Monitor advice wanted

[steve harley]

On 2010-07-13 14:50 , John Francis wrote:
> Most of the LCD panels, though, seem to use fluorescent tubes as the
> illumination source.  Presumably they will still be running at 60Hz?

fluorescent backlights for LCD displays run at a very high cycle rate to 
avoid flicker

> The LED screens (illuminated by white LEDs, not fluorescent tubes)
> are stll leading-edge, and pretty expensive when you can find them.
> They're not available in anywhere as many sizes/resolutions, either.

assuming you mean LCD displays with LED backlights; some don't pulse the 
LEDs but others do pulse them to dim specific parts of the backlight and 
increase dynamic range of the display; however, as with fluorescent 
tubes, the pulsing is usually fast enough to avoid flicker

LED backlit displays are now fairly common -- i've seen 22" versions 
available in the mid-$200s and all of Apple's displays except the 30" 
are now LED-backlit; it's worth considering them for a few reasons: 
first, the color and brightness is more stable both long- and 
short-term; second, LED backlights typically need less power; and third, 
unlike fluorescent tubes, LEDs do not contain mercury