disappointed with lcd quality

[popsicle]

I know the crt vs. lcd thing has been beat to death here, but I wonder if there's something I'm missing.  I used a 20" HP LP2065 4:3 lcd screen for my cocktail based on recommendations here as to it's decent viewing angle and low lag.  I do like it and I think I might buy another one to use as my everyday desktop monitor.   

The problem is, I just can't seem to stop being annoyed by the 'black' levels, esp. in older games that rely on lots of, well, black.  I have the settings for brightness turned all the way down and contrast up (I've played with these a lot) but always the blacks look gray or bluish, unless looking directly down from the top of the thing.  It's really noticeable in a dark room, and I am finding myself wanting to play the upright or bartop far more (I used crts in them).  Am I just one of those die hard crt people (the deep blacks, the phosphorous trails of movement, eye-popping colors) or am I doing something wrong? 

The computer is this thing is older and does not have dvi, so I've run standard vga to it.  I've seen that this could affect some game performance as it has to convert the analog signal, but could this have any impact on the monitor's lack of the black?   Maybe the solution is to get some really dark tinted glass and turn up the brightness? 

[Blanka]

Fun thing is, when you MEASURE colour characteristics from LCD's, it is having a better contrast than CRT, better gamut than CRT and better separation than CRT. I'll dig up the research study of that.
Nonetheless, your screen probably has an IPS panel, which has the nasty habit of "white glow". From an angle, the blacks are nowhere near as good as straight up front, and the backlight peeks through. The only solution is to go with an MVA or PVA panel, and with the latter you get LCD ghosting smudge to compensate for the CRT afterglow. PVA is very slow.
MVA is on the sweet spot, 1:1500 contrast (IPS is 1:800), it remains much better under angles, and the lag is 15-20ms (IPS can do as low as 6-10ms, but often it is also in the 15-20 range).

[RandyT]

Maybe the solution is to get some really dark tinted glass and turn up the brightness? 

This will help the issue, but not totally eliminate it.  The downside is that whatever brightness you take from the blacks, will also be taken from your foreground.  More often than not, turning up the brightness on an LCD results in washed out colors or a poor color gamut.  So if considering this route, you would want to adjust the brightness and contrast to highest level possible without boosting the issue you are trying to correct, or significantly degrading the image.  Then, try a few different samples of tinted glass at different transmission specs.  You'll probably still end up with some amount of glowing blacks, but it may be at a level you can live with.

RandyT

[Ravenger]

That's the monitor I'm hoping to replace the Dell TN panel 19" LCD that's in my cabinet. How did you mount it in your cocktail cab? Did you decase it?

[popsicle]

I didn't decase it.  I screwed a block of wood to the very back and fit this block in between two support panels.  It's pretty snug.