Guide lines to chosing a LCD monitor

I am in need of a new monitor. My Trinitron CRT is giving out and would like to replace it with a LCD type and know that Adobe does not support LCD gamma adjustment. What are some of the guide lines to use for the selection of a new monitor? Does "contrast factor" have a bearing on the dynamic range (Dmax)? What about "color space" of the LCD? Is there some way of finding out from the manufacturer what the color temperature is? Or do I just buy a monitor and along with some test apparatus, do the measurements at home?
If anyone has had experience with this I sure would like to get some pointers.
Ken Clunis

Ken....
I've just been through the process of choosing a new LCD screen to replace my dead one. The biggest problem I faced was that there was no way I could try out a monitor and send it back just because it wasn't up to my idea of good. So I had to rely on reading about some of the issues in various reviews etc. Trouble was that most folks had conflicting experiences and many reviews I came across mostly focused on the gaming market.
Being an Engineer I resorted to looking at the various spec's with a hope to making a decision this way but this didn't help as many specs were a little limited in info. In the end I looked at the technology and some practical issues that surfaced.
1. Many OEMs like Dell don't make their own LCD panels, which is the key ingredient. Instead they'll buy from where ever they can get the best deal. This means that the quality and type varies from batch to batch. The advice I came across said to look for a display that used an S-IPS (or AS-IPS Panel). These have better viewing angles than some other types. Their were reports of some Dells using these and others of the same type number using a PVA panel.
2. Colour space isn't a concept the average LCD manufacturer worries about. If you want AdobeRGB then the choice is limited and more expensive. Most will approximate sRGB.
3. Being able to change the colour temperature is important rather than having a preset value. If your going to invest in a colourimeter then I'd advise checking to see if you can independently adjust the R,G,B. Although to be fair this can often be done by the display driver.
4. I'm not sure about Contrast Ratio v Dmax. This is tricky for LCD screens because there isn't any control for Contrast/Brightness - just the backlight control. On my display - NEC 20WGX2 - the Contrast Ratio I think was spec'd at 1000:1 but the screen was so bright I had to wear dark glasses until I'd set it up with my Eye-One. This resulted in a 15% contrast setting and a 25% Brightness setting. Backlights are subject to degradation and start to change after about 18months or sooner if you run them at full wack. So, I'm hoping that running it at lower settings will extend its life.
5. In the end I went for the NEC 20WGX2. a) NEC make there own panels, b)NEC make Professional Displays for Photographers and Artists, c) it got a good review for what I could afford.
There was some very useful information on the following web site along with some good information on the technology and choosing a display.
6. If you are lucky enough to be able to try one with a Colourimeter then a good test is to see how much adjustment is required for the Colour Temperature. The more you have to tweak the RGB the harder the Profile has to work to render the colours which might introduce more errors. Displaying a Grayscale Gradient is another good test to check for banding. Do the same on a Colour Gradient as well.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk
Colin

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