I have an odd feeling there was a thread like this before, but I’ve been looking at so many sources for info on this I can’t remember.
Currently I have 2x 17 inch monitors - one crt, one lcd, both ageing pretty gracefully. Obviously the colour depth on the CRT is much better and the black is a little richer on the lcd, although it fades to black much sharper. Basically I don’t mind the setup and have no huge need to change until one or both of them get too old and don’t work.
Which puts in context the following thought about getting a brand new 24 inch (give or take) monitor. Advantages being I could have full hd if I got a blue ray drive, reclaim a bit of desktop space (mainly from the CRT) and it would be new, so would keep me going for the next few years. CRT is well over 5 years old, lcd is at least getting close to that, can’t remember, but it buzzes a bit when not in use which can’t be a good sign.
Now I’ve read up on IPS, PVA and TN panel types and had more numbers thrown at me than I care to remember. Basically it comes down to IPS vs PVA for quality. I’m aware that I won’t outright beat the quality on my CRT with a new LCD unless I fork over enough money to buy a small car, but it seems IPS is the way to go for graphics work due to the colour depth. Which is fine, I get that they are more expensive for a reason.
Problem is that IPS monitor choice is limited to start with and seems further limited by what I can get here in Australia. Meaning I would probably have to go through hoops and fork out heaps for shipping on a monitor I can’t check out in person before hand - hoping that it travels ok from overseas. PVA seems much easier to come by and is cheaper, but not cheap and often “nasty” like TN panels (mainly regarding colour depth). It also generally has a faster response/refresh rate (good for games) and it sounds like they do full black a bit richer (good for TV/movies). I do plan to do a bit of these (games and tv/movies), but mainly use it for graphic related work.
Texturing, 3D and such mainly, not high end photo retouching or feature film compositing.
Needlessly long story short - is IPS worth it for graphical work over a PVA panel type?