Blurry Text on LCDs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Martha
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Martha

Hi there,

I'm in the market for a new monitor and I've been doing the usual routine of
research and checking them out in stores.

I was all set to purchase a 17" LCD when I read some blurbs about problems
with fuzzy text. Sure enough when I went in yesterday and specifically
checked them out with text it looked like garbage.

I tried several different Samsung 712Ns, 172Xs as well as 710MPs (I was
interested in a 710T, but nobody has one on display). As I said, I tried
several of the same model, on different computers. Some with integrated
graphics and some with very nice video cards. I had heard that Samsungs were
all that, so this really surprised me. I then did the same routine with a
couple of Sony LCDs and a Medion (???) on two different machines and it was
the same story. I made sure that the ClearText option was checked (it
certainly looked even worse without!).

Have I been looking at the wrong models, or is this a concern with all LCDs?
In theory they are supposed to reduce eyestrain! A few minutes of looking at
it and I thought I was going cross-eyed. Is there a monitor and/or
monitor/video card combination that eliminates this problem, or do I just
buy a big-assed 19" CRT and deal for a couple of years until this issue is
sorted out? For the record, I don't do any gaming on my system so the text
is *really* the important factor.

Thanks,
Martha
 
Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
resolutions.
Click to expand...
I can't comment on any of the other LCD's you may have looked at, and I
wonder if they had been set up correctly in the first place, but I have a
Sony 19" X-Black SDM-HS94P and the text is stunning. I dumped 22" Iiyama
CRT for this becasue of the text quality and fantastic image clarity. Also,
it's great for games with its 12ms response time. The text on here is the
best I've ever seen .
 
Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
resolutions.
Click to expand...
Then the text should have been sharp. Text displays sharper on LCD at
native res than on a CRT. Only time it isn't sharp is when you are not
looking at it in it's native res.
 
Sorry, I meant to add that I was viewing the monitors in their native
Then the text should have been sharp. Text displays sharper on LCD at
native res than on a CRT. Only time it isn't sharp is when you are not
looking at it in it's native res.
Click to expand...

Well, they were at their native res - that was one of the first things I
checked. The sales dudes saw it too, so we can't blame my eyes. :-) I was at
more than one store as well. They were hooked up to dedicated PCs to ensure
it wasn't signal degradation from being split to multiple monitors. FWIW, it
was at its worst when it was black text on a grey background.

If you do some poking around you will find a number of complaints on the
issue. I'm trying to figure out if it relates to particular models/brands or
if it is something inherent in LCDs.
 
I can't comment on any of the other LCD's you may have looked at, and I
wonder if they had been set up correctly in the first place, but I have a
Sony 19" X-Black SDM-HS94P and the text is stunning. I dumped 22" Iiyama
CRT for this becasue of the text quality and fantastic image clarity.
Also, it's great for games with its 12ms response time. The text on here
is the best I've ever seen .
Click to expand...

How long have you had the sony? Its a new model isn't it:
http://www.sony.co.uk/ShowProduct.do?site=odw_en_GB&category=Flatpanel+LCD&product=SDM-HS94P

How do you rate it as I can't find any reviews.

Where did you get it from, as most stores including Sony Style seem
expensive at £550 ish.

Many thanks
 
How long have you had the sony? Its a new model isn't it:
http://www.sony.co.uk/ShowProduct.do?site=odw_en_GB&category=Flatpanel+LCD&product=SDM-HS94P

How do you rate it as I can't find any reviews.

Where did you get it from, as most stores including Sony Style seem
expensive at £550 ish.

Many thanks
Click to expand...

It is a new model and I had quite a time trying to find one. In the end I
ordered it through Micro Anvika (£499)
http://www.microanvika.com/default.asp
They have a shop in Selfridges in Trafford Centre and I picked it up from
there. Very impressed with the service.

The monitor itself is pretty much faultless. I plugged it in and connected
it to the DVI input on my graphics card and it worked fine. Default
resolution is 1280x1024, and as I said, the text quality is supreme.
Everything I've run looks clearer, sharper and more colourful than the old
monitor(s). Another niggle I've always had with big CRT's is the way edges
never look straight on windows..if you know what I mean. There always
appeared to be some curvature to lines, even on flat screen CRT's. The
Iiyama 22" highlighted this problem specifically and I couldn't live with
it. That and the slightly blurred text.
3D games run perfectly with absolutely no ghosting issues on the Sony. I
would say that with games, the 22" Iiyama did look a little better, but you
had to mess about with refresh rates for different games, something that you
don't need to do with the Sony via it's DVI input. It is genuinely plug and
play.
Any negative points on the Sony ? Nope, not really apart from the manual,
which is a waste of time, to be honest.
 
redTed said:
It is a new model and I had quite a time trying to find one. In the end I
ordered it through Micro Anvika (£499)
http://www.microanvika.com/default.asp
They have a shop in Selfridges in Trafford Centre and I picked it up from
there. Very impressed with the service.

The monitor itself is pretty much faultless. I plugged it in and connected
it to the DVI input on my graphics card and it worked fine. Default
resolution is 1280x1024, and as I said, the text quality is supreme.
Everything I've run looks clearer, sharper and more colourful than the old
monitor(s). Another niggle I've always had with big CRT's is the way edges
never look straight on windows..if you know what I mean. There always
appeared to be some curvature to lines, even on flat screen CRT's. The
Iiyama 22" highlighted this problem specifically and I couldn't live with
it. That and the slightly blurred text.
3D games run perfectly with absolutely no ghosting issues on the Sony. I
would say that with games, the 22" Iiyama did look a little better, but
you had to mess about with refresh rates for different games, something
that you don't need to do with the Sony via it's DVI input. It is
genuinely plug and play.
Any negative points on the Sony ? Nope, not really apart from the manual,
which is a waste of time, to be honest.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. Did Micro Anvika have this model on display? If so
I'll wander along to Tottenham Court Road again and have a look at it first
hand. What res did you run on the 22" crt?

Thanks
 
Thanks for the response. Did Micro Anvika have this model on display? If
so I'll wander along to Tottenham Court Road again and have a look at it
first hand. What res did you run on the 22" crt?
Click to expand...

When I went in to Micro Anvika they had the 17" X-Black on display. Who
knows what they have at the Tottenham Court Road branch..Being the main one
I would think they should have the whole range on display.

I ran the CRT at the recommended setting of 1600x1200-85hz, but the effect
was the same at 1280x1024.
 
redTed said:
When I went in to Micro Anvika they had the 17" X-Black on display. Who
knows what they have at the Tottenham Court Road branch..Being the main
one I would think they should have the whole range on display.

I ran the CRT at the recommended setting of 1600x1200-85hz, but the effect
was the same at 1280x1024.
Click to expand...

Many thanks.
 
If you're using Windows XP, turn on CLEARTYPE. The default setting is meant
for CRT, making it worse for LCDs.
Click to expand...
And after you turn on clear type, go to the microsoft website to the url
where they fine tune the clear type settings. YOu can just type clear
type into the search box and you will find the page.

Louise
 
Martha said:
Hi there,

I'm in the market for a new monitor and I've been doing the usual routine
of
research and checking them out in stores.

I was all set to purchase a 17" LCD when I read some blurbs about problems
with fuzzy text. Sure enough when I went in yesterday and specifically
checked them out with text it looked like garbage.

I tried several different Samsung 712Ns, 172Xs as well as 710MPs (I was
interested in a 710T, but nobody has one on display). As I said, I tried
several of the same model, on different computers. Some with integrated
graphics and some with very nice video cards. I had heard that Samsungs
were
all that, so this really surprised me. I then did the same routine with a
couple of Sony LCDs and a Medion (???) on two different machines and it
was
the same story. I made sure that the ClearText option was checked (it
certainly looked even worse without!).

Have I been looking at the wrong models, or is this a concern with all
LCDs?
In theory they are supposed to reduce eyestrain! A few minutes of looking
at
it and I thought I was going cross-eyed. Is there a monitor and/or
monitor/video card combination that eliminates this problem, or do I just
buy a big-assed 19" CRT and deal for a couple of years until this issue is
sorted out? For the record, I don't do any gaming on my system so the text
is *really* the important factor.

Thanks,
Martha
Click to expand...


If you're using Windows XP, turn on CLEARTYPE. The default setting is meant
for CRT, making it worse for LCDs.
 
Louise wrote:

And after you turn on clear type, go to the microsoft website to the url
where they fine tune the clear type settings. YOu can just type clear
type into the search box and you will find the page.

Louise
Click to expand...

Thanks Louise,

I was using cleartype and didn't realize you could adjust. Now it looks
even better.

Willi
(e-mail address removed)
 
Well, they were at their native res - that was one of the first things I
checked. The sales dudes saw it too, so we can't blame my eyes. :-) I was at
more than one store as well. They were hooked up to dedicated PCs to ensure
it wasn't signal degradation from being split to multiple monitors. FWIW, it
was at its worst when it was black text on a grey background.

If you do some poking around you will find a number of complaints on the
issue. I'm trying to figure out if it relates to particular models/brands or
if it is something inherent in LCDs.
Click to expand...

I have an LCD and a CRT so know you are full of crap.
 
Louise wrote:



Thanks Louise,

I was using cleartype and didn't realize you could adjust. Now it looks
even better.

Willi
(e-mail address removed)
Click to expand...
Glad it helped. I actually use it on a 21" Sony CRT and I find it helps
there too.

Louise
 
I'm using a 19" HP flat panel in its native res and all text (MS Word
docs, webpages, etc.) is quite sharp and clear. Better than I expected.
The only drawback, and I'm guessing this applies to most (if not all)
large screen hi-res displays, is that many websites are simply not able
to deal with 1280x1024 res, so that these pages frequently appear
distorted in some fashion or another (i.e., text or graphics overlap,
size of webpage is reduced vertically to about half or one-third the
screen size, etc.). This happens regardess of the browser I use (IE6 or
Netscape/Mozilla). In fact, I just got thru posting about this issue in
this nsg, hoping there's an easy fix to the website display problems
I've noticed when running 1280x1024. The alternative is to lower the
res to 800x600 to eliminate the webpage display issues but...the text
and graphics displayed will show as blurry or too soft, as if my vision
was impaired.
 
Martha,

What do you mean by native resolution? It's different for each
monitor. Did they used VGA? And a signal distributor?

Usually for 15" LCD it's 1024x768 and 17"/19" are usually 1280x768.
I've seen many many times the LCD monitors are set to wrong resolutions
and makes all text blurry.

Also, one should be around 2 feet from the monitor (for your eyes).
Ernest
 
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