Aqua-Soft ForumsIm lookin for 2 17" flat panel displays. Ive seen some nice ones but im worried about video playback and games. I cant go over $1200 for the pair. I know about the things to look for like refresh rate, i think its - lumins (brightness). Im lookin for your experiences and models. BTW I cant afford to go Apple. Wouldnt we all. 
Flat Panel Displays
That is a difficult question. Video in most cases always looks better on a CRT, however top end quality flat LCDs are very good . My suggestion is burn an AVI clip at large resolution, maybe 10sec on a CDRW and take it to the store and check how it looks on different flat panels.
The other common problem in large stores is that they hook-up 10 monitors to one computer and the connections degrade the picture giving you a monitor that is worth $ 1100 look worse than one that is worth $600.
Check at CNET people's review and other sites.
Thanx for the cnet advice.
Get a refresh rate that can at least do 80 at 1024x768, it really does make a big difference.
Look at viewing angle as well, some LCDs, if you dont look at the exact right positition, the colors and brightness get messed up, so you done want to be bound by that.
Contrast ratio is also important, the bigger, the better.
Most important: NATIVE RESOLUTION. If your native resolution is 1024x768, even if the fpd can go up to 1280x1024, its not going to look good. Same going with scaling the resolution down too (800x600)
For the price your paying, you can get an almost top of the line LCD, make sure you dont skimp for that price. I only have 2 LCDs, so I cant name any brands, but look around and make sure you compare.
I usuall run1280x1024 but when I get the panels im gonna go 1024x768. I have a 19" and a 15" now and they take up alot of desk space. Two 17's would be great. The price jumps too much above 17. (If your buyin 2)
You want to run them at their native resolution, so if you want 1024x768, make sure to get that as the native resolution. Getting the higher resolution isnt better in that case.
get 17' LCD, I have one, no complaint ; my old 19' sony trinitron was worse than this in every situations