I think your closing argument is more to the point than anything. The combined letters I reproduced in my report are what LGE published on its web site, and I have no means to explain their use of the "term". However, I am using the model I tested currently on my office desk, and it functions fine for this purpose (I prefer it to the 20.1 inch I had been using), because the lower resolution of the LG L227WTG reproduces quite a bit larger fonts, and that's fine for this old man.

Personally it has been my experience now with quite a number of different LCD displays I have used since I began testing about 5 years ago, that at the very highest end like Eizo-Nanao you can take what they state about their products pretty seriously. But Samsung and LGE, the two largest producers apparently write their descriptions in their native Korean and then it gets translated to other languages "maybe".

Seriously, the LGE L227WGT display for what it is currently selling for, if you can find one, is better than anything else I have seen at a price under $500. However, if set at 90.0 CD/m2 it does not produce as good quality color as it does at a luminance closer to 120.0 CD/m2, but still better than most home/office models.

Ideally, if all you have is $200/$300 and you can get one of these displays, you have a better overall display for photography processing; but if you can try to afford an NEC P221W display, better color and overall photo performance by far and worth $731 at Amazon.com.

With most of the many, many brands, don't pay much attention to whatever the "specs" say, talk to someone professional who has used one.

There is a lot of information (accurate I would hope) about LCDs on the AnandTech forums (started in 2007 but updated since):

http://tinyurl.com/2vkrsg

with several years worth of discussion!

One disturbing thing they mention is:

"Several manufacturers, including Dell and Samsung, have played the panel "bait and switch" game thinking no one would notice. A controversial practice called a "panel lottery" by others, they will originally release a good panel (for reviewers) and switch to an inferior one later on. Dell first put an S-IPS in their 2007WFP and later switched to an S-PVA, whose performance was deemed very low compared to the S-IPS. Samsung originally was making "S" (Samsung) TN panels for their 226BW, until they outsourced their production to AU Optronics ("A"), CMO ("C"), and CPT ("P"). The A, C, and P panels performed poorly at the default color settings. All of their colors were equal after calibration, although the C panel had more issues with response time. Since many folks don't own a colorimeter, they will end up with a panel that can't display colors with the same fidelity as the original "S" panel. Later, both Dell and Samsung began hiding the panel information from the service menu and the back panel.

In an interview, Samsung stated that after April 1st they would release only "S" panels (in France). Three Frenchmen discovered 2 A panels and 1 C panel with their 226BWs manufactured after April 1."

Alan,

I find what you related of little real significance for one very simple reason: Samsung is a prime LCD panel production company, Dell does not manufacture LCD display panels, but buys OEM lots of displays from any manufacturer who will sell a lot cheap enough (in my opinion).

There are really very few International Standards that are agreed to and apply to LCD display panel manufacture, like DVI, but one of its function DDC is not agreed to by any of the prime manufacturers.

So to a large extent the debate you quoted is pointless, because the factors, types involved are not supported by any agreed to international standard. Everyone does as they please with DDC for instance.

In addition, the LCD display manufacturing is in reality an extension of LCD TV manufacturing, so what that industry does largely dictates what happens to computer LCD display availability.

There are a few companies which in their own lines tightly control what they produce, including NEC and Eizo Nanao, that are much costlier pro-graphics quality displays. In addition, Samsung makes some high-end XL displays they sell directly under the Samsung brand, but also sell the same basic LCD displays to LaCie and HP - but these displays start at about $2,000 for a 24 inch.

The problem you are trying to deal with has noting to do with display letter designated types or any of that, it is essentially a laissez faire market dominated by 5-6 major manufacturers and 100

The old CRT is far from Dead, but with new computer in mind, I heard some good reports on the Dell 2007 WFP Digital at a decent price -- any comments appreciated. I forgot I am satisfid with good. Thanks

Random,

CRT's have not been produced in Japan, Korea or Taiwan for at least 3 years. Some small cheap ones are still made in China for the 3rd world market. Any CRT over 3 years old has most of its life in terms of being able to reproduce photographic quality gone, by the natural decay of the phosphorescents in the screen.

Dell is NOT a primary manufacturing company. The Dell operation buys the cheapest components from China and Southeast Asia and then assembles them in the US, which is a purely mechanical, no-brains operation assembly line operation.

You can buy good quality, name brand PC computer parts and assemble a custom high quality system, and its not that difficult even for a beginner. The largest, easiest to deal with supplier of these motherboards, cases, video cards, hard drives, etc., is TigerDirect.com

I hope you were just putting me on, and not serious. Dell makes home/office computers as cheap as possible. They are fine for students, doing e-mail, writing papers or doing FaceBook - for doing digital photography you need a lot more.

Mr Brooks,

i am not putting you on. It is not one but four who told me and showed me the Dell. They have not had any dark problems, color problems, and some of the other things that crop up from time to time. They (all) have not had to calibrate or other diddling -- except set the NVIDIA to achieve maximum results/ All looks good to the eye perception and produce great print, even canvas output. Perhaps this is a fluke, but four out of four is not bad.
I too have not had any color problems using the basic gamma and suggested settings for printer and photoshop. Guess we are lucky. I belive your sage results and am not disputing you since many have resolved their problems with your good avice, including your article on the dark prints. I will consider the good an act of _ _ _ . By the way, my trintron Sony just keeps moving along as well as a Nikon Scantouch 1200 flat-bed scanner and somewhat aging Dell.

The new computer is with the Vista Ultimate that was included before the run to the latest. I am glad I did not junk the ole computer because in addition to that mentioned, I still have to use the old relic for Fax and a few other things. Now with the latest and greatest from Ms, who knows.

I do appreciate all of your information; it has been a great help to me and a few others to whom I have suggested your inputs in the magazine.

By the way, I am in no way afilliated with S -- but an a long time subscriber. Thank you.

oops I forgot to mention I will check out your suggested monitor.

As long as you use your CRT, do not adjust, calibrate and profile that display, you will continue to get what you are getting. The "prints too dark problem" reported by millions of people and recorded by Google resulted when user tried to adjust image by perception with bright LCD displays.

Even with a bright LCD you can shoot JPEG with a digital camera and open the files and print them OK with a new computer if you do not edit the file. Then the printer driver is using the information set by a digital camera, notby the computer user.

You should have waited a bit as Vista has been a serious problem for serious digital photographers, but not so much so for people doing snapshot photography. Anyone doing PC at this time would be best off waiting until fall when Windows 7 will be the installed Operating System.

In the meantime, I hope your good luck continues.....

"Any CRT over 3 years old has most of its life in terms of being able to reproduce photographic quality gone, by the natural decay of the phosphorescents in the screen."

You are kidding, right? I know you are not, but my 9 years old, heavily used 21" Sony Trinitron CRT still works fine and calibrates every month just fine. Its brightness is slowly going down but I expect it to perform flawlessly for at least another year.

I forgot to mention or was misunderstood.
I must have been Blesed; no printing problems -- other than those I create when I try to make good prints according to some gurus (not you, however). With this in mind, I now do not kill a good thing.

My printing problems ended when I stopped using Pantone, one of the first color tools.

Kind Regards

I have a Sony 21" GDM Pro CRT that has had maybe 2 years or so active life. The rest of the time it is in storage. I pulled it out not long ago and connected it on a Mac Pro with a new LCD that produces 114% of Adobe RGB color gamut. Side-by-side there was a world of difference, the CRT screen was dull, low in color and obviously displayed a very reduced portion of the image information from a new Raw file from a Canon EOS 5D.

So all I am suggesting is that anyone's, and everyone's eyes adapt to what is seen, and only when two levels of color that are different are side-by-side do you get any real vision of color differences. But there are lots of people who cannot even see much difference when side-by-side, everyone has very different visual experiences and most do not realize what their's is because it is never tested by reality in the world we live in today as long as we can tell red from green in traffic signals; and then a color blind person knows which is on top and which is on the bottom!

The new Dell Ultrasharp U2410 24 inch wide screen monitor looks interesting. Claims to have an H-IPS panel and various nice features including a height adjustment which seems to be missing on some models. Currently $599 at Dell. Was selling for 479.20 a few week ago with one of Dell's perodic 20% off coupon codes. Has some positive reviews on the Web. Perhaps one by you will appear some day. <g>

And so it goes.....

Dell buys their displays OEM from manufacturers like those in China as well as LGE or Samsung. None of the major makers in 2009 models are making inexpensive LCD's that have sufficient color support for digital photography except Samsung still sells their older XL and 245T graphics models. All the 2009 models I have looked at ( I did buy a 2008 model LGE that is fair, but still not enough for digital photo), I cannot recommend from any of the major consumer makers. So, my advice is to go for an established name in quality like NEC's new P221W LCD display, which does have a wide color gamut and excellent digital photo reproduction - I just tested it and its great and will be sending my report in to Shutterbug shortly.