Remember those days when 17" LCD’s used to cost over $250, for an off-brand, extremely basic model? Remember that bulky CRT that is quite possibly obesely sitting in front of you as you read this article? Well, let me tell you — the days of those obese monitors are shrinking slowly away into history. As LCD prices continue to fall, and new developments and advantages continue to roll off the assembly line, the time is getting increasingly ripe to replace that toxic-waste producing CRT with a bright, crisp LCD screen.
Over the holidays in the past few weeks, LCD monitors consistently dipped into the sub-$200 price range for nice 19" monitors of the widescreen variety. 20.1" LCDs are not far behind, only being priced at around $250, and bigger models are also seeing proportional price drops. LCD TVs are also getting much more cost-effective in recent months, some approaching the $200-300 mark for the first time.
LCDs are becoming a household item more than you might expect — your cell phone, your alarm clock, your PDA, your watch; they all can use LCD technology. As the demand for LCD devices has grown significantly in recent years, the manufacturing technology and the capabilities of the devices have likewise increased. The devices are getting smaller, easier to make, and are all around getting more economical for home applications.
For example, with the rise of the widescreen variety of LCD monitors, they are starting to pack HD-capability into sizes as small as 19 inches (HD being view as at least 1240 x 720, officially called 720p HDTV). The contrast ratio, an early issue of LCD technology, as well as the brightness have gained tremendously within the last year. Also, the biggest issue that caused problems for gamers, the response time, has been vastly improved, down to 5ms and lower — all at an affordable price.
I mentioned toxic-waste earlier in the article, and you may wonder what I was talking about. The dangers and environmental hazards associated with CRTs are very real, and becoming a very large problem for disposal companies. The cliff notes version: each CRT contains toxins that are not good for anything, including human beings. The expanded version can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube#Health_danger – Wikipedia has a full three sections of hazards and disposal guidelines. Speaking of which — what do you do with your CRT once you replace it?
To dispose of a CRT properly, you are required by United States federal law enforced by the EPA to dispose of CRT monitors at designated recycling plants. No, I am not a tree-hugger, but I have seen what is inside of those CRTs, and it isn’t pretty.
Due to environmental hazards, the US federal government has made it clear that they want all TVs sold to be digital capable and non-CRT to keep the environment safe. They have also discussed the idea of giving a stipend or tax incentives to develop manufacturing plants and ways to make digital monitors and TVs more economical. This means that in the coming years, the prices, quality, and features of LCD monitors will continue to improve targeting the consumer market.
Also, as a point of interest, I was just reading earlier last week that one of the major LCD makers has unveiled plans for the largest LCD yet — a 108" widescreen LCD TV. Keep your eyes open for it to be on the market later in the year. Yikes — where to put that 108" worth of TV… can you even imagine? Imagine what it will be like in a few more years? I am absolutely drooling at the possibilities.
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