New Monitor Upgrade

I've had my Dell 1703fp monitor for the longest time, and only recently have I discovered why I've had a better viewing experience with it than with other monitors. I've found out that the panel is PVA technology, making it very suitable for my photography editing and I love the overall lack of the inverted colors that come about on the TN monitors. So, I've been trying to look for some PVA monitors but they are all over $500 dollars which is a bit out of my price range.

I was looking to upgrade to a 23 to 24 inch PVA monitor so I don't have to see those inverted colors of the common TN monitors. I also don't like the purple hues of the IPS monitors, and they are probably more expensive anyway. Anybody have any suggestion with a personal experience with a good yet affordable 23-24 PVA display?

Thanks a bunch

 

I don't think you should rule out IPS monitors. Not all exhibit a purple hue - especially after being properly calibrated. But what you do need to do is set a budget. If $500 is out of your budget range, then so too is a professional grade monitor. So you will have to make compromises. Note too, many monitors (like TVs) today are calibrated to give the most natural (or pleasing to the "average" eye) flesh tones. They are not calibrated for "true" colors. So what you see at your local electronics store is not likely to be what you see once you properly calibrate it.

Also, remember Google or your favorite search engine is your friend.

professional monitors for photography
best monitor under $500 for photography
best 24 inch monitor under $500 for photography

 

A dirty little secret from someone who used to work in retail...

Although I despised the tactic, there were certain salespeople who would "tweak" the display settings on models that paid lower commissions before the store opened. This allowed them to claim (lie) that "Mr. Customer, you can see that it's worth the extra $$$ to upgrade". These are the same salespeople who swear your printer will be faster with a $50 Monster USB Cable. :eek

If looking at monitors in a retail store, use the buttons on the monitor to reset the factory defaults by pressing the monitor's menu button. Also consider that the lighting in a "big box" store is brighter than most homes or small offices.

Based on the dozens of monitors I've purchased for clients over the past few years, my picks are usually Samsung, LG or Asus. Stick with LCD models; the "energy saving" LED models I've seen so far sacrifice image quality with an electricity "savings" of about $5/year.

PS: The same trick is often used in a store's TV section.

 

It's done at the factory! Every big screen needs to be recalibrated when taken home. Every professional review starts with a calibration.

 

Very true - HD sets should be calibrated. This, however, is not what my post refers to.

For the average viewer, the default (out of the box) settings are decent. If a salesperson makes dishonest manual tweaks to brightness, contrast and tint it only takes a few seconds to trash the picture quality.

If a TV is advertised as a "loss leader" (usually at or a bit below cost), it must be shown and offered for sale to a customer upon request. Many years ago Sears paid a multi-million dollar fine to the FTC over failing to do this. Commissioned salespeople make their money by upselling: A 50" Plasma at $499 may pay a $1 spiff; the step-up models may pay $20-$50.

The catch is what the TV looks like when the customer first sees it. If it has been "tweaked" it will look a lot worse than the higher-profit sets. A customer who uses the factory reset switch often discovers the picture is just as good as the step-up profit model.

 

Glad that Samsung is amongst your favorites. I purchased my Samsung SyncMaster 191T+ LCD in 2004 @ the "mere" price of around $1K. :eek It's still like new though but need to get my money's worth out of this one so I *knock wood* :-D

 

L.O.L - The prices on better monitors have dropped a lot!

I only wish other items in our lives would do the same. If this wish came true gasoline would eventually drop below $1/gallon and I'd be able to afford prime steaks instead of hamburger.

 

Agreed. And I meant to say, "it is often done at the factory!" That is, they crank up the brightness to make TVs better on show room floors.

I use Video Essentials.

 

Additional things to check...

Good point. The out-of-the-box factory default usually is set for a bright store display (Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc.).

If someone wants to check out different (honest) settings without spending a ton of time on it, most sets have multiple quick-set picture modes such as Movies, Gaming, etc. one can quickly cycle through. This will give some idea of the picture quality.

Another important dishonest "tweak" I forgot to mention is what type of video signal is being fed to the display TV. Even if the same content is playing simultaniously on every TV, check what the video feed is set to.

When I bought my first plasma TV 4 years ago, it had great specs, good online reviews but a horrible picture quality on the display unit. It was also the one on sale at $500 less than the step-up 50" model (tweak alert).

Not only had the video adjustments been "tweaked" (contrast, tint, etc.); the video feed was standard-def using RCA A/V Cables! When I had the salesperson connect the signal in using an HDMI cable, (like the more expensive sets on display) the picture quality was better than some sets twice the price. :eek

Getting back on point to computer monitors, pay attention to what the monitor is hooked up to and how: A single "demo" feed that is split to multiple display units will have a horrible video signal when compared to the same monitor directly connected to a halfway decent PC. If in doubt, ask a salesperson to remove the monitor from the display wall and hook it to a PC with similar specs to the one you own.