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Just looking at some 20inch LCD specs and wondered which things I should be looking out for. I know the response time usually the lower the better (there is the new measurement I believe grey to grey or something?) , contrast ratio (higher the better?), brightness ratio (higher the better?), viewing angle (higher the better?)?

The reason I ask is that the apple cinema display 20" has a 400:1 contrast ration where the lacie 20" has a 700:1. Now why wouldn't you go the lacie?

kipper wrote:Just looking at some 20inch LCD specs and wondered which things I should be looking out for. I know the response time usually the lower the better (there is the new measurement I believe grey to grey or something?) , contrast ratio (higher the better?), brightness ratio (higher the better?), viewing angle (higher the better?)?

Viewing angles in marketing materials are along the lines of "you can see it at this angle" rather than "the colours are correct at this angle". Especially with the larger screens you want the colours to look correct across the entire screen without moving your head (and also if you do move your head a bit).

For editing work, brightness doesn't really matter these days: in a profiled/calibrated environment you'll probably turn the backlight down anyway.

Contrast ratio: higher the better (but different manufacturers measure it in different ways).
Response time: if you're playing games this might matter, but most screens these days are fast enough for most work. Again manufacturers measure it in different ways! Obviously a pixel can change from one shade of grey to another faster than it can change from full-on to full-off...

The reason I ask is that the apple cinema display 20" has a 400:1 contrast ration where the lacie 20" has a 700:1. Now why wouldn't you go the lacie?

Is that the Lacie 321? I would definitely go with the Lacie for editing work. It's a rebadged NEC, BTW.
The 321 is a 4:3-ratio screen while the ACD is a wide-aspect screen, if that makes a difference.

LaCie have this tendency to be either rebadged Mitusbishi's or NEC's and while the Apple is nice, I suspect most people buy the Apple over a Dell, LaCie, Samsung, Benq, or Viewsonic because of the same reason why most people buy an iPod before looking at the competition: design.

Why Lacie?
Lacie was a rebadged product from the Mitsubishi and NEC as I mentioned few months ago to mitedo and few other members, who asked for the 20" LCD in top notch, same as previously posters.
Cost of NEC + Mitsubishi is nearly 2/3 price of Lacie!

Dave, I can't afford the Lacie 321 as it's about 1000gbp which is roughly $2400AUD I'd be going along the lines of the Lacie 120 which is 480gbp ~ $1200AUD.

Leigh, personally the reason I'd be going the Apple over the Dell is purely because the difference in backlighting, the rumoured excessive heat that the Dell has at the base and the difficulties that somebody on NSN mentioned in regards to accurately calibrating them over the Apple.

DaveB wrote:Obviously a pixel can change from one shade of grey to another faster than it can change from full-on to full-off...

Actually having read further it turns out that some TFT technologies are faster at the full-on-to-full-off change than they are at grey-to-grey...

I don't know about that Lacie model though. The Apple is a fairly safe bet.

Birddog114 wrote:Why Lacie?
Lacie was a rebadged product from the Mitsubishi and NEC as I mentioned few months ago to mitedo and few other members, who asked for the 20" LCD in top notch, same as previously posters.
Cost of NEC + Mitsubishi is nearly 2/3 price of Lacie!

So would you go the NEC Mitsubishi over the Apple? I was looking at getting a 20"Apple screen soon but would always be happy to save some money.

cheers doug

Birddog114 wrote:Cost of NEC + Mitsubishi is nearly 2/3 price of Lacie!

Dug wrote:So would you go the NEC Mitsubishi over the Apple? I was looking at getting a 20"Apple screen soon but would always be happy to save some money.

Apple is actually one of the cheaper options for a decent 20" LCD.

LaCie 120 has a 20 inch 16 ms P-MVA panel. 1600x1200 pixels. Approx $1200.
Apple 20" ACD has a 20 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel. 1680x1050 pixels widescreen. $1250 inc delivery.
NEC LCD2070NX has a 20 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201U04) panel. 1600x1200 pixels. At approx $1300 this is the cheapest of the NEC 20" units.

I suspect Birddog was comparing the higher-spec monitors: LaCie 321 at approximately $3000 vs. its matching NEC equivalent the LCD2180UX at approx $1800.

Of course you might be able to better those prices if you're lucky, but they should be indicative.

DaveB wrote:Apple 20" ACD has a 20 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel. 1680x1050 pixels widescreen. $1250 inc delivery.

or, if you're eligible to purchase at education rates (TAFE/University student/staff), the 20" Apple Cinema Display is $1098 delivered

see http://www.apple.com.au/edustore

MMM anyone eligible for that discount?

I went to school once but cannot remember anything except I would never go back

Good point Daniel, I forgot about that!

Or you could buy a Dell 24" (widescreen: 1920x1200 pixels) at $1300.
They change their discounts every week or two: that's the current price. Actually this morning when they introduced the new price they made a mistake on the website and if you were quick you could get one for $1200 (including delivery!).

Dell 2405FPW has a 24 inch 12 ms (g2g) PVA (Samsung LTM240M1-L01) panel. Quoted at a 1000:1 contrast ratio.
I've used one of these for photo editing, and if you take a little care in calibrating/profiling it, it performs very nicely!

I suspect Birddog was comparing the higher-spec monitors: LaCie 321 at approximately $3000 vs. its matching NEC equivalent the LCD2180UX at approx $1800.

Yes, this the one I would like to recommend!

If I go for a decent 20" LCD (Not the above) there're few brands with better prices than Lacie or Apple.

Shop around and you may find one good in both term.