Buy new IPS monitors or keep current ones? at DVinfo.net

Panagiotis Raris · February 12th, 2013, 01:34 AM

I have two 19" LG Flatron Wide L196WTQ monitors (TN LCD, 16:10, 1440x900, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 2ms response time, 5000:1 contrast ratio, 16.2M colors) at the moment, and was looking at some slightly larger, newer IPS monitors, specifically the Asus VS229H-P and Dell S2240M units.

I have fantastic visual acuity but some color weaknesses (abysmal results with Ishihara tests), and wanted to upgrade my monitors as the CCFL's appear to be failing or going wonky of late.

Current LG's
LG 19 inch Monitor L196WTQ | 19 inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - LG Electronics UK

Asus IPS
ASUS - Displays- ASUS VS229H-P

Dell IPS
S2240M 21.5" Monitor with LED Panel Details ? ultrawide angle

I would keep the LG's, i am ok with 16:10 and 1440x900 resolution and they are quite bright when cranked up, but for the last year i have not been able to balance the colors properly; the backlighting appears to be failing. One has a reddish tinge, the other greenish-blue; and no amount of recalibration seems to help. Even with my weak color vision i can easily see the differences now.

What i am surprised over is the slower response time on the IPS monitors and lower brightness, but i can deal with that IF they are better overall for color correction and work with HD media, or if i should try to replace the CCFLs on the monitors i already have. I would prefer new ones mostly for full HD viewing. When the LG's i have were new i had one calibrated correctly, and the second set up so colors looked correct to me; this is no longer possible without shelling out $60 per monitor for new CCFL's, and i have a friend who would pay $50 each, meaning a potential upgrade to either the Dell or Asus units is a mere $100-$120 each. I believe i paid around $220 each in January of '08.

The only experience i have with IPS monitors is a field monitor i recently purchased, Lilliput 663 O/P, which is pretty bright, crisp, and the colors are very close to the LCD's on my T2i's.

Any thoughts or suggestions? i would prefer to stay in a $150-$180 range per monitor and under 24". I also have a Panasonic Tau 32" 1080i 4:3 HDTV (massive CRT) and a Dell P991 19" CRT Trinitron (1600x1200) at my disposal that i use occasionally (i still like CRT's over LCD's), and their picture has held up perfectly for many years.

February 12th, 2013, 01:34 AM	#1
Panagiotis Raris Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Reading, PA USA and Athens, Greece Posts: 269	Buy new IPS monitors or keep current ones? I have two 19" LG Flatron Wide L196WTQ monitors (TN LCD, 16:10, 1440x900, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 2ms response time, 5000:1 contrast ratio, 16.2M colors) at the moment, and was looking at some slightly larger, newer IPS monitors, specifically the Asus VS229H-P and Dell S2240M units. I have fantastic visual acuity but some color weaknesses (abysmal results with Ishihara tests), and wanted to upgrade my monitors as the CCFL's appear to be failing or going wonky of late. Current LG's LG 19 inch Monitor L196WTQ \| 19 inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - LG Electronics UK Asus IPS ASUS - Displays- ASUS VS229H-P Dell IPS S2240M 21.5" Monitor with LED Panel Details ? ultrawide angle I would keep the LG's, i am ok with 16:10 and 1440x900 resolution and they are quite bright when cranked up, but for the last year i have not been able to balance the colors properly; the backlighting appears to be failing. One has a reddish tinge, the other greenish-blue; and no amount of recalibration seems to help. Even with my weak color vision i can easily see the differences now. What i am surprised over is the slower response time on the IPS monitors and lower brightness, but i can deal with that IF they are better overall for color correction and work with HD media, or if i should try to replace the CCFLs on the monitors i already have. I would prefer new ones mostly for full HD viewing. When the LG's i have were new i had one calibrated correctly, and the second set up so colors looked correct to me; this is no longer possible without shelling out $60 per monitor for new CCFL's, and i have a friend who would pay $50 each, meaning a potential upgrade to either the Dell or Asus units is a mere $100-$120 each. I believe i paid around $220 each in January of '08. The only experience i have with IPS monitors is a field monitor i recently purchased, Lilliput 663 O/P, which is pretty bright, crisp, and the colors are very close to the LCD's on my T2i's. Any thoughts or suggestions? i would prefer to stay in a $150-$180 range per monitor and under 24". I also have a Panasonic Tau 32" 1080i 4:3 HDTV (massive CRT) and a Dell P991 19" CRT Trinitron (1600x1200) at my disposal that i use occasionally (i still like CRT's over LCD's), and their picture has held up perfectly for many years.