Video Monitors Buyer's Guide (page 2)

Obviously, if you're shooting standard definition (SD), a high-definition (HD) monitor is a bit of overkill, as the high-definition features will go to waste and will display only really nice standard-definition video. (However, this strategy might eventually pay off for you, if HD equipment is in your future.)

On the other hand, an SD monitor will display only SD images. While HD video on these monitors will look great, you will never get anything other than a strong SD signal.

So, which to choose? It depends on your needs, your equipment and your wallet. As a rule, SD glass monitors are less expensive than plastic flat-panel monitors of the same resolution, but the difference is quickly narrowing. Glass monitors are slowly fading away, as LCD, plasma and OLED emerge as the monitors of choice.

Also, the 4:3 aspect ratio in monitors is going the way of the dinosaur and Beta tape players. Now, 16:9 widescreen is the standard ratio, allowing for the pseudo-Cinemascope feel of a real movie screen. Most monitors actually give a choice of 4:3 or 16:9, via electronic menu selections or a physical switch on a remote or on the side of the monitor. If you have a variety of both videos, make sure your monitor supports this feature.

One measurement that many manufacturers tout is the contrast resolution of the monitor. This is NOT the measurement of the sharpness of a given image and does not directly determine the "high-definition" quality of an image. Rather, it's the measure of the difference of light intensity between the brightest white and the deepest black portions of the screen.

Generally, the larger the difference in contrast (i.e., 1000:1), the brighter an image may appear. And it's that difference in brightness that may create the illusion of a higher-clarity image. An LCD monitor is actually limited to its "native resolution," depending on the screen size (for instance, 1680x1050 for a 20" widescreen monitor), and it can get no better. Although you can specify a lower resolution, you cannot make it higher than its native resolution.

Most monitors are of fairly high quality and will deliver a strong, bright, crisp image all along the line. Once you determine the size you require and the budget you must work within, the ultimate tool to measure and determine the right monitor for you has been with you all your life: a good set of eyeballs. After all, only you choose which monitor looks best to you... and isn't that the most important measurement of all?

Randy Hansen is a television news chief photographer who uses monitors in edit bays, live trucks and at home.

With the advent of high-end home theater systems in the past few years, the line between the professional video monitor and the home video screen has blurred. As the demand for truer images and sound has increased, high-end manufacturers have looked toward the professional video industry for high-quality video and audio connections to satisfy the call for better and better results.

Like most electronics, over the course of time, the technologies that enabled professional-level features on only the most expensive electronics started to find their way into more mainstream products. As a result, there are monitors that can double as TVs, and there are TVs that can double as monitors. There’s little doubt that time and a changing marketplace will ensure that, at some future point, all TVs will be monitors and the need for either will be satisfied by one product.

The winners in this battle of the marketplace are the customers who look for these once-expensive options to be standard on their low-buck purchases. Namely, people like you and me. We win!

To download PDF of Manufacturer's list, CLICK HERE.

• Digg This!
• del.icio.us
• Technorati
• StumbleUpon
• Reddit