Monitors. What are the differences?

[jim.mar]

I too am looking for a new monitor and have problems deciding what is best for my needs.    What is the difference? between LCD and LED?  Some say LCD with LED back-lighting.  What is that all about?     What is "isp" and do I need it with a 4 year old computer?      I want a large screen but is there a functional difference between 27" and 23"?  For example; would a 27" show more columns of a given spreadsheet than a 23" or just larger cells? Are some easier to adjust for brightness etc?  Is there a new technology that should be considered?  I would like to keep the coat below $300.            I know some of these questions seem to be pretty dumb but I at a loss to making a decision.  I would appreciate any suggestions that anyone would care to  give.  Thank you.

[Computer_Commando]

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display (same as your Casio wrist watch), can't be seen without back-lightling, so they use very thin & long fluorescent tubes.  If you look inside the cooling vents, they can be seen.  LCD with LED back-lighting substitutes LED's for the fluorescent tubes.  Fluorescent tubes wear out, LED's do not.

LED - Light Emitting Diode.  They produce their own light.  Most displays (monitors & TV's) are transitioning to these.

ISP - Internet Service Provider

Any screen can show more columns, but they all work best at their "native resolution".  Anything 20" & larger is usually 1600x900, for full High Definition (HD).  If your 23 & 27 both are 1600x900, everything will appear larger on the 27, if both are set at 1600x900.  You can set the resolution higher, but the images can get fuzzy.

[camerongray]

• What is the difference? between LCD and LED? - This purely refers to the backlight.  An LED monitor still has an LCD panel but instead of fluorescent tubes, the backlight uses LEDs.  LED backlights are usually thinner, brighter and use less power than the older fluorescent tube (or CCFL) ones.
• What is "isp" - I presume you mean IPS here - IPS is a type of LCD panel that has brighter colours and better viewing angles compared to cheaper "TN" panels.
• The size doesn't really relate to what you have on the screen, the resolution does.  If one monitor is 1600x900 resolution, you will have less available screen space than on one that is 1920x1080 no matter what the physical size is.  In other words, if you have a 22" monitor and a 27" one, both at the same resolution, you will have the same screen space so will only show the same number of columns on a spreadsheet but everything on the 27" monitor will show up bigger.

$300 is a really high budget so you should be able to get something very good for that, Get one that is at least 1920x1080 resolution and ideally IPS.  As far as sizes your best bet is to look at them in a store and see what size you prefer and also consider the physical space you have to put the monitor.  For 1920x1080 resolution, I'd say the best size for someone with good eyesight is between 22" and 24".

[Salmon Trout]

Anything 20" & larger is usually 1600x900, for full High Definition (HD).

My fairly normal 24" monitor is 1920 x 1080. I thought that was "full HD".

[Computer_Commando]

My fairly normal 24" monitor is 1920 x 1080. I thought that was "full HD".

Sorry, tried to make it too simple for the OP & messed it up.

I have a 19" Toshiba HDTV used as a 2nd monitor to extend desktop for the 15" laptop.  HDMI recommended resolution is stated as 1920x1080, but image is no clearer than 1366x768.  On my desktop, I have a 2nd 20" monitor to extend desktop of the 19".  20" is 1600x900, 19" is 1400x900; 19" has a better display, both are Acer.

[camerongray]

Officially anything above 1280x720 is classed as "HD" but for any sort of large computer monitor this would be seen as a low resolution.  "Full HD" is officially 1920x1080