'Shiny' LCD Monitors?

stevepayne · 10-30-2007, 04:20 PM

Hi,

from time to time I see an LCD monitor which appears to be shiny. By this I mean that the display seems to have a shiny surface infront of it. I'm struggling to explain myself here I realise but there must be other people who've seen them!

I rather like the look of them but can't find any in the shops at the moment - I'm guessing there must be a name for them or something...

**Jack.Sparrow** · 10-31-2007, 05:36 AM

Hey steve,

By 'shiny' are you referring to a 'mirror-like' surface? To my knowledge, any laptop made in the past 10 months will have that monitor.

**Ralck** · 11-01-2007, 10:58 AM

The term most commonly used for this is "glossy" and it does make the screen look shiny. The technology has actually been around for a while now (my laptop has it and it was designed about 3 years ago).

It's design is to make the screen look better. Colors stand out more, improving the contrast. Blacks also look blacker and whites whiter. However, the downside of this type of screen is that it can be hard to see outside in sunlight. The reason is that the screen reflects a lot of the sunlight, washing out the colors.

So this type of screen is great for something in a controlled environment like indoors where the sun won't be shining directly on it, but if you plan to use it outside, you might want to look at a matte screen instead.

stevepayne · 11-05-2007, 06:28 AM

thanks for the replies. I was aware of the sunlight issues, but as it'll be for a monitor rather than a laptop sunlight shouldn't be an issue.

10-30-2007, 04:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
stevepayne Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 59 OS: Win 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista	'Shiny' LCD Monitors? Hi, from time to time I see an LCD monitor which appears to be shiny. By this I mean that the display seems to have a shiny surface infront of it. I'm struggling to explain myself here I realise but there must be other people who've seen them! I rather like the look of them but can't find any in the shops at the moment - I'm guessing there must be a name for them or something...

10-31-2007, 05:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
Jack.Sparrow Resident Pirate Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Qld, Aus Posts: 17,867 OS: XP SP3/Vista SP1 My System Blog Entries: 6	Re: 'Shiny' LCD Monitors? Hey steve, By 'shiny' are you referring to a 'mirror-like' surface? To my knowledge, any laptop made in the past 10 months will have that monitor. __________________ //PC Wizard//Speedfan//Can you run it?//Posting Screenshots//Posting System Specs//Donations//

11-01-2007, 10:58 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ralck TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,454 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	Re: 'Shiny' LCD Monitors? The term most commonly used for this is "glossy" and it does make the screen look shiny. The technology has actually been around for a while now (my laptop has it and it was designed about 3 years ago). It's design is to make the screen look better. Colors stand out more, improving the contrast. Blacks also look blacker and whites whiter. However, the downside of this type of screen is that it can be hard to see outside in sunlight. The reason is that the screen reflects a lot of the sunlight, washing out the colors. So this type of screen is great for something in a controlled environment like indoors where the sun won't be shining directly on it, but if you plan to use it outside, you might want to look at a matte screen instead. __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs

11-05-2007, 06:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
stevepayne Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 59 OS: Win 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista	Re: 'Shiny' LCD Monitors? thanks for the replies. I was aware of the sunlight issues, but as it'll be for a monitor rather than a laptop sunlight shouldn't be an issue.