Buying a monitor soon.. but which one?

[Xyga]

Some brands keep manufacturing some models for years, but it's not guaranteed that the technology will follow.
For instance BenQ did upgrade their panels and backlighting over time while offering the same models.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/fl ... tabase.htm
I know ASUS did too on some of their high-end models, but what do we know about that specific one ? (PB238Q)
AOC for one didn't change anything over years on some of their most popular models, leaving them behind in terms of performance and features.

I am assuming no matter what monitor I list here something will be wrong with it?

No you're asking for monitor recommendations and we happen to be a bit knowledgeable on the subject so we're trying to help, it's a complicated thing actually and there are about at least 10 or maybe 20 essential things to know depending on your needs and exigence if you plan to make a conscious purchase.
Really we're barely addressing the basics here so like 1 or 2 out of 10~ish, and in place we're suggesting some models we know for being among the best in their category.
If that's too bothersome you can buy whatever model you feel is good just by looking at the amazon product pages and manufacturer websites. It's your money after all...

[neorichieb1971]

I work in IT and we have a whole range of different displays where I work. I have never seen a monitor that offered inadequate performance when using a PC.

However, I did try plugging my Dreamcast into one of the monitors about 3 or 4 years ago and the results were crap. The colours were watered down, the motion looked choppy, especially on full screen scrolling games.

When using the XRGB2 things didn't improve.

Using amazon reviews is pointless. Every monitor has an average review score of 4.5+.

Maybe I should rephrase the question..

If you had a framemeister and 5 or 6 RGB enabled consoles with JP21 cables and you wanted to double up your retro gaming on a PC monitor that you would also use for PC use, which one would you buy? I have a budget of £300 or thereabouts.

All I want is a link to a monitor that gives above average performance.. not perfect performance, but above average.. that irons out quirks that other monitors might have trouble with. I don't know what I want myself so I am happy to go with a monitor that one or two of you agree is a good choice.. The specifications are not as important as "YOU" actually liking the monitor.

[ZellSF]

The 50hz thing, I am not sure its a concern all the PC's i've ever worked on seem to handle my material without any concerns. I am pretty sure if using a VGA HD15 connector the signal is higher than 50hz even if the video shown on it is 50hz.

There's a lot of ways to show 50 FPS material on a 60hz monitor. They're all terrible.

Do you care about motion quality at all? Are you sure the videos are actually 50 FPS and not 25 FPS (which would still look bad, but much much better than 50 FPS)?

While dropping 50hz as a requirement would probably make the search much easier, it will make 50 FPS content motion look much much worse (and I would be really amazed if you can't notice it).

[Fudoh]

All I want is a link to a monitor that gives above average performance..

With a Framemeister in the play, you have to ask yourself: do you want perfect performance for the FM's scanlined 720p output ? Or do you want the best monitor for the FM's 1080p output ? If your focus is in 720p sonsider a 1440p monitor. If not, consider a 1080p one instead. The difference isn't huge, but it's there and if it's going to a monitor mainly for use with the FM, it's worth the consideration.

[neorichieb1971]

The 50hz thing, I am not sure its a concern all the PC's i've ever worked on seem to handle my material without any concerns. I am pretty sure if using a VGA HD15 connector the signal is higher than 50hz even if the video shown on it is 50hz.

There's a lot of ways to show 50 FPS material on a 60hz monitor. They're all terrible.

Do you care about motion quality at all? Are you sure the videos are actually 50 FPS and not 25 FPS (which would still look bad, but much much better than 50 FPS)?

While dropping 50hz as a requirement would probably make the search much easier, it will make 50 FPS content motion look much much worse (and I would be really amazed if you can't notice it).

My material might not be everyones cuppa tea, but if using google chrome you can see one of my recent videos here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0r8TlxGvx8

Select 1080/50 from the cog settings. What would you say is wrong with that?

[neorichieb1971]

All I want is a link to a monitor that gives above average performance..

With a Framemeister in the play, you have to ask yourself: do you want perfect performance for the FM's scanlined 720p output ? Or do you want the best monitor for the FM's 1080p output ? If your focus is in 720p sonsider a 1440p monitor. If not, consider a 1080p one instead. The difference isn't huge, but it's there and if it's going to a monitor mainly for use with the FM, it's worth the consideration.

I know nothing about the framemeister, it only came into the conversation because apparently the XRGB2 isn't up to scratch anymore (I own one).

If my retro consoles look better in 720p with scanlines (I also own one of those SLG scan line thingies, can't remember if thats what its called) I will obviously consider a 1440p monitor over a 1080 one.

[ZellSF]

The 50hz thing, I am not sure its a concern all the PC's i've ever worked on seem to handle my material without any concerns. I am pretty sure if using a VGA HD15 connector the signal is higher than 50hz even if the video shown on it is 50hz.

There's a lot of ways to show 50 FPS material on a 60hz monitor. They're all terrible.

Do you care about motion quality at all? Are you sure the videos are actually 50 FPS and not 25 FPS (which would still look bad, but much much better than 50 FPS)?

While dropping 50hz as a requirement would probably make the search much easier, it will make 50 FPS content motion look much much worse (and I would be really amazed if you can't notice it).

My material might not be everyones cuppa tea, but if using google chrome you can see one of my recent videos here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0r8TlxGvx8

Select 1080/50 from the cog settings. What would you say is wrong with that?

I see image judder, admittingly not as much as I thought I would, but very noticeable.

Well. Be happy you don't notice it. Noticing and caring about too much of these things is not healthy.

[neorichieb1971]

Yeah, when I play the content through my Oppo blu ray player everything runs silky smooth (on my TV KDL40W4500 which is 50/60). I always put it down to Chrome hammering my CPU when playing 1080/50 through the browser, but now you've enlightened me that the judder may well be due to running it on a 60hz display.



I've looked at 1440 monitors, but they mostly sit outside of my budget and quite a few of them have negative comments.. A lot more than the 1080 monitors I previewed earlier.