16.2 or 16.7 million colours?

[dAvies.lOcker]

Hi

I have this thread (http://ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=419228) running in this section already.

The monitor im looking at, the hydundai has only got 16.2 million colours. Is there going to be a dramatic/noticable difference between 16.2 and 16.7. Im going to be spending about £200 so should i really be looking into tfts with 16.7?

[JCLW]

There are really two kinds of panels.

TN (Twisted Nematic) - these are 6bit panels (16.2m colours). Tend to have a fast response, and limited viewing angles. IPS (In-Plane Switching) is a newer kind of TN panel with better colour.

MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) - these are 8bit panels (16.7m colours). Tend to have better colour reproduction, contrast, and viewing angles, but slower response times. Also more expensive. PVA (Patterned Vertical Alignment) is a newer kind of MVA panel with better response times.

Note that an 8bit panel is 8bits per red, green, and blue channel so 8bits times three channels = 24bits total. 2^24 = 16.7m colours. A 6bit panel is only 6bits per R, G, and B so 6 x 3 = 18bits total. 2^18 = 262,144 colours. Not too many. So TN panels flip between colours really quickly in order to fool the human eye into thinking that it's actually seeing a blend of the two colours being displayed.

So, back to the question - Is it a noticable difference? Depends who you ask. I prefer MVA panels, but that's just me. There a millions of people happily using TN panels (my g/f and my mom for example). It also depends what you are going to be using it for. If you're into image editing you'll probably want an 8bit panel - if you're a pro you'll get a 10bit LCD like the LaCie 321. If you're browsing the forums and playing games you probably won't notice.

[Richard]

Color banding (dithering artifacts) can be noticeable in smooth gradients. Effects like billowing smoke clouds will show more pronounced dithering artifacts. The default windows XP "bliss" background will show some banding on certain LCDs.

Most of the time the effects are hardly noticeable. That doesn't mean most people can't see them. Most folks can see them if they look for them. It's a matter of how much it bothers the person.

I suggest going to a store with a variety of LCDs and testing them out with various different backgrounds.