TFT Monitors 20''

TFT Monitors 20''

TFT monitors are slowly but surely consigning the old CRT giants to the rubbish heap. Their prices are getting lower and lower, their space saving design speaks for itself and they are far more energy efficient than the older standard. Flatscreen monitors do have their weaknesses, not least the low native resolution of smaller models. A 20 inch monitor can normally support a resolution of about 1600 x 1200 pixels which means there are that many sets of tiny transistors and liquid crystals making up the image. The response time of these crystals is a deciding factor in choosing a monitor. 'Value' monitors and professional grade monitors can have a difference in response time of up to 4 milliseconds. For 3D gamers or cinephiles a slower response time can lead to a poor experience. Also manufacturers tend to only quote the black to white response time which is not as important or telling as the grey to grey response, which should be no less than 8ms. Just as important is the contrast ratio, this decides how visible the picture will be in a lighted room for instance. A contrast ration of 400:1 is the minimum and anything over that is advisable. 20 inch monitors usually include digital connections or digital-analogue DVI-I sockets, this will still require an adapter to be used with analogue signals but guarantees the monitor will be future proof and, when used with a graphics card with a similar connector, will form an almost lossless link between computer and screen.