Compare CRT and LCD display.
Characteristics
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LCD Displays
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CRT Monitors
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Brightness
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Produces very bright images due to high peak intensity. Very suitable for environments that are brightly lit .
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Fairly bright, but not as bright as LCDs. Not appropriate for brightly lit conditions.
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Emissions
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Produce considerably lower electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields than CRTs.
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Gives off electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields.
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Geometric Distortion
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No geometric distortion at the native resolution. Minor distortion can occur for other resolutions.
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Vulnerable to geometric distortion, but most CRTs feature user controls to decrease or eliminate the distortion.
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Power Consumption
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Energy efficient. Consume less than 1/3 the power of a comparable CRT. Consume less electricity than a CRT and produce little heat.
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Use more power and produce more heat than a comparable LCD.
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Physical Aspects
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Take up about 40% less desk space. LCDs are thin and compact.
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Larger, weigh more and take up more space than an LCD.
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Screen Shape
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Completely flat screen.
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Older CRTs have a rounded spherical or cylindrical shape screen whereas newer CRTs have a flat screen.
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Sharpness
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At the native resolution, the image is perfectly sharp. Adjustments are required at all other resolutions which can result in measurable degradation to the image.
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Normally sharper than LCDs (except when the LCD is at it's native resolution). Sharpness can be reduced by images with softer edges, flawed focus and color registration.
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Bad Pixels
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Can have many weak or stuck pixels, which are permanently on or off. Some pixels may be improperly connected to adjoining pixels, rows or columns.
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In rare instances 1 or 2 dark phosphor dots, which are hard to detect. Aperture grille tubes generally have 2 very thin wires that are sometimes noticeable. Bothers some people but most don't notice.
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Interference
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May require frequent readjustments throughout the day due to timing drift and jitter. Analog input requires careful modification of pixel tracking / phase to decrease or eliminate digital noise in the image.
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Produces irritating Moiré patterns. (Most CRTs include Moiré reduction, but this does not eliminate the Moiré interference patterns completely.)
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Aspect Ratio
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The aspect ratio and resolution are fixed.
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Easily duplicates any preferred aspect ratio.
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Black-Level
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Not proficient at producing black and very dark grays. Not appropriate for use in dimly lit and dark conditions.
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Appropriate for use in conditions that are dimly lit and dark. Produce a very dark black.
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Contrast
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Lower contrast than CRTs due to a poor black-level.
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Produce the highest contrast levels commonly available.
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Color and Gray-Scale Accuracy
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Color saturation is reduced at low intensity levels due to a poor blacklevel. Images are satisfactory, but not accurate due to problems with blacklevel, gray-scale and Gamma.
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Completely smooth gray-scale and an unlimited number of intensity levels. Best for applications that require a very accurate color and gray-scale calibration.
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Cost
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Considerably more expensive purchase price than comparable CRTs . (Cheaper lifetime cost: lasts about 13,000 - 15,000 more hours than a typical CRT.)
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Less expensive than comparable displays using other display technologies. CRTs can save you more than 50% on the purchase price.
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Gray-Scale
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Have an irregular intensity scale and typically produce fewer than 256 discrete intensity levels. For some LCDs portions of the gray-scale may be dithered.
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Perfectly smooth gray-scale with an infinite number of intensity levels.
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Motion Artifacts
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Slow response times and scan rate conversion result in severe motion artifacts and image degradation for moving or rapidly changing images.
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Fast response times and no motion artifacts. Works best for rapidly moving or changing images.
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Resolution
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Works best at the native resolution. The native resolution can not be changed. All other resolutions require adjusting procedures which can cause considerable deterioration of the image.
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Operate at the highest pixel resolutions generally available. Will operate at any resolution, geometry and aspect ratio without having to adjust the image.
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Viewing Angle
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Restricted viewing angles. Viewing angles affect the brightness, contrast and colors shown. Wide angles can lead to contrast and color reversal.
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Viewable from almost every angle.
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CRT
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LCD
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CRT monitors require about 100 W for 19” display.
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LCD monitors require 45 W for 19” display.
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CRT’s are heavier than LCD.
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LCD monitors are lighter and thinner
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They are mounted on table.
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They can be mounted on the wall.
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With CRT tilt up-down, swivel, orientation from horizontal to vertical mode is not possible
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With LCD’s tilt up-down, swivel, orientation from horizontal to vertical mode is possible.
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CRT displays text is not good as LCD.
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LCD displays text better than CRTs.
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