How to Navigate Through Monitor Specifications with Ease

A monitor is an output device used for displaying images and colors. It is also known as a video display or visual display unit (VDU) and is the most common type of display for computers. With a plethora of monitor brands and models on the market, understanding the various specifications is essential to choosing the right monitor for your needs.

Screen Size

The screen size refers to the diagonal length of the monitor's display, usually measured in inches. For the LG 32GQ950-B, it has a screen size of 31.5 inches, approximately 80 cm. Common screen sizes include 15 inches, 17 inches, 19 inches, 21.5 inches, 22.1 inches, 23 inches, 24 inches, 27 inches, and 29 inches, among others.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio refers to the ratio of the monitor's width to its height. The LG 32GQ950-B has an aspect ratio of 16:9, which is the standard for most devices, including TVs, smartphones, and computers. Other aspect ratios include 4:3 (used in older CRT monitors), 16:10 (an optimized version of 16:9), and 21:9. The 21:9, commonly known as an ultrawide, offers a wider aspect ratio compared to the standard 16:9 monitors. This ultrawide aspect ratio provides a larger display area, making it suitable for users with specific needs, such as gamers who can benefit from a wider field of view in games and the ability to multitask with split-screen operations.

Display Type

The display type refers to the panel technology used in the monitor. Common panel types are IPS (In-Plane Switching), TN (Twisted Nematic), and VA (Vertical Alignment).

IPS panels offer excellent color reproduction and wide viewing angles, making them suitable for various tasks like gaming, office work, design, and photo editing.

VA panels provide good color accuracy and high contrast ratios, making them suitable for movie watching.

TN panels have fast response times, making them preferred by some professional gamers, but they have limited viewing angles and lower color accuracy compared to IPS and VA panels.

Color Gamut

Color gamut represents the range of colors a monitor can display and is typically described using standards like sRGB, AdobeRGB, NTSC, or DCI-P3. A larger color gamut means the monitor can reproduce a wider range of colors, resulting in more vibrant and accurate images. RGB refers to the color format with red, green, and blue as the primary colors. For displays, the color gamut represents the range of colors that can be displayed, and a larger color gamut means more colors can be reproduced, resulting in a clearer and more vibrant image.

There are also two important concepts related to color space: CIE1931 and CIE1976. CIE1931 color space was one of the first color spaces defined using mathematical methods and was established by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) in 1931. CIE1976 color space, also known as CIELAB color space, was defined by the CIE in 1976.

Color accuracy is measured by an important metric called Delta E. Delta E is a standardized measurement that relates to the perceived visual difference between two colors. It quantifies this difference and calculates the deviation from a reference standard, allowing for the setting of tolerance levels based on Lab* coordinates. In general, the lower the Delta E value, the closer the colors displayed by the monitor are to the original input colors. If a display achieves a Delta E value of ≤2, it indicates excellent color accuracy.

Resolution

Resolution refers to the number of pixels a monitor can display, and it is typically represented as the number of pixels horizontally by the number of pixels vertically. Common resolutions include 720p (HD), 1080p (FHD), 2K (QHD), 4K (UHD), and 8K (UHD). Higher resolutions provide more detailed and clearer images.

Refresh Rate

The refresh rate, measured in Hertz (Hz), refers to the number of times the electron beam scans the image on the screen per second. In simple terms, it indicates how many times the screen is refreshed with a new image per second. A higher refresh rate means more frames are displayed per second, resulting in a more stable and clear image. On the other hand, a lower refresh rate may lead to flickering and jittery images. In theory, a higher refresh rate provides smoother motion, where, for example, 60Hz means the screen refreshes 60 times per second, while 144Hz indicates 144 refreshes per second. This means 144Hz offers more than 2 times the smoothness compared to 60Hz.

Color Depth

Color depth, also known as color bit depth, is a term used in computer graphics to represent the number of bits used to store the color of a single pixel in a bitmap or video frame buffer. It is measured in bits per pixel (bpp). Color depth defines the number of shades or levels that each of the Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B) channels can have. A higher color depth means more shades and levels, resulting in a more detailed and subtle display of colors.

For example, a common color depth for displays is 8 bits per pixel (8bpp), which means each of the RGB channels has 256 possible levels (2^8), resulting in a total of 16.7 million colors (256 x 256 x 256) that can be displayed. Similarly, a 10-bit color depth would offer 1.07 billion colors (2^10 x 2^10 x 2^10).

Response Time (GTG)

Response time, measured in milliseconds (ms), refers to the time it takes for a pixel to transition from an active state (black) to a static state (white), and then back to the active state. A shorter response time on a monitor results in reduced motion blur and clearer images, particularly beneficial for gaming where fast-moving visuals are common.

For different types of panels, the response time may vary. TN panels typically have faster response times and can achieve as low as 1ms, while IPS panels generally have response times around 4ms or 5ms.

GTG stands for Grey-To-Grey, and it is an abbreviation used to describe the response time of a pixel as it changes from one shade of gray to another. It is commonly used to represent the panel's response time.