Blurry Text on LCDs?

Hi there,

I'm in the market for a new monitor and I've been doing the usual routine of
research and checking them out in stores.

I was all set to purchase a 17" LCD when I read some blurbs about problems
with fuzzy text. Sure enough when I went in yesterday and specifically
checked them out with text it looked like garbage.

I tried several different Samsung 712Ns, 172Xs as well as 710MPs (I was
interested in a 710T, but nobody has one on display). As I said, I tried
several of the same model, on different computers. Some with integrated
graphics and some with very nice video cards. I had heard that Samsungs were
all that, so this really surprised me. I then did the same routine with a
couple of Sony LCDs and a Medion (???) on two different machines and it was
the same story. I made sure that the ClearText option was checked (it
certainly looked even worse without!).

Have I been looking at the wrong models, or is this a concern with all LCDs?
In theory they are supposed to reduce eyestrain! A few minutes of looking at
it and I thought I was going cross-eyed. Is there a monitor and/or
monitor/video card combination that eliminates this problem, or do I just
buy a big-assed 19" CRT and deal for a couple of years until this issue is
sorted out? For the record, I don't do any gaming on my system so the text
is *really* the important factor.

Thanks,
Martha

Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
resolutions.

> Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
> resolutions.
>
I can't comment on any of the other LCD's you may have looked at, and I
wonder if they had been set up correctly in the first place, but I have a
Sony 19" X-Black SDM-HS94P and the text is stunning. I dumped 22" Iiyama
CRT for this becasue of the text quality and fantastic image clarity. Also,
it's great for games with its 12ms response time. The text on here is the
best I've ever seen .

On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 18:47:25 -0400, "Martha"
<unknown@nospamplease.com> wrote:

>Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
>resolutions.
>
Then the text should have been sharp. Text displays sharper on LCD at
native res than on a CRT. Only time it isn't sharp is when you are not
looking at it in it's native res.

> >Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
> >resolutions.
> >
> Then the text should have been sharp. Text displays sharper on LCD at
> native res than on a CRT. Only time it isn't sharp is when you are not
> looking at it in it's native res.

Well, they were at their native res - that was one of the first things I
checked. The sales dudes saw it too, so we can't blame my eyes. :-) I was at
more than one store as well. They were hooked up to dedicated PCs to ensure
it wasn't signal degradation from being split to multiple monitors. FWIW, it
was at its worst when it was black text on a grey background.

If you do some poking around you will find a number of complaints on the
issue. I'm trying to figure out if it relates to particular models/brands or
if it is something inherent in LCDs.

>> Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
>> resolutions.
>>
> I can't comment on any of the other LCD's you may have looked at, and I
> wonder if they had been set up correctly in the first place, but I have a
> Sony 19" X-Black SDM-HS94P and the text is stunning. I dumped 22" Iiyama
> CRT for this becasue of the text quality and fantastic image clarity.
> Also, it's great for games with its 12ms response time. The text on here
> is the best I've ever seen .
>

How long have you had the sony? Its a new model isn't it:
http://www.sony.co.uk/ShowProduct.d...oduct=SDM-HS94P

How do you rate it as I can't find any reviews.

Where did you get it from, as most stores including Sony Style seem
expensive at £550 ish.

Many thanks

> How long have you had the sony? Its a new model isn't it:
> http://www.sony.co.uk/ShowProduct.d...oduct=SDM-HS94P
>
> How do you rate it as I can't find any reviews.
>
> Where did you get it from, as most stores including Sony Style seem
> expensive at £550 ish.
>
> Many thanks

It is a new model and I had quite a time trying to find one. In the end I
ordered it through Micro Anvika (£499)
http://www.microanvika.com/default.asp
They have a shop in Selfridges in Trafford Centre and I picked it up from
there. Very impressed with the service.

The monitor itself is pretty much faultless. I plugged it in and connected
it to the DVI input on my graphics card and it worked fine. Default
resolution is 1280x1024, and as I said, the text quality is supreme.
Everything I've run looks clearer, sharper and more colourful than the old
monitor(s). Another niggle I've always had with big CRT's is the way edges
never look straight on windows..if you know what I mean. There always
appeared to be some curvature to lines, even on flat screen CRT's. The
Iiyama 22" highlighted this problem specifically and I couldn't live with
it. That and the slightly blurred text.
3D games run perfectly with absolutely no ghosting issues on the Sony. I
would say that with games, the 22" Iiyama did look a little better, but you
had to mess about with refresh rates for different games, something that you
don't need to do with the Sony via it's DVI input. It is genuinely plug and
play.
Any negative points on the Sony ? Nope, not really apart from the manual,
which is a waste of time, to be honest.

"redTed" <redted@nthelloworld.com> wrote in message
news:2ru4niF1ccpncU1@uni-berlin.de...
>> How long have you had the sony? Its a new model isn't it:
>> http://www.sony.co.uk/ShowProduct.d...oduct=SDM-HS94P
>>
>> How do you rate it as I can't find any reviews.
>>
>> Where did you get it from, as most stores including Sony Style seem
>> expensive at £550 ish.
>>
>> Many thanks
>
> It is a new model and I had quite a time trying to find one. In the end I
> ordered it through Micro Anvika (£499)
> http://www.microanvika.com/default.asp
> They have a shop in Selfridges in Trafford Centre and I picked it up from
> there. Very impressed with the service.
>
> The monitor itself is pretty much faultless. I plugged it in and connected
> it to the DVI input on my graphics card and it worked fine. Default
> resolution is 1280x1024, and as I said, the text quality is supreme.
> Everything I've run looks clearer, sharper and more colourful than the old
> monitor(s). Another niggle I've always had with big CRT's is the way edges
> never look straight on windows..if you know what I mean. There always
> appeared to be some curvature to lines, even on flat screen CRT's. The
> Iiyama 22" highlighted this problem specifically and I couldn't live with
> it. That and the slightly blurred text.
> 3D games run perfectly with absolutely no ghosting issues on the Sony. I
> would say that with games, the 22" Iiyama did look a little better, but
> you had to mess about with refresh rates for different games, something
> that you don't need to do with the Sony via it's DVI input. It is
> genuinely plug and play.
> Any negative points on the Sony ? Nope, not really apart from the manual,
> which is a waste of time, to be honest.
>

Thanks for the response. Did Micro Anvika have this model on display? If so
I'll wander along to Tottenham Court Road again and have a look at it first
hand. What res did you run on the 22" crt?

Thanks

>
> Thanks for the response. Did Micro Anvika have this model on display? If
> so I'll wander along to Tottenham Court Road again and have a look at it
> first hand. What res did you run on the 22" crt?
>

When I went in to Micro Anvika they had the 17" X-Black on display. Who
knows what they have at the Tottenham Court Road branch..Being the main one
I would think they should have the whole range on display.

I ran the CRT at the recommended setting of 1600x1200-85hz, but the effect
was the same at 1280x1024.

"redTed" <redted@nthelloworld.com> wrote in message
news:2s00ujF1f5bpfU1@uni-berlin.de...
> >
>> Thanks for the response. Did Micro Anvika have this model on display? If
>> so I'll wander along to Tottenham Court Road again and have a look at it
>> first hand. What res did you run on the 22" crt?
>>
>
> When I went in to Micro Anvika they had the 17" X-Black on display. Who
> knows what they have at the Tottenham Court Road branch..Being the main
> one I would think they should have the whole range on display.
>
> I ran the CRT at the recommended setting of 1600x1200-85hz, but the effect
> was the same at 1280x1024.

Many thanks.