VGA on CRT vs. DVI on LCD

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Eshelon

Weaksauce
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Considering only image quality, that is, remove the variables of weight (LCDs) and resolution flexibility (CRTs) and other such advantages each has, which has the best image quality?

I ask this because I currently have a CRT that I like just fine. It's a 19" ViewSonic. It's not new, but it's blacks are black, and it's whites are very white. It's also very bright, something I consider a top priority in my displays. I have a friend who owns 2 LCDs and both have exactly 1 dead pixel (a really big turn off for me). But what it really comes down to for me is image quality. Every LCD I see at Best Buy is just too dim or too blurry, but I see pics in these forums of some of the LCD setups you guys have and they look pretty damn nice. But it's just a pic! Who's to say? Only those who have used both extensively, and I haven't. So, ceteris paribus, which has the best image quality?
 
Unfortunately it's subjective because it's about what the end user wants.

For text, and crispness, and being pixel perfect LCD's win hands down.
On the otherhand CRT's have a much better contrast ratio, and more vibrant colours.

For graphical work involving lots of colour, picture editing, and movie work I'd recommend a CRT. It's just an obvious choice.

However keep in mind knowing this, I'm currently a LCD user.
 
Best Buy is a terrible place to shop for a monitor, LCD or CRT... all the ones I've been to, one signal (VGA) is split between all the screens, at a low resolution which doesn't scale nicely on LCDs; none of them have their colors calibrated correctly, all of them have been manhandled and have dirty fingerprints, etc. all over them... you get the idea.

I have both a CRT and an LCD... there are advantages to both, even when only considering image quality. Unless you have a real dud of a screen, CRTs have better contrast, no contest. (There are some panels which have pretty good contrast however; I believe they are the MVA / PVA panels? Perhaps someone can correct me on this.)

CRTs can have better colors, too, depending upon the type of matrix the LCD panel that you're comparing it to uses. Super-IPS panels (used by Apple in their Cinema Displays, as well as by Dell in some of their larger FPW models, and in some other screens) have the best color reproduction of all the panel types; I have an LG S-IPS beside my Trinitron, and the color accuracy on the LCD is quite good in comparison to the CRT. (Other LCDs are notoriously bad in the color department, performing dithering in an attempt to reproduce more colors. The Hyundai L90D+ is one such screen; some people love it for its quick response time, but dithering bothers me a great deal.)

One area in which LCDs beat CRTs (IMO) is in focus. It's always been troublesome getting the edges of the screen on a CRT to have the same focus as the center of the screen; since all the pixels on an LCD are the same distance apart, you have uniform focus. Color convergence is a bit of a mixed bag because of that fact though; on CRTs, you can get the convergence mostly perfect even in the corners (though this gets harder the larger the picture tube), while LCDs will always have a certain distance between pixels of different colors.

There are plenty of other factors to consider, of course, but you specifically asked just about image quality. ;) I don't know if there is a readily-available place you could go to compare properly the wide variety of screens that are out there. My advice is to do your homework, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of the screen(s) you're looking into vs. the kinds of things you want to use the screen for. Make sure you read several different reviews. If you put in the time, I think it's possible to find a screen you'll be happy with. It worked for me, at least. :) Good luck.
 
Eshelon said:
Considering only image quality, that is, remove the variables of weight (LCDs) and resolution flexibility (CRTs) and other such advantages each has, which has the best image quality?

I ask this because I currently have a CRT that I like just fine. It's a 19" ViewSonic. It's not new, but it's blacks are black, and it's whites are very white. It's also very bright, something I consider a top priority in my displays. I have a friend who owns 2 LCDs and both have exactly 1 dead pixel (a really big turn off for me). But what it really comes down to for me is image quality. Every LCD I see at Best Buy is just too dim or too blurry, but I see pics in these forums of some of the LCD setups you guys have and they look pretty damn nice. But it's just a pic! Who's to say? Only those who have used both extensively, and I haven't. So, ceteris paribus, which has the best image quality?
Click to expand...

Most of the LCDs you see at Best Buy are usually on the wrong settings and the wrong reosolutions leading to the bluriness you mentioned because they are not on native resolution. Also, like the previous poster, they are usually connected to a VGA splitter which splits the signal, leading to horrible degredation of image that I've seen too commonly. Find a computer shop that has LCDs connected to invididual computers via DVI.

That said, like the other poster said, it's very subjective. What is image quality to you? Clarity/Crispness/Sharpness? or Color repoduction/speed? Very few CRTs can compare to an LCD's brightness properly adjusted to maximum brightness, but that same LCD won't display with the same black level of that CRT. LCDs are still nowhere near the speeds of CRTs either.
 
Just great information there guys. If I had just thought about it a moment i should have figured out why the Best Buy LCDs look so bad. Good to know they don't really look like that. Definately a lot to think about here.

What do you guys think about Dead Pixels? How often do you get them? I was reading on Viewsonic's website that the probability of getting 7 dead pixels was .00018, which I assumed to be a binomial distribution and taking the 7th root of .00018 you get a dead pixel per-screen rate of .291. Basically a 30% chance to get at least one dead pixel. That seems really high to me. After messing around at my buddy's house with his that has a dead pixel I can tell it would really bug me, at first, but similar to how some CRT used to have that horrid horizontal line, perhaps your eyes get so used to it that it almost disapears?
 
Eshelon said:
Just great information there guys. If I had just thought about it a moment i should have figured out why the Best Buy LCDs look so bad. Good to know they don't really look like that. Definately a lot to think about here.

What do you guys think about Dead Pixels? How often do you get them? I was reading on Viewsonic's website that the probability of getting 7 dead pixels was .00018, which I assumed to be a binomial distribution and taking the 7th root of .00018 you get a dead pixel per-screen rate of .291. Basically a 30% chance to get at least one dead pixel. That seems really high to me. After messing around at my buddy's house with his that has a dead pixel I can tell it would really bug me, at first, but similar to how some CRT used to have that horrid horizontal line, perhaps your eyes get so used to it that it almost disapears?
Click to expand...
I had an LCD for a week. It had one stuck pixel (teal) and I never noticed it unless I was looking for it. Now I'm using an aperture grille CRT and I notice the aperture lines daily, but they stopped bothering me after a couple days.

As for VGA CRT vs DVI LCD, right now my FW900 looks practically as sharp as when I had DVI. Aside from that, I've had some minor geometry and convergence issues, neither of which are remotely noticeable during gaming which is where IQ really counts anyways. The geometry is quite noticeable in the bottom left corner during general use though.
 
Text wise, no CRT, not even 0.21 dot pitch ones can beat a properly set up DVI LCD.

30% dead pixel rate sounds about right to me. It's really a matter of luck but you can eventually find one with no dead/stuck pixels if you don't mind RMAs.
 
diapickle said:
Text wise, no CRT, not even 0.21 dot pitch ones can beat a properly set up DVI LCD.

30% dead pixel rate sounds about right to me. It's really a matter of luck but you can eventually find one with no dead/stuck pixels if you don't mind RMAs.
Click to expand...
I don't mind RMAs at all but I have yet to find a place with a zero dead pixel policy. Most places refuse to do exchanges / refunds for any less than 8 dead pixels.
 
If you buy instore you can always test it before you buy.
For online orders I doubt anyone would adopt a zero-dead-pixel tolerance policy because of shipping and restocking expenses.
 
diapickle said:
If you buy instore you can always test it before you buy.
For online orders I doubt anyone would adopt a zero-dead-pixel tolerance policy because of shipping and restocking expenses.
Click to expand...
You think Best Buy would let me un-box one and hook it up before I buy? Or maybe Circut City?
 
You don't have to do it there. I believe they all have 30-day free return/exchange policies.
 
diapickle said:
You don't have to do it there. I believe they all have 30-day free return/exchange policies.
Click to expand...
Oh of course! Hmmm good plan. I may just have to make another trip to Best Buy and see.. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I found it all quite valuable.
 
diapickle said:
If you buy instore you can always test it before you buy.
For online orders I doubt anyone would adopt a zero-dead-pixel tolerance policy because of shipping and restocking expenses.
Click to expand...

I know of a few online stores that have a zero-dead pixel policy. But they charge a special RMA fee for this.

And 30% dead pixel probability does seem a little high. I've had 4 LCDs and all have been problem free. But then again, on most 17 and 19" LCDs, that's 1 dead pixel out of 1,310,720 pixels!
 
SSlaytanic said:
pictures and movies and games are alot more vibrant on an LCD than a CRT.
Click to expand...
Maybe you've used a better LCD than me, but I think my FW900 is more vibrant than the Samsung 940B
 
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