Looking for Good Flat Screen Monitor

[riverside6]

My wife constantly complains about our behemoth of a monitor for our PC at home. The color and darkness settings are skewed and I want to surprise her with a new monitor for Christmas.

Anyone know the best place to get one for a good price?

Thanks!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

My wife constantly complains about our behemoth of a monitor for our PC at home. The color and darkness settings are skewed and I want to surprise her with a new monitor for Christmas.

Anyone know the best place to get one for a good price?

Thanks!

Here's a link to Tiger Direct's one day sale ad I got this morning. They consistently have the best price on monitors - much lower than either Sam's or Costco, but returns are not nearly as easy. They do have stores in Raleigh and Durham (it is over in the Northview shopping center off of 15-501) but other than that you have to order mail order. Shipping is only $1.99 right now, even on the Hanns-G 22" LCD priced at only $149.99.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/email/wem1788.asp?SRCCODE=WEM1788SS&cm_mmc=Email-_-Main-_-WEM1788-_-post

[riverside6]

Here's a link to Tiger Direct's one day sale ad I got this morning. They consistently have the best price on monitors - much lower than either Sam's or Costco, but returns are not nearly as easy. They do have stores in Raleigh and Durham (it is over in the Northview shopping center off of 15-501) but other than that you have to order mail order. Shipping is only $1.99 right now, even on the Hanns-G 22" LCD priced at only $149.99.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/email/wem1788.asp?SRCCODE=WEM1788SS&cm_mmc=Email-_-Main-_-WEM1788-_-post

good stuff ozzie, thanks, I'll check it out!

[juise]

Tiger Direct is good as long as there aren't any rebate involved. It's always worth checking out what New Egg's got.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=19&name=Monitors

The deal site I frequent did have anything too exciting.

Good luck.

[2535Miles]

My wife constantly complains about our behemoth of a monitor for our PC at home. The color and darkness settings are skewed and I want to surprise her with a new monitor for Christmas.

Anyone know the best place to get one for a good price?

Thanks!
Hi riverside, what is your price range?

Color and darkness skewing (also called uniformity) is an issue for all displays, whether it be CRT or LCD, especially consumer models. In LCDs it's caused by minor flaws in the plastic filter between the little magic crystals and what you see on the screen and the variance in luminance to vary over the surface of the monitor.

Certain brands will have advantages over others, at certain price ranges, but only for a limited amount of time before the disparity becomes more apparent. Eizo makes great displays, of which a few (the CG product line) have technology to compensate for this problem, but you're not going to find these models in a Best Buy or CompUSA. You should also expect to pay $4,000 and up for these displays. :eek:

Either way, a brand new LCD is still gonna wow her at Christmas and you'll be much happier with one instead of the CRT. Just don't be surprised if you see these same issues after a year or two.

Oh yeah, I like the Apple Cinema Display 20" but it's $599 and will still have issues with even luminance and color.

[riverside6]

Admittedly, I went cheap from TigerDirect.com (~100). For my wife's use of the computer I couldn't justify anything more. Here's what I got her (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4349459&cm_mmc=Email-_-WebletMain-_-WEBLET03ORDER-_-03order&SRCCODE=WEBLET03ORDER).

I also picked up a USB TV Tuner for myself, b/c I needed to spend another $10 to get the savings on shipping! :).

Thanks for all of the great advice.

[CathyCA]

Admittedly, I went cheap from TigerDirect.com (~100). For my wife's use of the computer I couldn't justify anything more. Here's what I got her (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4349459&cm_mmc=Email-_-WebletMain-_-WEBLET03ORDER-_-03order&SRCCODE=WEBLET03ORDER).

I also picked up a USB TV Tuner for myself, b/c I needed to spend another $10 to get the savings on shipping! :).

Thanks for all of the great advice.

Riverside, a computer screen isn't a very romantic gift. I hope that you'll make up for this by buying your wife a nice piece of jewelry.

[riverside6]

Cathy, that part of the deal has already been taken care of, and she is expecting it. The monitor is the icing on the cake that she's not expecting. :)

[CathyCA]

Cathy, that part of the deal has already been taken care of, and she is expecting it. The monitor is the icing on the cake that she's not expecting. :)

Good for you! Thank you. Your day will go so much better if you give jewelry for Christmas.

[bjornolf]

My wife is getting exactly what she wants for Christmas cause she told me to buy it for her... A Pro 600 Kitchen Aid stand mixer. And if I get her anything else, she...will...hurt...me. Trust me on this one. I still shiver when I think about the debacle of 2003. :eek: My wife is all about practicality and budgets and whatnot. My budget for Christmas was $X.00, and I'm not allowed to spend one red cent over that. Me, I'm all about toys and fun for Christmas, but not her. :( Ah, well, that's life.

[CathyCA]

My wife is getting exactly what she wants for Christmas cause she told me to buy it for her... A Pro 600 Kitchen Aid stand mixer. And if I get her anything else, she...will...hurt...me. Trust me on this one. I still shiver when I think about the debacle of 2003. :eek: My wife is all about practicality and budgets and whatnot. My budget for Christmas was $X.00, and I'm not allowed to spend one red cent over that. Me, I'm all about toys and fun for Christmas, but not her. :( Ah, well, that's life.

Your wife will be even happier if you buy her a piece of jewelry to go along with the mixer.

Surprise her!

[riverside6]

But keep the receipt just in case! :) Don't want any freak mixer injuries to happen.

[bjornolf]

Did you read the part about hurting me? About 2003? No, trust me. Bad idea. I tried that in 2003. That was seriously the closest our marriage ever came to ending. I...am...not...joking. When she sets a budget, that is the budget. Period. Sometimes, I try to be funny with this stuff. With this, I do not jest.

[weezie]

A couple of years ago, my husband surprised me with a boxing glove signed by Muhammad Ali AND Cassius Clay.
I've got lots of nice jewelry, and a great Kitchen Aid mixer but that truly was one heck of a gift!
It's right up on my special sports shelf with my K bobblehead, Steve Yzerman signed puck and bottle of dirt from Tiger Stadium. :)

[weezie]

Did you read the part about hurting me? About 2003? No, trust me. Bad idea. I tried that in 2003. That was seriously the closest our marriage ever came to ending. I...am...not...joking. When she sets a budget, that is the budget. Period. Sometimes, I try to be funny with this stuff. With this, I do not jest.

Don't let that stop you from making her breakfast in bed over the Christmas holidays. That ALWAYS works!

[bjornolf]

That's a nice thought, but it never seems to work. She always finds a way to wake up before I'm done, whether because she smells the food, or the kids run in and jump on her. I'll try again, though. ;)

[weezie]

Then it's time to pull out the big guns....tell her you are bringing dinner home for the kids. After that, run her a nice bubble bath (please, clean the tub first!)
light some candles in the bathroom and pour her a glass of champagne and then get the heck out of that bathroom and put the kids to bed. Allow her an hour of uninterrupted time and I ab-so-lute-ly guarantee she'll be delighted.

[bjornolf]

That's a nice idea, though she prefers to use the jacuzzi jets to bubble bath. The two don't seem to mix too well, unless you want to have a foam party. ;) She also doesn't like champagne, but that's a different story. Also, I'm a stay at home dad (SAHD) working on a book, so technically, she'd be bringing home dinner for the kids. Also, she works from home (95% of the time) as well, though she earns a steady check, so we'd have to go OUT to bring home dinner for the kids (kinda funny, ain't it?). So, maybe I should get the bubble bath and the champagne? ;) I really am the woman in this relationship. sigh. :rolleyes:

As far as the breakfast in bed thing, my wife has the most impeccable sense of timing I've ever seen. No matter how early I get up in the morning, she always walks in before it's done. She always walks in when I'm wrapping her presents. She always walks in when I'm trying to hide her presents. It is impossible to surprise her, even when she WANTS to be surprised. It's like she can read my mind. It's freaky. :eek:

[CathyCA]

That's a nice idea, though she prefers to use the jacuzzi jets to bubble bath. The two don't seem to mix too well, unless you want to have a foam party. ;) She also doesn't like champagne, but that's a different story. Also, I'm a stay at home dad (SAHD) working on a book, so technically, she'd be bringing home dinner for the kids. Also, she works from home (95% of the time) as well, though she earns a steady check, so we'd have to go OUT to bring home dinner for the kids (kinda funny, ain't it?). So, maybe I should get the bubble bath and the champagne? ;) I really am the woman in this relationship. sigh. :rolleyes:

As far as the breakfast in bed thing, my wife has the most impeccable sense of timing I've ever seen. No matter how early I get up in the morning, she always walks in before it's done. She always walks in when I'm wrapping her presents. She always walks in when I'm trying to hide her presents. It is impossible to surprise her, even when she WANTS to be surprised. It's like she can read my mind. It's freaky. :eek:

Maybe your wife should give YOU the jewelry.