What's a good value monitor?
 

I mean computer monitor here, not a studio/production monitor.

Any suggestions for a 17"-19" monitor that's easy on the eyes, but also cost effective (read: cheap)?

I'm concerend about eye damage over long term use. A friend of mine with an expensive 21" Viewsonic monitor just got glasses from too much computer use, so I'd like to take care of my peepers. From what I hear, anything with a high refresh rate is better, but apart from that, all monitors are just as bad.

Also, is having 2 monitors that much better than just the one in terms of editing?

Are flat screen monitors worth the extra money over a regular one?

Are LCD monitors any easier to stare at for 10 hours a day? It would have to be only a 15" unit to fit in my budget.

I got a 21" Viewsonic, and love it. I doubt your friend spends nearly as much time in front of it as I do, so look for other causes of blindness. No hairy palm jokes, please. As far as price, Viewsonic again is at the top of the value tree.
Keith

OK, no hairy palm jokes. :)

Are there any reports out there about monitors vs. eye problems?

You migt try the Sugeon Generals website, and search for it. Seriously though, I spend upwards of 16 hours a day in front of the PC and haven't suffered yet. When I was heavy into video games, it was often times many more hours. Of course, I do need a larger monitor these days, but that's just due to old age.
Keith

I have a Samsung IFT and it hasn't destroyed my eyes yet after a year of use.

It's not just the monitor that minimizes eye fatigue. The videocard's ability to crank a high enough refresh rate at a HIGH resolution is also key.

Matrox has always been praised for the RAMDACs they put into their cards and this is why. Their 2D mode (windows desktop) display has always been very smooth on the eyes while providing a crisp image (fine text edges).

I've been working with dual monitors for years and swear I'll never go back to a single monitor no matter how much bigger it is over a dual. Most folks with a single 17" might have 1024x768. My current desktop setting is 2304x864 spread over two adjacent 17" screens. I can keep more visible data ON-SCREEN at once without having to mouse-click it back into the foreground. On top of THAT benefit, the eyes shifting left & right to see that data should be a lot better than someone fixing their eyes straight forward for hours at a time. Then there's the video-specific benefit of being able to stretch an NLE's timeline across two monitors.

As for CRT versus LCD, for video work I far prefer using a CRT. LCD is still LCD... in that it only has an effective refresh rate of about 40fps. No matter how fast your videocard can crank it's graphics, that LCD is only going to display around 40fps max. There will be those who argue that we're only working with 29.97fps NTSC anyway, but 40fps is just too close to that for my comfort. Last thing I want is to waste my time guessing if a clip's jerkiness is because of the LCD display or the footage itself. The other issue is that LCD screens has a limited display palette. It's a lot easier to view a smooth gradient on a CRT tube, IMO.

At school on our New Tech Toaster 2.0 Machine we have dual display and it just kicks, if you have the option of going dual then do it. You will not regret it. I have also used duel’s on our Titanium G4 laptop, and it worked great with FCP 3.0

i'll put another word in for viewsonic. i have been running 2 17" pf775 monitors on a matrox g550. brilliant representation of colors, crisp images all around. i'm glad i didn't opt for another pair of sony displays. they are good, but i don't think they have too much if anything over viewsonic. after calibrated, they seem to run a bit brighter than the sonys too.

I'll also agree with the folks touting dual monitors. If I could, I would. Just having someplace to dump all of the Adobe menus helps immensely. Viewsonic rules!
Keith

OK, I'm getting two monitors tomorrow. Nearly had them today but employee stupidity prevented it.

I was going to get 2 NEC 97F monitors (19" flat-CRT 0.20mm 1600x1200) for about $350cdn/$200us. They didn't have them in stock, but I can get them elsewhere. The other one I was looking at was the NEC Multisync FE991SB-BlacK (19" 0.24mm Flat-CRT 1792x1344 SuperBright) for about $440cdn/$290us. The picture is nice and bright, but is it worth an extra hundred buck each? Also, I believe the cheaper monitor has a higher refresh rate than the newer one. 75mhz vs 63mhz? Or maybe 85 vs. 75 or so. Can someone tell me what the "Superbright" is? It was a very bright monitor.

Anyway, do any of you kind folks have an opinion on these two NEC monitors? I'm sure they will both do the job fine, but I'd like to keep my eyes happy.

And to add, the more expensive of the two is an aperture grille monitor, which means it has those two annoying horizontal lines through it. Since I'm only using it for video editing, will this drive me crazy???

I really need quick answers on this one guys, I'm either picking them up tonight or tomorrow morning. Your advice is appreciated.

I've stared at aperature grill monitors before (trinitron-tube) and while I can see the two lines, I don't find myself mentally fixating on them and can proceed with work as usual... YMMV though.

Dual 19" CRT monitors... very sweet... I wish I had the desktop space for that!

uv emissions
 

if you are worried about your eyesight, pick up a pair of the uv filters that fits over your screen. they look like a polarizer and dim the image slightly, but they trap the harmful spectrum light from your monitor(s). your right to be concerned with your eyes, you can practically light a dark room with a monitor, so there's not much difference between using your computer and staring into a light. I read (in some dumb corporate risk management training) that you should take a break every half an hour from your monitor and give your eyes a chance to relax and focus on things that aren't a foot or two away from your face.
but i'm sure that no matter what i do, when i die, an autopsy will reveal a 4x3 rectangle burned permanently into my retnas.

In the past few years I've worked with quite a few Samsung monitors (mostly 19 inch) and they are GREAT! Sharp, reliable, good colors. Right now I'm looking at a 950P but it's a bit older and I think they ave new models.

One brand I wouldn't recommend: MAG. One thing to really watch for: the warranty AND the return policy! Returning a monitor can be incredibly expensive. A friend told me that Cornerstone is pretty good in that area. Have a look at their web site.