Product type
— Monitor. In this case, we mean monitors designed mainly for classic use — as a screen for a personal computer. Their functionality can be quite diverse — from entry-level screens with 1-2 inputs for connection to multifunctional models with built-in speakers, TV tuners, remote controls, etc. The same applies to the diagonal. Most traditional monitors are in the 22-30" range (these sizes are currently considered optimal for screens whose distance is determined by the width of the desktop), but there are also large-format devices whose diagonal can exceed 32".
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Portable monitor. A separate caste of monitors designed to connect to laptops. They are distinguished by small diagonal sizes, not exceeding 18", a thin format and the absence of a stand, as a result of which they look like tablets.
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Game monitor. Monitors considered optimal for gaming. These are not necessarily devices specially designed for this application (although there are some); however, all gaming monitors have a number of features that gamers will surely appreciate. Firstly, the resolution (see below) in such models is not lower than Full HD. Secondly, the matrices have a low response time — less than 5 ms, which allows high-quality display of dynamic scenes; and the frame rate often reaches 120 Hz or even more (although there are quite modest values). Thirdly, devices of this type often have special gaming (see below
...) and similar features — in particular, most gaming monitors are compatible with FreeSync and/or G-Sync technologies (see "Features").
— LCD panel. One of the key features that distinguish LCD panels from conventional monitors is the wide variety of connectors: in addition to video outputs, it includes auxiliary ports such as LAN or RS-232 (see "Connectors (Optional)"). It is also believed that the LCD panel must be hung on the wall without fail, but this has its own specifics. Many devices of this type are really made only for wall installation, and some models can be combined into a video wall that broadcasts one image to several screens. But besides this, there are solutions equipped with stands and allowing desktop use (and sometimes even originally designed for it). At the same time, the first variety, "purely wall-mounted", can have almost any diagonal — including modest 21 – 22 "; but the dimensions of "desktop" panels start at 32", moreover, they most often have advanced matrices like IPS. Anyway, such screens are used mainly in rather specific areas. So, wall mounting is convenient for organizing information boards at stations, airports, shopping centers, for use at exhibition stands, conference rooms, etc. Desktop models are useful for those for whom large size and high image quality are of key importance . Also among them there are many devices with touch screens, which further expands the user experience.
— Plasma panel. These types of devices are similar in many ways to the LCD panels described above, but they also have some key differences. The main one is the technology used for the screen: instead of a liquid crystal matrix, plasma panels use cells filled with a special gas and covered with a luminous substance — a phosphor. This technology provides very high image quality, with deep colour reproduction and contrast. At the same time, it is not easy to create a small plasma cell, which is why the pixels on this type of screens have more stringent restrictions on the minimum size. As a result, plasma panels, in principle, are never small — 42 "is considered almost the minimum size for such a screen. In addition, the reverse side of the described advantages is also a slightly shorter service life and higher cost than LCD matrices. As a result," plasma" has not received much distribution, such devices are bought mainly not for "public", but for personal use — for example, as a home theater screen or as equipment for an advanced gamer.
— Video wall. Models designed to build video walls. Such a wall is an array of numerous closely arranged screens that can work in concert and produce a large overall image; each screen is responsible for its own fragment of the picture. Such designs are used, in particular, at concerts and other public events, where there are no longer enough separate screens. The main feature of monitors for video walls is a very thin frame — due to this, the boundaries between the segments are almost invisible, and the image is perceived as a whole.
— Information display. Narrow-purpose equipment, assuming a stationary method of installation. Such displays are mounted on the wall, built into special niches or openings. They are intended to work as digital signage, broadcast advertising materials, play various video content. Individual instances of information displays can support touch control, have a pre-installed Smart operating system and other "smart" features. As a rule, specialized proprietary software is used to control the operation of such equipment.Curved screen
The presence of
a curved screen in the monitor design.
Such a screen has the left and right edges curved forward - it is believed that this shape significantly improves perception compared to a flat surface. At the same time, it makes sense to provide this feature only on fairly large diagonals - at least 30"; therefore, it is typical mainly for high-end models. It is also worth noting that in order to take advantage of all the advantages of a curved screen, you need to look at it from a certain point - at the optimal distance, strictly in the center; however, for computer monitors this is usually not a problem.
The main parameter of a curved screen is the radius of curvature. It is indicated in millimeters along the radius of a circle, the bend of which corresponds to the bend of the monitor: for example, the designation 1800R indicates a radius of 1.8 m.
The smaller the number in this designation, the more curved the screen (all other things being equal). At the same time, some manufacturers claim that the ideal curvature value is 1000R: supposedly, it is with this curvature of the screen that the image on it turns out to be as close as possible to a person’s natural field of vision, and the closer the curvature of the monitor is to 1000R, the better the viewing experience. However, in practice a lot depends on personal preference; and when viewed from a long distance (exceeding the radius of curvature by one a
...nd a half times or more), all the advantages of a curved screen are lost.Surface treatment
Modern monitors can use displays with both glossy and matte screen surfaces.
A matte surface is in some cases more preferable due to the fact that on a
glossy screen, when exposed to bright light, noticeable glare appears, sometimes interfering with viewing. On the other hand, glossy screens offer better picture quality, higher brightness, and richer colours.
Due to the development of technology,
monitors with a special anti-glare coating have appeared on the market, which, while maintaining all the advantages of a glossy screen, creates significantly less visible glare in bright ambient light.
Refresh rate
The maximum frame rate supported by the monitor at the recommended (maximum) resolution.
The higher the frame rate, the smoother the movement on the screen will look, the less noticeable jerks and blurring will be on it. Of course, the actual image quality also depends on the video signal, but for normal viewing of video at a high frame rate, the monitor must also support it.
When choosing this option, keep in mind that at lower resolutions than the maximum, the supported frame rate may be higher. For example, a model with a 1920x1080 matrix and a claimed frame rate of
60 Hz at a reduced resolution can give 75 Hz; but the
75Hz frame rate is only listed in the specs if it is supported at the monitor's native (maximum) resolution.
Also note that a high frame rate is especially important for gaming models (see "Type"). In most of them, this figure is
120 Hz and higher;
monitors with a frequency of 144 Hz are considered the best option in terms of price and quality, however, there are also higher values —
165 Hz and
240 Hz. And
monitors at 100 Hz can be both inexpensive gaming models and advanced home ones.
You can evaluate all the frame rates at which this monitor is capable of operating by the ver
...tical frequency claimed in the specifications (see below).Colour space (sRGB)
Monitor colour gamut Rec. 709 or sRGB.
Any colour gamut is indicated as a percentage, however, not relative to the entire variety of visible colours, but relative to the conditional colour space (colour model). This is due to the fact that no modern screen is able to display all the colours visible to humans. However, the larger the colour gamut, the wider the monitor's capabilities, the better its colour reproduction.
Nowadays, sRGB is actually the standard color model adopted for computer technology; This is what is used in the development and production of most video cards. For television, the Rec. standard, similar in parameters, is used. 709. In terms of the range of colors, these models are identical, and the percentage of coverage for them is the same. In the most advanced monitors it can
reach or even exceed 100%; These are the values that are considered necessary for high-end screens, incl. professional.
Video transmission
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VGA. A connector designed for transmitting analog video signals back in the era of CRT monitors (especially for them). Today it is considered obsolete and is gradually falling out of use - in particular, due to low bandwidth, which does not allow full work with HD content, as well as double signal conversion when using VGA in LCD monitors (which can become a potential source of interference) .
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DVI. A connector for video signal transmission, designed specifically for LCD devices, including monitors. Although the abbreviation DVI originally stands for “digital video interface,” this interface also allows analog data transmission. Actually, there are three main types of DVI: analog, combined and digital. The first type in modern computer technology has almost gone out of use (this function is actually performed by the VGA connector), and a purely digital connector -
DVI-D - is indicated separately in our catalog (see below). Therefore, if the monitor’s specifications indicate “just DVI”, most likely we are talking about a combined DVI-I connector. In terms of the characteristics of the analog video signal, it is similar to the VGA described above (and is even compatible with it through a simple adapter); in terms of digital capabilities, it is DVI-D (single-channel, not Dual Link). However, due to the spread of purely digital standards, DVI-I is becoming less and less
...common.
— DVI-D. A variation of the DVI interface described above that supports exclusively digital video signal format. The standard (Single Link) DVI-D interface allows you to transmit video in resolutions up to 1920x1080 at a frame rate of 75 Hz or 1920x1200 at a frame rate of 60 Hz, which is already enough to work with modern resolutions up to Full HD inclusive. In addition, there is a dual-channel (Dual Link) version of this connector, which has increased bandwidth and allows you to work with resolutions up to 2560x1600 (at 60 Hz; or 2048x1536 at 75 Hz). Accordingly, the specific DVI-D type depends on the monitor resolution. In this case, a single-channel screen can be connected to a dual-channel video card, but not vice versa. Also note that the situation with connectors is similar: Single Link and Dual Link ports are slightly different in design, and a single-channel cable is compatible with dual-channel input/output, but, again, not vice versa.
— DisplayPort. An interface originally created for video transmission (however, it can also be used for audio signals - in this DisplayPort is similar to HDMI). Found in many modern monitor models. Note that monitors with DisplayPort inputs are also compatible with Thunderbolt outputs (via an adapter).
The specific capabilities of this connector depend on its version. Modern monitors have the following options:
- v.1.2. The earliest version commonly used in our time, released in 2010. It was there that features such as 3D support and the ability to connect multiple screens in a daisy chain were first introduced. Version 1.2 allows you to transmit 5K video at a frame rate of 30 fps; working with higher resolutions (up to 8K) is also possible, but with certain restrictions.
- v.1.3. DisplayPort version released in 2014. It has one and a half times more bandwidth than v.1.2, and allows you to transmit 8K video at 30 fps, 5K at 60 fps and 4K at 120 fps. In addition, this version has a Dual-mode function, which allows you to connect to HDMI and DVI outputs through simple passive adapters.
- v 1.4. In this version, the maximum frame rate when working with one screen has increased to 120 fps for the 8K standard and to 240 fps for the 4K and 5K standards (data is supposed to be transmitted with compression using DSC - Display Stream Compression technology). Other features include compatibility with HDR10 and the ability to simultaneously transmit up to 32 channels of audio.
- v2.1. 2022 version using the same physical layer specification as USB4. The interface bandwidth has been doubled compared to v 1.4 (up to 80 Gbit/s, of which 77.37 Gbit/s is available for data transfer). At the same time, it supports connecting displays with resolutions up to 16K at 60 fps, 8K at 120 fps, 4K at 240 Hz and 2K at 480 Hz (without the additional use of DSC - Display Stream Compression technology). DP40 (40 Gbps) cables can now be longer than two meters, while DP80 (80 Gbps) cables can be more than one meter long.
— Mini Display Port. A smaller version of the DisplayPort described above, used primarily in laptops; especially popular in Apple laptops. Recently, there has been a trend towards replacing the Mini Display Port with a universal Thunderbolt interface; however, this interface operates through the same connector and provides the same capabilities. In other words, monitors can be connected to Thunderbolt (versions 1 and 2) via a standard miniDisplayPort cable, without using adapters (for v3 you will still need an adapter).
— HDMI. The HDMI interface was originally designed to transmit high-definition video and multi-channel digital audio over a single cable. This is the most popular of modern interfaces for this purpose; HDMI outputs are practically mandatory both for computer video cards and for media centers, DVD/Blu-ray players and other similar equipment.
The presence of several outputs of this type in the monitor allows you to keep it connected simultaneously to several signal sources - for example, a computer and a satellite TV tuner. This way you can switch between sources through software settings without fiddling with reconnecting cables, and also use the PBP function.
At the same time, the port itself has different versions, and the most common in our time are as follows:
- - v.1.4. The earliest version actively used in our time; appeared in 2009. Supports resolutions up to 4096x2160 at 24 fps, and in the Full HD standard (1920x1080) the frame rate can reach 120 fps; 3D video transmission is also possible.
- - v.2.0. Version introduced in 2013 as a major update to the HDMI standard. Supports 4K video with frame rates up to 60 fps (due to which it is also known as HDMI UHD), as well as up to 32 channels of audio and up to 4 audio streams simultaneously. Also in this version there is support for ultra-wide format 21:9.
- - v.2.1. Quite a significant update compared to version 2.0, introduced at the end of 2017. A further increase in throughput made it possible to provide support for resolutions up to 8K at 120 fps inclusive. Improvements have also been made regarding working with HDR. Note that to use all the features of HDMI v 2.1 you need HDMI Ultra High Speed cables, although basic functions are available with regular cables.
— USB C (DisplayPort AltMode). Another type of USB interface used to work with video signals. It has a small size (not much larger than a microUSB) and a reversible design that allows you to connect the plug to either side - this makes Type C more convenient than previous standards. At the same time, we note that such a monitor may initially be designed for connection to a USB C output (at least, such an adapter cable may be supplied in the kit); it would not hurt to clarify this point separately.
— Thunderbolt interface. Thunderbolt is a data transfer protocol (used in Apple devices), the throughput of which reaches 40 Gbps. The connector itself, as well as the speed, depend on the version: Thunderbolt v1 and v2 use miniDisplayPort (see above), monitors with Thunderbolt inputs are not necessarily compatible with the original miniDisplayPort outputs - it wouldn’t hurt to check this compatibility separately. And Thunderbolt v3 is based on the USB C connector (see above).Screen swivel
The presence of
a swivel stand in the design of the monitor allows you to change not only the angle of the screen (of course everyone has it), but also its rotation to the right and left. The angle of rotation depends on the model, but anyway, even a slight deviation allows you to quickly adjust the position of the monitor to your needs.
USB hub 3.x
The monitor has a USB hub with USB 3.2 connectors.
A USB hub is a set of additional USB ports on the monitor case, to which you can connect various peripherals (provided that the monitor is connected to the computer's USB port with a special cable). This equipment performs two useful functions. Firstly, the hub increases the number of ports available for connection: the USB cable from the monitor occupies only one port on the computer, and in return the user receives several connectors on the monitor. Secondly, these connectors are located in close proximity to the user, literally at arm's length. This is especially useful when working with classic PCs, where the system unit can be located under the table or in another hard-to-reach place, and it would be inconvenient to reach for it every time in search of USB ports.
As for version 3.2, it combines all versions of the third generation. In fact, this standard includes three specifications: USB 3.2 Gen 1 (formerly USB 3.0) with speeds up to 5 Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (formerly USB 3.1) with speeds up to 10 Gbps and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 with speeds up to 20 Gb /with. The USB 3.x hub in the monitor can meet any of these specifications, such details should be clarified separately.
Fast charge
Availability in the monitor USB port with function of
fast charging. This connector is used to charge batteries in various gadgets (smartphones, tablets, etc.). It differs from conventional USB ports in increased power supply; in addition, this connector may not support any other functions at all, except for charging.
Note that in modern technology various special technologies can be used to speed up the charging process. So before buying a monitor with this feature, it doesn't hurt to check if it supports any of these technologies and whether they will be compatible with devices that you plan to charge.