When it comes to displays, deciphering the specs can be a real challenge and there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. — Image by storyset on Freepik
Have you ever seen the description on a monitor and felt completely stumped as to what a “pixel response” or an “sRGB colour space” is?
When it comes to displays, there’s an entire load of terms that tend to go over your average consumer’s head, which can make it hard to understand what makes one monitor better than another (and why it costs more too).
One of the first things that someone should check when it comes to a screen is its resolution.
Resolution refers to the number of pixels making up a display – a resolution like 1,920 x 1,080 indicates that there are 1,920 pixels in a single horizontal row and 1,080 pixels in the vertical.
Instead of numbers, terms such as FHD (full HD) and UHD (ultra high definition) are also commonly used to represent resolution. For instance, FHD refers to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and UHD to 3,840 x 2,160 pixels (4K).
However, a bigger number isn’t the be-all and end-all when picking a monitor – what also matters is how large the display is.
A bigger monitor would result in the individual pixels being distributed over a larger area, lowering pixel density (usually listed as pixels per inch in specs sheets).
Pixel density is what determines how sharp an image is displayed, and at lower pixels per inch, those individual pixels in the display will be more noticeable from closer viewing distances.
For instance, a standard 24in FHD display would have about 92 pixels per inch, while a 27in monitor at the same resolution would have a lower 82 pixels per inch.
In this case, a viewer would be more likely to notice the individual pixels on the 27in screen, making the visuals displayed appear less sharp.
It’s always worth checking the optimal viewing distance for a specific screen size, resolution and pixel density when choosing a monitor. Display manufacturer BenQ’s website (bit.ly/viewdistance) says the ideal viewing distance for a 24in FHD display is 96cm away, while for a 27in it’s 105cm.
Gaming needs
While a screen’s resolution tells you a lot, it is not the final indicator of how good a monitor is.
For gamers, the refresh rate is likely the next most important thing after resolution.
Refresh rate refers to how many times a monitor updates the image displayed, so a 60Hz display would refresh the image 60 times a second.
A higher refresh rate translates to a smoother and more responsive gaming experience, which effectively reduces input delay, making it desirable for those who play games where reaction speed is vital, like a first-person shooter.
Many gaming branded monitors come with refresh rates upwards of 120Hz.
Some monitors also come with adaptive sync (either G-Sync or FreeSync), which refreshes the image on the monitor whenever a new one is produced by the computer or gaming console, synchronising them to reduce latency if a monitor isn’t capable of higher refresh rates.
It’s also worth paying attention to the display’s pixel response time, which is basically the amount of time needed to change a pixel from one colour to another. A slow response time can cause ghosting if the pixels can’t change colour fast enough, particularly for high refresh rate monitors.
Ghosting is when a blurry trail is left behind a fast-moving object.
Colour accuracy
Those who do creative design work may be more particular in their monitor choice, which is where colour accuracy and “sRGB coverage” come in.
Monitors usually include a percentage as to how much of the sRGB colour space they cover, effectively indicating the range of colours the screen is capable of displaying.
People like designers will want to check on the Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 colour space coverage too and do further calibration with specialised tools to ensure colour accuracy.
Another criteria to keep in mind is High Dynamic Range (HDR), a display technology that enhances the contrast and brightness of images and videos, which helps make the dark areas of an image darker, and the bright areas brighter.
Anyone looking to have HDR should make sure to check the display’s rated brightness, as the level of HDR the monitor is capable of is dependent on its peak brightness.
This ranges from DisplayHDR400 up to Display HDR1400, and True Black 400 to True Black 600 for OLED.
For a breakdown of the specs for each tier, visit the Video Electronics Standards Association’s (VESA) webpage on HDR (bit.ly/vesaHDR).
Why not just get a TV?
While a TV functions about the same as a monitor in broad strokes, it’s not quite as simple as that.
On average, TVs tend to have a lower pixel density than a regular monitor, which, coupled with their usually larger size, makes them better suited for viewing from further away.
It’s also not very common to have high refresh rates on TVs, and pixel response times are generally going to be slower unless they come packaged with a “game mode”.
When all is said and done, it’s not that you can’t use a TV as a computer or gaming screen, but the situation will matter, and there may be some compromise needed.
But if all you’re after is a large display to hook up to a media PC or to play some casual video games on a big screen in the living room, a TV is definitely an option.
