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Looking once again at Figure 19-21, note the DVI and VGA inputs. DVI is a digital signal, so it connects directly to the LCD’s logic circuitry. The VGA goes to an analog to digital converter before reaching the LCD logic board.

Keep in mind that Figure 19-21 is a generic illustration. The actual location and interconnections of the components are as variable as the number of LCD panels available today!

LCD Resolution

All LCD monitors have a native resolution, such as 1680 × 1050, that enables them to display the sharpest picture possible. As mentioned earlier, the pixels are fixed. You simply cannot run an LCD monitor at a resolution higher than the native one. Worse, because LCDs have no equivalent to a shadow mask, they can’t run at a lower than native resolution without severely degrading image quality. A CRT can simply use more dots and the filtering and smoothing of the shadow mask to make a picture at a lower resolution look as good and crisp as the same picture at a higher resolution, but an LCD cannot. The LCD has to use an edge-blurring technique called anti-aliasing to soften the jagged corners of the pixels when running at lower than native resolution, which simply does not look as good. The bottom line? Always set the LCD at native resolution!

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NOTE Two LCD panels that have the same physical size may have different native resolutions.

The hard-wired nature of LCD resolution creates a problem for techs and consumers when dealing with bigger, better-quality monitors. A typical 15-inch LCD has a 1024 × 768 resolution, but a 17-inch usually has 1280 × 1024 or higher. These high resolutions make the menus and fonts on a monitor super tiny, a problem for people with less-than-stellar vision. Many folks throw in the towel and run these high-end LCDs at lower resolution and just live with the lower-quality picture, but that’s not the best way to resolve this problem.

With Windows XP (and to a lesser extent with the earlier versions of Windows), Microsoft allows incredible customizing of the interface. You can change the font size, shape, and color. You can resize the icons, toolbars, and more. You can even change the number of dots per inch (DPI) for the full screen, making everything bigger or smaller!

For basic customizing, start at the Control Panel | Display applet | Appearance tab or Control Panel | Personalization applet. To change the DPI for the display, go to the Settings tab and click the Advanced button in Windows XP; in Windows Vista, just click the Adjust font size (DPI) option in the Tasks list. Your clients will thank you!

Brightness

The strength of an LCD monitor’s backlights determines the brightness of the monitor. The brightness is measured in nits. LCD panels vary from 100 nits on the low end to over 1000 nits or more on the high end. Average LCD panels are around 300 nits, which most monitor authorities consider excellent brightness.

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NOTE One nit equals one candela/m2. One candela is roughly equal to the amount of light created by a candle.

Response Rate

An LCD panel’s response rate is the amount of time it takes for all of the sub-pixels on the panel to go from pure black to pure white and back again. This is roughly the same concept as the CRT refresh rate, but with one important difference. Once the electron gun on a CRT lights a phosphor, that phosphor begins to fade until it is lit again. Individual LCD sub-pixels hold their intensity until the LCD circuitry changes that sub-pixel, making the problem of flicker nonexistent on LCDs.

Manufacturers measure LCD response rates in milliseconds, with lower being better. A typical lower-end or older LCD has a response rate of 20–25 ms. The screens look fine, but you’ll get some ghosting if you try to watch a movie or play a fast-paced video game. In recent years, manufacturers have figured out how to overcome this issue, and you can find many LCD monitors with a response rate of 6–8 ms.

Refresh Rate

The refresh rate for an LCD monitor uses numbers similar to that for a CRT monitor, such