Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (
More info?)
Barry Watzman wrote:
> Most of the people who don't see a difference don't know how to evaluate
> a monitor. I've been in the display business, and the difference to a
> trained eye is usually significant. Put up a test pattern of
> alternating black and white vertical bars, each one single pixel wide,
> and with an analog input there is usually some bad moire distortion
> present.
Which means that the timing is not properly adjusted.
> Also, there is usually some "ghosting" or "ringing" around
> very sharp transitions -- like the vertical parts of white or black
> characters on a black or white background, when the character component
> is only a single pixel wide.
If the video board or cables are of poor quality.
> Lots of people don't see these things,
Or when they see them they fix them instead of assuming that they are
insurmountable obstacles.
> just like lots of people can't
> tell the difference between a $50 radio and a $2,000 stereo system. But
> if you show them to people, they will never again be happy with things
> that they used to be perfectly satisfied with. In any case, however,
> DVI images are totally free of these problems,
Oh? I see mucho moire on my LCD connected via DVI if I don't have the
timing right.
> so why fight it.
>
> By the way, a test program that will put up the bar display is available
> free. It can be used to correctly adjust the dot clock on an analog
> monitor:
>
>
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?500000030936
>
> This program is variously known as CRTAT, CRTAT2, and CRT Align
> (crtalign), and was written by Stephen Jenkins in about 1992 or 1993.
>
> To use the program for this purpose, after installation, select the
> leftmost of the 3 functions in the "Test" group and then check both
> check-boxes. This is a very old Windows 3.1 program written in visual
> basic. It runs under XP just fine, absolutely perfectly in fact, even
> with today's high resolution monitors (you do need VBRUN300.DLL (the
> Visual basic version 3 runtime DLL library), which it may or may not
> come with it depending on where you download it from, but if you don't
> have VBRUN300.DLL, it can be easily found on the web).
>
> This program is totally non-invasive, it's "installation" makes NO
> changes to your registry or to ANY system components or files. In fact,
> if you just unzip the program and double click the exe file, it will run
> fine without actual "installation" (but the program and the help file
> need to be in the same directory, and VBRUN300.DLL needs to be available).
>
> When you display this pattern, you should see an absolutely perfect and
> uniform field of alternating (but very, very fine) black and white
> vertical bars each only one single pixel wide. If you see "moire"
> distortion, or smearing, your display isn't adjusted correctly. Digital
> monitors (with DVI interfaces) will always be "perfect". Analog
> monitors will usually show an initial moire distortion pattern until
> they are adjusted (dot clock frequency and phase). In most cases,
> perfect adjustment can be achieved (and is "remembered" by the display),
> but in some cases you can't achieve this. Note that the "auto"
> (auto-adjust) function on almost all analog LCD monitors gets "close"
> but usually does not get to the best possible adjustment.
>
> If you have an analog monitor and you don't use this program to adjust
> your monitor, you are doing yourself a real disservice.
>
>
> sbb78247 wrote:
>
>> J. Clarke wrote:
>>
>>>DaveW wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>The signal that the LCD monitor actually uses is a digital signal.
>>>>But using the VGA cable you are sending an analog signal which must
>>>>then be converted to digital. Not good. Results in a reduced
>>>>quality image. Get a DVI cable so that you are sending a digital
>>>>signal to the LCD for superior imaging.
>>>
>>>Sez the guy who has never been right once in his life.
>>
>>
>> I agree with this poast!
>>
>> Spent a bunch of money to get DVI and SO WHAT!!! There is not a whole
>> lot of difference betwen the analog LCD on this system and the DVI on the
>> other. BIG F***** deal.
>>
>> S
>>
>>
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)