Shopping for a Monitor
For anyone who has look recently at monitors for sale, there is a lot to choose from with costs ranging drastically from less than $100 to more than $1000. We will try and explain the differences in technologies that can increase the cost of a monitor and our recommendation for a general use model.
The following are some considerations
Aspect Ratio
The “shape” of the screen. 15 years ago 4:3 was standard, and in recent years most manufacturers have popularized 16:9 or 16:10.
While technically a personal preference, many movies, apps, and operating systems are designed with one aspect ratio as the default and may not function as desired
Displaying 4:3 content on a 16:9 display will include black bars on the left and right side of the display, while displaying 16:9 content on a 4:3 display will show black bars on top and bottom. (see below on the right)
Screen Size
The physical dimensions of the display, measured diagonally make up the screen size. There are a few things to consider in addition to the differences of screen size.
Because the dimensions are measured diagonally, the size differences increase exponentially. As you can see in the left image (below) image, 5” might not seem to be much screen size difference but diagonally, the screen is significantly larger.
Secondly, the screen’s bezel can affect the pricing of a monitor as well. In the picture on the right (below) you can see a low-bezel monitor (in front) and a high-bezel monitor (in back). The low-bezel option is built for a more immersive experience as well as allows multiple monitors side-by-side to more seamlessly display content, while a high-bezel screen lowers the cost of the screen and provides more structural support (in the event of it tipping over)
Resolution
Often confused with Aspect Ratio, Resolution often references the “w:h” format in the aspect ratio, but focuses more specifically on how detailed the displayed picture will look.
The picture on the left (below) shows how much detail each resolution provides but many people find it confusing so the image on the right (below) is a better representation of what is meant by detail. The higher the resolution, the more detailed an image will become. This is the reason that terms like HD, UHD, 4K, and 1080p are so prevalent in choosing TVs and monitors.
Common resolutions for monitors are 1920x1080 (16:9), 1600x1200 (4:3) and can go as high as 5120x2880 (16:9). Common resolutions for TVs are 720p, 1080p, and 4K (and soon 5K and 8K). And as the resolution increases, the cost of the display increases as well.
One last consideration when deciding on resolution; the physical dimensions of the screen will make a difference for resolution. The normal human eye would have a difficulty in seeing the difference in details between 1080p and 4K on a 18” diagonal screen but would most likely notice a significant difference of 1080p and 4K on a 65” TV. It’s for this reason that many retailers will show the “high definition” content on large TVs in their establishments.
Contrast Ratio
A screen’s content ratio is defined by the number of shades a screen can differentiate between the whitest white and the blackest black of the screen. This is most often visualized with shadows as an example. For instance, the picture below shows the same image with two different contrast ratios. On the left the shadow fades to black very quickly, while on the right, the fade is much more gradual.
Contrast Ratio can affect both the brights and darks of a screen but also the range of colors meant to be displayed.
Common contrast ratios range from 1000:1 to 1000000:1 and as the contrast number increases so does the pricing.
One last thing to know is that some companies differentiate native contrast vs. dynamic contrast. Be careful because dynamic contrast means that the darkest darks and whitest whites can only be viewed by different settings on the display (bright mode to see the whitest whites and cinema mode to see the darkest darks) while native contrast refers to the range of contrast at the same time.
Response Rate
Generally only important to people like gamers who play competitively, response rate (or refresh rate) refers to how often the screen updates to reflect changes in the content.
As you can see in the below gif, the higher the response rate the less “choppy” the image is and the smoother the content moves.
Most monitors tend to be built for business purposes are operate at the 60hz range, but if you really want something that shows significant dynamic content smoothly, look for a higher response (refresh) rate.