from the top to the bottom of the screen, and each of these lines is made up of
1,280 separate pixels.
VGA: video
graphics array, equal to a resolution of 640x480 pixels
SVGA: super video graphics array, equal to a
resolution of 800x600
XGA: extended
graphics array, equal to a resolution of 1,024x768
UVGA: ultra video graphics array, equal to a
resolution of 1,280x1,024
display area:
the measurement taken diagonally from one corner to the opposite
corner (the same way it's done for TVs). CRTs include the outer frame, or
bezel (which typically adds an extra inch) in the measurement; for LCDs,
the viewable screen area is measured.
footprint: the amount of space a monitor takes up on
your desk
CRT: a big bell of glass with electron guns at
one end and a viewing screen at the other
Trinitron: a type of CRT developed by Sony. It
differs from the standard tube types because it employs an aperture grille
instead of the usual shadow mask.
aperture
grille: in Trinitron monitors, the aperture grille is a series of
wires stretched vertically down the inside of the CRT (cathode ray tube) to mask
the beams from the electron guns at the back of the tube. In other types of
monitors, this function falls to a perforated metal plate called a shadow
mask.
shadow mask: a metal plate
with holes in it that focuses the beams from the electron guns at the back of
the CRT. The distance between these holes is called the dot pitch.
electron gun: a CRT is made up of
three electron guns that produce a stream of electrons, each of which causes a
red, green, or blue phosphor to light up. Controlled by electromagnetism, the
electron guns sweep across the screen, their strength varying so that a colored
image is drawn.
display area: the
measurement taken diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner (the same
way it's done for TVs). CRTs include the outer frame, or bezel (which
typically adds an extra inch) in the measurement; for LCDs, the viewable screen
area is measured.
refresh rate: the
image on your computer monitor doesn't just appear fully formed on the screen's
phosphors: it's drawn line by line with beams fired from three electron guns at
the back of the CRT. The frequency at which they redraw the image is called the
refresh rate, measured in hertz.
TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW:LCD
LCD: a liquid-crystal display is created by
sandwiching an electrically reactive substance between two electrodes. LCDs can
be darkened or lightened by applying and removing current. Large numbers of LCDs
grouped closely together can act as pixels in a flat-panel display.
TFT: the prevalent technology for
building the LCD screens for both desktop displays and laptops. TFT screens are
brighter and more readable than dual-scan LCD screens but consume more power and
are generally more expensive.
native resolution:
the setting for LCD monitors that produces the sharpest picture.
Unlike CRTs, LCDs work best at one resolution because there are a set number of
pixels on the screen.
nits: short for
candelas per square meter, a unit of measure for brightness
stuck/dead pixel: a pixel on an LCD screen that is
either permanently on (stuck) or permanently off (dead)
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