Switching From CRTs To LCDs

Most new and upgraded systems call for flat-screen, narrow-profile LCDs rather than old-school, big and bulky CRT displays. But switching over from CRT to LCD is more difficult than it seems. Systems builders need to understand the changes that accompany the switch--including the kinds of usage scenarios best suited to one kind of display over the other--and the right tools to ensure customers get the most from their LCDs.

Setup and key adjustments are more complicated for LCDs, which are digital, than CRTs, which are analog. With more customers switching to LCDs, systems builders must know how to set up these monitors and configure them properly. They should also know how to get the best-looking text on the screen. Here are some tools for working with LCD displays.

ClearType Tuning

ClearType, a Microsoft technology, is designed to improve text readability on LCD screens, including laptop screens, mobile-device displays and flat-panel monitors. It accesses individual color elements in each pixel on an LCD display; features of text as small as a fraction of a pixel in width can be displayed, according to Microsoft. It not only improves readability, but also is easier on the eyes, especially over extended periods of time.

To tweak text settings on individual LCD displays, you download a Windows PowerToy called Clear-Type Tuner that appears as a control-panel widget. A wizard asks users to select the best on-screen display and pick through a series of text displays to tweak readability in much the same way an optometrist determines a new prescription for corrective lenses.

DisplayMate

One tool geared primarily for end users and consumers is also a good choice for systems builders and consultants looking for value on a tight budget.

DisplayMate Technologies' DisplayMate for Windows Video Edition ($89 for download only, or $99 for CD and manual shipped to buyers) not only supports CRT and LCD displays, but also liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS), digital light processing (DLP), TV, HDTV, plasma and multimedia displays.

Also available is the higher-end DisplayMate Multimedia Edition, which sells for $495 and handles the same kinds of displays as the Windows Video Edition, but also includes more test patterns and command scripts to customize display testing and tuning.

Features include a stress test for displays that shows settings that need adjustment or improvement; a system for checking for geometry, focus, resolution, gray-scale and color levels, as well as saturation; a system that shows what information from the display and graphics card DisplayMate can read, including native resolution, screen colors, gray levels, and screen and pixel aspect ratios, pixel shape (square or not), color depth, palette and planes.

There are also a number of tests for positioning, linearity and screen-regulation issues, including tests for sharpness, focus and resolution; and test patterns to check screen resolution, fineness of detail, and accuracy in a series of complex line and pattern traces.

We found the DisplayMate program's ability to help us properly set brightness, contrast and pixel timing to be the most helpful, as those are the aspects of LCDs that are affected the most when left at factory-default settings.

With these tools, systems builders and consultants can ensure that their customers and users have the best possible experiences when they upgrade or switch to LCD displays.

ED TITTEL is a freelance writer and trainer in Austin, Texas. JUSTIN KORELC is a Linux hacker and Windows maven. Tittel and Korelc are also co-authors of Build the Ultimate Home Theater PC (John Wiley, 2005).