First off let me say I was so happy when flat screen monitors became the norm versus the old CRT option but recently I'm starting to get annoyed with mine (flat screen). I have a 23" LG monitor that annoys the heck out of me at night. It's hard to describe but the edges black out when flying at night as I look around. Using TrackIR when I look around the VC I notice there's this line of sight very focused that's all but straight ahead and outside of that around the edges it gradually blackens making the night darker than it really is. A well lite VC helps allot like the Feelthere and Captainsim cockpits but this is a problem. Another way to describe this is problem when looking directly forward over the glare shield at night where the edge of the over head panel is visible up in the top right side of the monitor it's darkened out unless you look up at it because my flat screen darkens the edges of the monitor screen. There is no peripheral vision (to a certain extent) with a flat screen monitor. I know this may not make since but the best I can do to describe this is if you look at a flat screen monitor from the side (not directly at it) you can see the edges dark out a bit which is exacerbated night flying in the sim. There's no problem during the day but night flying is no longer fun when the edges of my monitor are gradually blacked out. It almost looks like a feature of the monitor versus the technology in how it's produced, I could be wrong.

 

The bottom line is I like the old CRT monitors in this area where the edges aren't compromised in the clarity of what you see no matter what angle you look at them. Seeing as we are well past CRT's which is a good thing are all flat screens created equal in this area? Are there some options out there that don't darken around the edges depending on what angle you view them at? I hope I'm making since in describing this.

 

Thanks to anyone who has some advice on this.

Been using a 42" LG screen with trackIR for the last 6 months. I don't see any of the issues you described.

Doing some research I believe this is the case of LCD versus LED. My bet is a LED monitor will cure my problem...

 

"Since LED lights are smaller and thinner than CCFLs, an LED monitor can be thinner and more lightweight than an LCD monitor that uses CCFLs. LED lights are also more energy efficient than CCFL lights, and perform better as well. According to NY Times writer Eric A. Taub, this is because CCFL lights always have to be on, which hurts contrast levels in darker scenes. LED lights are only illuminating when they need to be, so contrast and black levels on an LED monitor are usually superior to those found on an LCD display that uses CCFL lights.

 

Read more: The Difference Between LED & LCD Monitors | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/...l#ixzz2MgFzbkTI"

 

Just bought a new monitor... B)

Its a problem possible with most TFT monitors. Colors change and darken according to viewing angle. If you are seeing what I think you are seeing, you need a low latency IPS display rather than a regular TFT. (colors are better as well)

 

A good one costs slightly more, though.

I've got a Viewsonic vx2453mh-LED monitor. I got it when my 21" pro grade Viewsonic CRT died. I've got all the problems described above, but maybe not to the same extent.

 

The difference in brightness, contrast and color between the center of the screen and the edges surprised me. What are professionals using for photo editing? Because it's certainly not the same thing I've got.

 

The monitor does seem to have a good dynamic range between white and black, but I had to set some things to the extreme to get the black level set low enough. For example, brightness is set to the minimum on the monitor and I've got brightness turned way down on the video driver.

 

Night flying looks fairly good, but I still have to use Gamma Panel to adjust gamma if the computer room isn't dark. By "dark" I mean I have to use a red LED to see the keyboard.

 

I've got the monitor set at near eye level, but it appears the brightest when it's lowered a few inches. This means the monitor brightness changes as I move in my chair. I can also see color balance changing at the edges of the screen as I shift left and right.

 

Maybe some of the problems would be diminished if I kept my computer room as brightly lit as most offices, but I really don't like doing that.

 

I'd be interested in hearing others' experiences going from a CRT to a flat screen.

 

Hook

Cheap photo editors might use an SPVA monitor mostly from Samsung or rebadged from Samsung. Great for pictures, but they have known ghosting issues with fast moving images.

 

Professionals used the S-IPS format made popular by the gorgeous Apple cinema displays, but they were always pricey and had high latency...... (And could have a slight purple bias if you looked for it)

 

More recently a compromise display has come along, which is the IPS (less expensive version of S-IPS) that I mentioned; Wide viewing angles, good color reproduction and acceptably low latency for fast moving images (common in games)

 

LG is probably the biggest supplier for those, and even if its badged from another company, its likely an LG.

 

Biggest way to sharply show the difference is to sit in front of your monitor and move your head up and down or side to side and see how the colors shift. On SPVA and IPS the color shift is FAR less noticeable, and much more like a CRT.

 

Color accuracy is also much higher than a regular TN monitor.

 

EDIT: Added some videos

 

Check out TFTCentral for plenty of info about LCD monitors.

 

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/content/ips_technologies.htm

 

For examples of professional level monitors, check out NEC and Dell's high end models.

I'll receive my LED monitor tomorrow. I'll report back my findings.

We'll after receiving my new 27" LED monitor I can confirm LED makes all the difference. There's a slight darkening when flying at night around the edges of the monitor but nothing on the level of a standard LCD monitor. So by the very nature of how flat screens are made the clarity of the old CRT monitors is not possible with night flying in FS but LED's come pretty darn close and outside of night flying provide a great widescreen picture all around.

 

So until something new comes along for flat panels screens I'd recommend no one using FS ever get a standard LCD monitor, LED is the way to go hands down.