t42 sxga+ pixel pitch makes it comfortable!

[irus]

after experiencing the other side of lcd tech on desktop TFTs, its a major relief to be back on tpad high res display even though its much older. im surprised such pixel pitch of 0.2 mm is unavailable in desktop monitors even today (best i could locate was a 0.249 eizo 22" LCD). probably thats what makes them tough on the eyes? the ccfl backlight? the excess brightness? the fuzzy text because of low pixel pitch of .28 mm

this machine is a treasure even today!

[dr_st]

For most people it is high pixel pitch that is uncomfortable, because it makes the text small.

With laptops, people tend to sit closer to the screen, so higher DPI is more tolerable.

[irus]

thats plausible tho what happens in my case is the higher pixel pitch makes the text fuzzy as the eye gets an opportunity to focus on pixels individually them being big enough.

in case of lower pixel pitch the entire alphabet looks like one block and not made of pixels. so the eyes can fly over the text comfortably. i guess thats the logic why kindle 2 has a ppi of 167 compared to 127 for sxga+. to make the reading easier.

[sjthinkpader]

Are you using VGA or DVI interface for your monitor? VGA would have fuziness but DVI is pixel accurate.

[dr_st]

Also, turning Cleartype on, and tuning it with the Cleartype tuner, makes the text much smoother and easier to read for me, on any LCD, regardless of PPI.

[sktn77a]

"Cleartype Tuner" ???

[dsvochak]

"Cleartype Tuner" ???

With XP: Control Panel->Appearance and Themes->ClearType Tuning

[irus]

its a 22 inch tft using a dvi cable and cleartype is on, its on native resolution and ICC profile is from the manufacturer. its windows 7. despite that the pixels inherently in the desktop TFT can be seen individually at 0.28 mm pixel pitch from 3-4 feet away, not to mention the xtra bright ccfl on it which even at 0 brightness is not very comfortable. its the way its made.

on the sxga+ 14 inch panel of the t42 i cant see pixels separately on the monitor atleast from 2 feet away. it looks like a single picture. this makes it easier for reading text. i'm guessing this panel would save eyes to quite an extent over time, and probably already has over the last few years.

another thing i noted was when reading text on the desktop tft for 5 minutes and then closing the eyes, the text would still be imprinted in the eyes behind the eye lids and lit brightly (like a negative). not so in the sxga panel which isnt excessively bright to begin with.

[dr_st]

Sounds like you really have an overly bright desktop LCD. Cheap ones often tend to be this way. This is the most common cause for eye fatigue. What is the model of your LCD?

If you can see the pixels from 3-4 feet away, then you must have phenomenal or anomalous eyesight. I don't distinguish them even from 2 feet away, and even on a 19" SXGA monitor (which is even lower PPI than 22" WSXGA+).

[sjthinkpader]

I still have a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 91TXM 21 inch tube monitor that is native UXGA. Side by side with a A31p UXGA the tube has more accurate color. Yes, 1600x1200+1600x1200 desktop.

[irus]

@dr_st its a benq t22iw model. i guess these come with more than one ccfl in them which could be a reason

@sjthinkpadder nice resolution! an interesting project would be putting 4 uxga panels together for a 3200x2400 resolution it would have a pixel pitch of 0.197 way below any desktop tft in existence. sell it for $15k

overall the lcd tech seems to have gone lopsidedly in the direction of movie watching/entertainment and business users have been given a go by. since most of the work is reading text, at least 80%, probably even at home.

[irus]

i just discovered ibm made some high ppi desktop lcds 200 ppi+ back in 2001 called T221 with a resolution of 3840x2400 i think. i wonder if high ppi LCDs are still available somewhere? i couldnt locate any on ebay or marketplace here. kindly help!

[sjthinkpader]

Some LCDs can be turned vertically. I had a NEC 2010X that can turned vertically to read full page text. It last from 1999 to last year.

I then went and got another NEC but wide screen of course. It is not too bad for spreadsheets. Since that is 1050 pixels tall, I can move panes from my 1400x1050 T60 LCD to that monitor and fit vertically. Sometimes I have Excel spreadsheets opened across both screens.

Back to that 10 years old NEC 2010X. I read up on forum talks and found the culprit was a relay that likes to fail. Replaced the relay and the monitor worked again, even brightness got better. These are some robust monitors. Built like a tank inside. Of course in 1999 it cost the company arm and a leg. I had a tiny X20 hooked up to it.

The new NEC was built much cheaper, no turning, not even vertical height adjustments. I just hope it last half as long as the 2010X.

[irus]

@sj thats pretty good for its time and must have been expensive. i had a pivot LCD too samsung syncmaster 173bn before the thinkpad.

i just found something interesting http://www.pixelqi.com/ they are coming out with new 204 dpi screens with a backlight that can be switched off in next 6 months. and promise to be under $200 for the entire netbook. this fulfils all demands for business users

1. high ppi (super strain free text reading) - 204 ppi check
2. low price - $50-70 for each panel check
3. no uv rays emitting ccfl backlight - check
4. fully visible in sunlight - check
5. coming soon - check
6. screens to be available for DIYers - check

the last point means we can probably get this screen for current replacement of LCDs. like the benq monitor i have! pretty exciting technology.

some video links for the technology http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=p ... e&resnum=4#

[sjthinkpader]

Sound more like the display used in Kindle. Ink based and use reflective backlight.

Some newer Thinkpad has LED backlights similar to cellphones, iPods.