Cost Your budget is a very important consideration when shopping for a new
monitor. If you cannot spend more than around $400, you can probably forget
LCD displays until their prices come down a bit more. If you have a relatively
unlimited budget, your choices and comparisons are many.CRT Displays
Until very recently, standard PC system packages only featured CRT displays. Lately,
moreandmorePCsarebeingofferedwithflat-paneldisplays.Aspricescontinuetodrop,
many experts believe the CRT will soon be replaced by the flat-panel display on all
standard PC packages and be available only as an option. But then, the floppy disk
was supposed to have been obsolete over five years ago.
A CRT display has some advantages over the LCD displays. It is bright, well-lit,
economical, and produces excellent color and graphic qualities. A CRT display uses the
same technology common to the television set. The CRT (cathode ray tube) is a funnel-
shapedglasstubethatuseselectrongunstolightup(orasitistechnicallyknown,excite)
phosphor elements on the back of the display glass. The lighted phosphors blend to form
images and movements that show through the display of the CRT for the user to view.
The user views the phosphors through a single pane of glass, which is why the display
is so bright and why it is easily viewed from an angle. There is a lot more to how the
phosphor is used to create an image, and it is discussed a little later in the chapter.Flat-Panel Displays
If you have limited space on a desk or worktable and need to have a PC monitor available, a
flat-panel display is probably best for your situation. The major selling point of LCD displays
is their size, meaning their depth. A typical CRT display, especially the larger displays in use
today, are at least 12 inches or more from front to back, which can take u pa considerable
amount of workspace on a desk. Flat-panel LCD displays are typically only a few inches
deep including its foot, which makes them perfect for small desks, cubicles, or places where a
large CRT monitor would negatively impact the aesthetics or decor. Even the new PCs that
are integrated into the same package as a flat-panel display are only inches in depth.
Flat-panel displays are backlit, which means the light source of the display shines
through several layers of filters and glass before you see it. This is why LCD displays
appeartobelessbrightthanaCRT-styledisplayandlesslegiblefromanangle.However,
LCD displays are digital, which means they are able to reproduce images more accu-
rately, especially colors.Flat-Screen versus Flat-Panel
Many people are confused by the terms flat-screen and flat-panel. As I discussed above,
flat-panel displays are displays that use LCD technology to reproduce images on a screen.
On the other hand, a flat-screen display is a type of CRT that has a flat, square screen as
opposed to the more standard type of display that has a curved glass screen on the CRT.(^370) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide