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2torial #0678:
Learn2 Shop For a Computer Monitor
(continued)
Make necessary
adjustments
Contrast and brightness deteriorate over the
years, so it's important that these controls
operate well. Again, both digital and traditional
controls usually provide for these adjustments,
allowing you to improve the quality of the image as
the monitor components wear out.
- Adjust image size
You know that black area that surrounds
what you can see onscreen? Well, now you can
expand the onscreen image so that there's less
black area, and in some cases none at all.
There's a trade-off, though: the image quality
at the edge of the screen can be poorer than
elsewhere onscreen (see above), and in some
cases, the overall image quality may suffer.
This adjustment is usually only possible with
digital controls.
- Adjust image shape
Ideally, the image onscreen should be a
perfect rectangle. Image-shape adjustments allow
you to compensate if the sides of the image
slant in one direction, or if the image bulges
in the middle, or bows at the ends (and looks a
bit like an hourglass). The amount of adjustment
that's possible for these problems varies widely
from one monitor to the next, and it's yet
another adjustment that's only available with
digital controls.
- Adjust image rotation
Sometimes, the onscreen image is
misaligned within the plastic casing of the
monitor. It looks tilted towards one direction
or another, and it can be most annoying for
some. The ability to rotate the image onscreen
is quite useful, but is only available with
digital controls.
- Adjust color temperature
controls
Color temperature regulation aids your
graphics. If you've ever seen how many kinds of
white paint are sold in a paint store, you have
an idea what color temperature is. Graphics
professionals want the ability to make the image
onscreen have slightly different color values at
different times. This adjustment is generally
only available on high-end monitors with digital
controls. If your monitor doesn't provide this
feature, you may sometimes gain it through use
of a good video card.
 Step
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