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A Complete Guide To Monitors

What To Look For In Monitors​

There are many different types of monitors. Many types particularly targeted towards certain uses, such as video editing, needs more colour-accurate displays rather than office workers who may need a higher refresh rate to ease the strain jittery movements bring to their eyes apposed to smoother movements provided by higher refresh rates. in order to find the perfect monitor, you need to ask what is the task this monitor will be undertaking the most and gather the features that will best benefit you in those areas This blog aims to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the specifications of monitors, and breakdown what they mean and how they can benefit you.

Different Features Explained:​

Resolution

We will start with the easiest and most commonally know specification to read. Resolution refers to the number of pixels displayed on the monitor; for example, 1920×1080 is 1920 pixels across and 1080 pixels up. You multiply those numbers together to get the total amount of pixels displayed on the monitor. it tends to be shortened down to just 1080p for ease of use. The “P” stands for progressive rather than pixels as most people assume. This refers to the way the pixels make it on the screen as all the pixels appear at once rather than interlaced or 1080i, which stands for interlaced. Interlaced means half of the pixels load and half for the next frame loads with it, saving on bandwidth. This is rarely used anymore as the average person now has the bandwidth speeds to use progressive, which greatly improves the quality of the screen. The higher the resolution of the screen, the more data and therefore quality can be projected onto it. For example, 1440P would have more details than 1080p because it has more pixels to store data and therefore picture quality, which as a result looks better.

Refresh Rate​

Refresh rate refers to the number of times the screen refreshes every second. This is measured by hertz (hz) the higher the hz, the smoother the motion will be because of the high refresh rate. Standard monitors have a refresh rate of around 60hz; this means the screen will refresh 60 times in a second. You can get higher refresh rate monitors such as 120hz or 144hz, which tend to be a little more pricey; however, they result in smoother motion and can even cause less strain on the eyes because of the elimination of jittery movement.

Different Panel Types ​

Different Panel Types

 

There are 3 main types of displays:

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)
LCD (Liquid Crystal Diode)
LED (Light Emitting Diode)

 

The different panel types which correspond to the quality of the colour accuracy and deep richness of the colour. Many monitors have the ability to tune down certain characteristics of the screen, such as contrast and saturation. However, a better panel will come equipped with a better colour right out the box. For instance, an OLED panel will have richer colours and deeper blacks than an LCD due to the technology inside being different and the LCD having limitations. OLED’s, however, tend to be way more expensive due to the difference in technology inside being more advanced. they also tend to be rarer to find than LCD and LED panels because the technology isn’t as widely spread as it is in TVs and other displays.

There are also rankings as to how energy efficient these panels are; LED panels tend to be the best and most energy efficient; however, tend to be the worst in terms of picture quality and accuracy. OLED however, tends to be the best in picture quality and colour accuracy but is extremely energy inefficient because of the heat it gives off.

Response Time​

The response time refers to the time it takes for the output of the computer to reach the input of the computer. This is measured in ms (milliseconds) and the lower the number the better. A shorter response time means the screen will react faster to what you’re doing on the computer, giving you a more enjoyable experience. Top end monitors offer 1ms response times while other monitors offer 5ms. A 4ms difference may not sound like a lot of time, but take into account that this is per action made on the computer and you can see why people pay a little extra. Those times stack up, and the average person is going to be fine with 5ms response times for normal everyday tasks, so they wont have to spend the extra money. but if time is of the essence; you may want to consider buying a higher response rate monitor.

Form Factor​

The form factor is the way the monitor is built. Some monitors are curved while some lay flat; some are ultra-wide, and some are at a normal 16:9 aspect ratio. There are many things to talk about when it comes to form factor, so I think its best we start by talking about the shape of the monitor. If you look at monitors you will notice the shape of them varies slightly, some have curved displays to optimise eye real estate and surround the person viewing. Others tend to be shorter vertically but longer horizontally, this is called an ultra-wide monitor; but how do you fit the same stuff on an ultra-wide as you do a normal monitor? They do this by using something called an aspect ratio. A regular monitor has a 16:9 aspect ratio meaning that if the pixels on the one side increase, so do the pixels on the other axis by proportion to 16:9, because if the pixels increased by any more than that, it would no longer be a 16:9. The shape changes completely because the ratio isn’t the same; this is why there are black bars when watching a movie on a regular TV or monitor. Its because the movie was filmed for a wide screen like they use in cinemas. If you try and view a 16:9 video on a wide-screen, however, you will get black bars on either side of the video, this is because the sides are longer than the top, so when the video scales down, the sides are still unfilled. The size of the monitor can be confusing to some people too. The size of the monitor is measured in ” or inches. It is measured from the bottom left corner to the top right. This is because this is the longest measurement on the screen or TV. It also covers the entire span of the TV which is why it is a perfect measurement to advertise. This is because instead of giving two measurements you can just give the one while also remaining truthful about the span of your monitor.

Conclusion:​

There are many things to consider, when getting a new monitor. All the features above can benefit certain people in certain industries and certain job roles. Its all dependant on what you need to monitor for which allows you to pick the perfect monitor.

If you’re still not sure, we can pick out a monitor or other devices best suited for you.


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