LCD or CRT for DAW

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 4:53 pm

Sorry for all the acronyms in the subject. I have recently had a bad monitor buying experience and am interested in what you guys use or prefer for those long nights editing.

I needed to get a new monitor for my editing console as my fine old Hitachi 19" CRT finally failed.

Thinking I preferred CRT's to LCD due to the speed and lack of shadowing and trails, I purchased a new Viewsonic 19" P95+ "professional series" CRT. What a mistake, this thing had huge sections of fuzzy pixels, went back three times for repairs as it was DOA and I only just got a refund some 5 months later.

Anyway, so frustrated by the bendy screen edges and out of perpendicular and fuzzy pixels in what seems like most CRT's these days, I replaced the VS with a SONY SDM-X93 flat sceen with a DVI input. WOW! Great quality for static stuff. Scrolling waveforms in Wavelab are a bit funny looking but its wonderful for everthing else and I do not need a bollard under the back of the desk to stop it tipping with the CRT's.

What's the consensus on monitors. Are you guys LCD users now?

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:11 pm

I've never had a problem with any of the 3 LCD monitors I've owned. The first one I had could only support 1024x768, so I sold it to my brother.

Eventhough the LCDs I have are on the "affordable" side of the price spectrum, I've never had any issues with ghosting, brightness, or contrast. (One has a 25ms response time, the other is 16ms. The other specs elude me at the moment)

Overall, I much prefer LCD to CRT. However, CRTs are markedly cheaper.

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 8:54 pm

Dave,

I was dragged kicking and screaming into the world of LCD just to find out that much of what I thought I didn't like about them was either false or insignificant. Granted, I would never edit a digital photo on them, I far prefer their response to my Viewsonic 19" CRT.

Of course, since I use a portable PC recording rig, it's also just a tad more manageable. Laughing

J...

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 10:09 pm

I have dual 19" LCDs - just got the second one. While response time is apparent with some things - usually very small, high contrast, moving things - such as the starfield screen saver - for audio work I have not had any issues at all. I love the great contrast, and clear image.

I love them.

I have the Samsung 912Ns - 800:1 contrast ratio. These are analog - I use a KVM switch so I didn't bother with digital inputs. I love the LCD for image editing.

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 12:58 am

LCD's all the way... I still have my 21" CRT here in the studio, but I bring an LCD out into the field and I much prefer it. I can't wait to get rid of my current monitor as the flicker kills my eyes when working for hours on end... That being said, though, if I'm going to spend $1000 on something, it really needs to be preamps and mics right now...

--Ben

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:01 am

I'm using my LAST 19" CRTs for dual-monitoring.

I'll spring for LCDs next time - less flicker, heat and size. I've heard that CRT's are still the better choice for Video editing, but somehow we'll make it work for the times when we do that. (Got a TV nearby to check it anyway...)

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:55 am

I'm a firm believer in LCDs. I like the way each pixel is discreet, instead of the smear from a CRT. I have a small screen but the resolution is 1400 by whatever, and while everything is tiny, I like it that way. You'd need a very big CRT to get the same amount of pixels to look clear.

I hate LCDs for watching films though. A nice big and expensive CRT looks great -but as I've said many times before, money is meant to be spent on microphones. Apart from that it's sack-cloth and ashes all the way Very Happy

John

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:45 pm

Cucco wrote:

Dave,

I was dragged kicking and screaming into the world of LCD just to find out that much of what I thought I didn't like about them was either false or insignificant. Granted, I would never edit a digital photo on them, I far prefer their response to my Viewsonic 19" CRT.

Of course, since I use a portable PC recording rig, it's also just a tad more manageable. Laughing

J...

My feelings paralell Jeremy's on this subject. There are still things I would never do on an LCD (Gaming, Image Editing etc.) but for DAW use I have to recommend them. They have definitely improved although I still hate the backlighting. I am currently running (2) 19" NEC Multisync's but have decided to get a wide screen LCD (perhaps the Apple Very Happy

) after setting a friend's system up with one. The wide screens are perfect for DAW use, although pricey as you can display the full mixer on screen, no more scrolling. After figuring the price of (2) standard LCD's would be close to the price of a widescreen anyway the choice was clear. I will keep one of my CRT's close by for video editing but my next display will be a widescreen LCD. I am intending to get a small LCD for my mobile rig as well.

BTW, Although not an issue with accoustic music, the pickups in electric guitars and CRT's don't play well together causing a hum in your tracks. LCD's don't suffer from the same issues.

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 4:08 pm

I am loving this SONY SDM-X93. Its so damn straight everywhere. Thanks for your thoughts, interesting.

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