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LCD vs CRT Pros and Cons (A Quick Overview)
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This article provides a bird's eye view of the differences between CRT and LCD computer display technologies.

As of July 2021, CRT monitors are no longer in production. Even if you managed to get a used CRT monitor, there is a issue of connecting it to your system as newer PCs/notebooks come equipped only with HDMI and/or DisplayPort display ports. However, this can be worked around using HDMI to VGA adapters.

Major Advantages of LCD (Pros of LCD, Cons of CRT)

 

CRT LCD

Slim Factor

Bulky, the back size is proportionate to the size of the monitor LCDs are much slimmer than their CRT counterparts. This slimness brings along a host of advantages such as space saving and portability.

Viewable screen

The viewable area is about 0.9 - 1.1 inch smaller than the size specified on paper. This is due to the frame around the glass screen. So a 15" CRT would have only about 14" of viewable area. 17 inch LCD has 17 inch viewable. 24 inch LCD has about 23.8" viewable depending on model. Slightly less viewable as sizes go bigger, but not as severe as CRT.

Screen Flatness

Many manufacturers tout true flatness for their CRT monitors, but the sad truth is that most are fake. In reality it is only the outer glass that is flat, and not the actual screen. The true 100% perfect flat monitors are the aperture grille tubes made by Mitsubishi and Sony. Even then, these tubes have a disadvantage - a faint thin line or two (depending on size) running through the screen to stabilize the grill. Some people find this distracting, especially if you work on a white background (eg. documents) most of the time. 100% ninety degrees true perfect flat screen. There are curved models which are sold at higher prices. These models are said to provide greater immersion during gaming.

Radiation

CRTs emit electromagnetic radiation. Much of it is filtered by the lead heavy glass front and the rest that reaches your eyes are mostly harmless. Even then, radiation still passes through the screen and some people regard them as hazardous. LCDs emit a very small amount of radiation compared to CRTs. Health conscious consumers prefer them for this one reason.

Weight

CRTs weigh heavier, especially in the front (the display area) 17 inch CRT weighs around 16kg. 19 inch CRT weighs around 20kg. LCDs are very light 17 inch LCD weighs around 2.6kg. 24 inch LCD weighs around 3kg.

Power Requirements

Higher power usage, more than 400% compared to an LED backlight LCD of equivalent size. 17 inch CRT requires around 90 watts 19 inch CRT requires around 110 watts Considerably lower power usage. 17 inch LCD requires around 20 watts 24 inch LED LCD requires around 22 watts

Glare

Glare is reduced by the use of special filters and treated glass. Little or no glare depending on screen - Matte or glossy

Display Sharpness

Slightly less sharp images - but it is noticeable when comparing with LCDs Sharp (when used at native display resolution)

Automatic Resize

Newer CRTs come with a Auto-Fit feature, but unfortunately it does not work well and requires micro adjustments to fill the screen Hit the Auto button, and the display resizes to fit every pixel within its viewable area.

Burn-In

Suffers from burn-in problem. If displaying a same image for a prolonged period, it could be embedded in the display permanently. LCDs are free from the burn-in issue that plagues CRTs and Plasma displays. However, they do occasionally have Image Persistence problems which can be fixed by switching off the LCD for an extended period of time.

Refresh Rate (Screen Flicker)

A minimum of 72hz is required for a flicker free image depending on your eye. LCDs do not "paint" their image. They provide a flicker free image every time. However, games and fast moving videos benefit from a higher refresh rate monitor by appearing smoother

Warmness

Back gets noticeably warm after some time Little

Major Advantages of CRT (Pros of CRT, Cons of LCD)

 

CRT LCD

Dead / Stuck Pixel

There is no such problem in CRTs as images are painted on the screen. LCD panels are prone to dead or stuck pixels (or dots) on the screen due to their manufacturing process. However, stiff competition has made many manufacturers adopt zero dead pixel / stuck pixel warranties for their products.

Response Time

CRTs already have a very fast response time hence this attribute does not apply to it. This attribute is specially for LCDs as the lower the response rate is, the better the chance of avoiding "ghosting" effect.

Price

Affordable and cheaper than LCDs due to their declining popularity. No prices as it is no longer being manufactured. Prices have stabilized. 17 inch LCD costs around $150 24 inch LCD costs around $190

Native Resolution

Can be used at any resolution up to the maximum supported. No image quality is lost at any resolution. Must be used at its native resolution (maximum resolution) for best quality. Using the display at a lower resolution will result interpolation (scaling of the image), causing image quality loss. For this reason, gamers should avoid buying a monitor too high a resolution (e.g. 4K) as you will need more processing power (and more fan noise) to run the game in native resolution. As of 2021, we recommend 1920 x 1080 monitors when paired with recent GPUs/processors.

Max Colors

32 bit Native 8-Bit max (consumer models)

Viewing Angle

180 viewing angle About 170 degrees, depending on technology employed.

Video

Ideal for any video including HD Not ideal for full screen Standard Definition videos, but great for 1080p High Definition videos

Blackness

True Black Between Dark Gray to Gray

Summary

Pros of LCD vs Cons of CRT

 

LCD CRT

Slim Factor

Slim Bulky

Viewable screen

Full or very close Usually 0.9 inches or less than actual size

Screen Flatness

True Flat Fake Flat (unless aperture grille)

Radiation

Little or none More Radiation

Weight

Light about 2kg Heavy about 16kg

Power Requirements

Low Power requirement 400% or more power

Glare

Depends on screen, matte/glossy Reduced Glare

Image Sharpness

Sharp, when used in native resolution Slightly less sharp images

Automatic Resize

Perfect Imperfect

Burn-In

None Suffers from burn-in problem

Refresh Rate

Does not apply, except for gaming Needs refresh rate (minimum 72hz)

Warmness

Little Back gets warm after some time

Pros of CRT vs Cons of LCD

 

CRT LCD

Dead / Stuck Pixel

No such problem May have dead / stuck pixel

Response Rate

No issue with response rate Depends on model

Price

N/A (but no longer manufactured) Normal

Native Resolution

None Has a native resolution

Max Colors

32 bit 6-Bit - 8-Bit, 16.7 million colors.

Viewing Angle

Wide viewing angle Almost-wide viewing angle

Video

Ideal for any video including HD Not ideal for videos, unless HD

Blackness

True Black Between Dark Gray to Gray

Figures were compared using a typical 24 inch LED LCD (VA2432, previously Viewsonic VA926) and 19 inch CRT (Viewsonic G90F).

Our Recommendation

As CRT monitors are no longer manufactured, LCD monitors are the only way to go. Our recommendation is to go for a LED backlight LCD monitor that has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080.

If you are a gamer, you'll want a high response rate 144hz FreeSync compatible monitor but we still recommend 1920 x 1080 native resolution for smoother frame rate (FPS).

Currently I am using a curved 31.5 inch 1920 x 1080 G-Sync 144hz monitor - the Acer Predator Z321 Qbmiphzx. It was bought from Amazon UK but it is no longer available as of July 2021. My reason was that it was the biggest G-Sync monitor I could get for 1080p resolution as I did not want Windows to scale font sizes (but I still had to anyway). Before this I was using a 26" Sony LCD TV as a monitor for its 1360 x 768 resolution.

Acer Predator Z321

This document is Copyright(©) 2001-2021 by G.Ganesh. Visit Bootstrike.Com (http://bootstrike.com).

Last Updated 25 July 2021.

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Unregistered Anonymous Always preferred tube TV's, I always had one plus the way they work interests me. I sill got my 36 inch Sony hd tube good tv I won't make the mistake of buying a cheap liquid crap display again I wasted $150 for 1 year of tv then it burned out meanwhile my old tube doesnt even show signs of wear. So don't waste time buying liquid crap. Lol
posted 5 Oct 2017 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous I don't really like LCD's, I prefer Old CRT TV's because it works better with my VCR, and old video gaming systems, with LCD it has the VHS tapes have black bars at the sides and same with the video games. Ssame with my grandson (who is currently 12), so we switched back to our 25 inch CRT zenith Televison and everything went smooth, my grandson enjoys it too.
posted 25 Jan 2017 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous I have a CRT TV and used to have a LCD HDTV and I think I liked both but I had huge problems with an LCD TV because the screen broke easily and I called up to repair it but my warranty has expired and unable to repair my TV. So I bought another TV and its a Samsuck LED LCD TV and same sh*t happens again. So I give up and used my Old CRT TV left in the storage and I have no problems with this thing. So in conclusion I think CRT TVs are bit better then LCD but I liked LCD because it has HD 1080p and I can save up some space on my table to put stuff on it.
posted 9 Jul 2015 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous I have both CRT and LCD, but prefer CRT because ic an play at lower resolution (but with AA) this requires less powerfull videocard. Also i like to play old games that have low resolution. LCD displays look crappy whenusing low resolution
posted 25 Mar 2015 - Reply - Permanent Link
Willy (1 posts) Willy Seriously looks like a Windows bashing Linux, or visa-versa. Most of the facts where so outdated, at the time this comparison was written, that it isn't even funny. LCD only had 8bit color, in 2008? More like 16. But don't take my word for it, Google is your friend!
posted 13 Dec 2013 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous You should really make sure the comparisons at the bottom always list CRT on the same side, currently you're switching between left and right, which makes for a very confusing read. Fix that and it'll be much better.
posted 7 Jul 2013 - show 1 replies - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous actually most LED/LCD tvs are 8 bit panels and then some use 8bit+Frc (pseudo 10bit) then the best we have out in 2019 ATM is a true 10bit panel no 12 bit panels out yet not even the best dolby pulsar is 12 bit....but all that being said the only 10 bit color space format is HDR or HGL and Dolby vision even bluray are only 8bit so it's pointless before
posted 8 Jul 2019 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous I have read this article ..... a good one... but i have also found some interesting material at

http://freefeast.info/general-it-articles/difference-between-crt-and-lcd-crt-vs-lcd/

regarding CRT Vs LCD.... Thought you people might like it...
posted 17 Jul 2012 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous I made my little research. What I found out is that brainwash marketing confuse people more than the technology itself!. CRT TVs are good with Freeview digital box work fine. But now marketing encourages to buy LED over LCD, the same marketing told us LCD far better than CRT. The difference between LED and LCD: one uses bulbs one uses fluorescent light But huge price gap!. The same applies to smart phones people brainwashed into consumerism, most people don't need sophisticated smart phones just need reasonable mobile phone can call/text maybe a bit of extras like camera, bluetooth, etc
posted 22 Apr 2012 - show 2 replies - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous Brainwash is right. LEDs have been here how long now, and the market has to pretend that LCDs and fluorescents are better than CRTs just to get the consumers to buy them so we have to buy them all over again in a LED solution? It's all part of a planned progression scheme. The fact is this: CRTs were the green solution, because unlike the LCDs, they only had to be manufactured ONCE to work for at least 30 years verses LCDs which I had to replace every three years. So typical for the baby-boomers to believe every bit of nonsense that's out there. By the way, I dropped my lap top 3" off the ground and the LCD broke! Meanwhile, I've hit my CRT television several times and it still works, it also was in a flood and still works, my house was broken into and it's still there: they couldn't carry it on their tweaker bike.
posted 17 Sep 2012 - Reply - Permanent Link
Snoglydox (1 posts) Snoglydox LED and LCD are two totally different technologies; you need to do a lot more research.
posted 9 May 2015 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous In one table it says LCD gives a wide viewing angle compared to CRT, yet in another table it says the opposite.
How can they each be both comparatively wide and narrow?
I just don't get it, so in fact is the last table totally wrong? an unbelievable error!
Is a LCD viewing angle wide? please can anyone answer yes or no from the tables.
posted 7 Apr 2012 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous Great article. You just forgot about a very big advantage in CRT screens which is their durability and robustness. like if I accidentally hit my CRT TV, I will hurt myself. I I accidentally hit my LCD TV I will brake it...
posted 21 Mar 2012 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous Learn how to read. "Last Updated 1st Feb 2008". Of course information is NOW incorrect. Stop skim reading and ignoring BOLD words you tools.
posted 22 Dec 2011 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous Lots of these are untrue: 1st- Power consumed- Yes CRT can take more current at startup but it consumes as much or even less power than LCD when in darker scenes. LCD's lamps are always on and therefore consume the same current all the time, while CRT fluctuates.
2- 'Image sharpness is less than LCD' This is untrue. A CRT monitor can be much more sharp than a LCD monitor, and that at all resolutions supported. This all depends on CRT quality... and these days CRT quality is poorer and poorer with low tube quality control.
3- Radiation- You'd be surprised at how much real radiation is being output. Using a detector.. you have to be at 1 inch of the screen to detect radiation.. just by comparison the detector detects a microwave running at 20 feet.
posted 1 Oct 2011 - Reply - Permanent Link
SmackBob (1 posts) SmackBob No one adopted a 0 dead pixel policy. A summary of inquiries for most manufacturers can be viewed on intend dot ro, bottom RMA, then TFT somewhere on that page. Only a select few have a 1 pixel tolerance, the rest no RMA unless it's over 3 dead pixels.
posted 21 Sep 2011 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous Without the lcd, we would have no laptops. My father was working on a computer in a suitcase back in 1981 and I said what will you use for a monitor, he said "These will be for businessmen and they will plug into a pay monitor at airports or wherever they will be installed". I said to him that It'll never fly. What his idea was, is the modern laptop computer, if it weren't for the monitor issue he could have died a billionaire.
posted 27 Aug 2011 - Reply - Permanent Link
Unregistered Anonymous The colour information is kind of wrong ...
The CRTs are usually considered to be 24bpp (8 bits for each RGB component), and most of Tthe LCDs are 18bpp (only 6 bits per RBG component).
posted 26 Jan 2011 - Reply - Permanent Link

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