Total Visual Solutions - Monitors

Monitors

Monitors may be used as stand alone items, as fill-in in an installation or to check/monitor a video signal going to a projector for example. The three options are standard CRT (TV) monitors, Plasma screens or TFT (LCD) screens. All three have different applications mostly dependant on their size.

TFT (LCD) screens range from 4" to 17" but are most commonly used in small sizes. These are ideal for monitoring the output to a projector or the feed from cameras in a mixing situation as they take up very little room yet give a crisp clear image. The larger versions of the screens are becoming common as computer monitors and so often come with data inputs as well. The clarity of the image is far better than found on CRT screens but the viewing angle is reduced.

CRT (TV) screens typically range from 14" to 28" although smaller versions are available. The main advantage of this type of screen is that they are mass-produced for the home market and therefore the price is very competitive even on the big-name brands. The downside is that due to the way they work the overall unit is very bulky. The cost of these screens will increase a lot to obtain standard input connectors and will again rise if a broadcast quality calibrated monitor is required.

Plasma Screens are often seen as the best type of screen but their current price is very restricting. With prices in the middle thousands they are similar, if not more expensive than, a small video projector. With regard to size there are some 4:3 33" screens but mostly they are only available as 42", 50" or 61" in the 16:9 or widescreen format. It is worth noting that the image size is measured as a diagonal across the screen and so the height of the image is not as big as it may first appear.

Similar to LCD screens Plasmas are ideal for multimedia presentations as they can accept both video and data signals and give a very clear image.