There has been a trend over the last few years, the migration from CRT monitors to LCD flat panel displays throughout operating applications such as: industrial process control, marine / military, cnc machine tooling, financial, medical, kiosks, home / offices and the work place. This brings up a great debate as to which technology is better: CRT or LCD. Of course we have to keep in mind in which application the display will be used. Putting aside all energy and space constraints, if you will be developing graphics, doing desktop publishing, or playing games then a CRT would be your best choice. On the other hand, if you will primarily be using your computer for word processing or programming, then a LCD would work best for you. The chart below compares LCD displays and CRT monitors on several different characteristic levels by comparing the areas in which they are advantageous, disadvantaged or equal.

Characteristics	LCD Displays	CRT Monitors
Brightness	Produces very bright images due to high peak intensity. Very suitable for environments that are brightly lit .	Fairly bright, but not as bright as LCDs. Not appropriate for brightly lit conditions.
Emissions	Produce considerably lower electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields than CRTs.	Gives off electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields.
Geometric Distortion	No geometric distortion at the native resolution. Minor distortion can occur for other resolutions.	Vulnerable to geometric distortion, but most CRTs feature user controls to decrease or eliminate the distortion.
Power Consumption	Energy efficient. Consume less than 1/3 the power of a comparable CRT. Consume less electricity than a CRT and produce little heat.	Use more power and produce more heat than a comparable LCD.
Physical Aspects	Take up about 40% less desk space. LCDs are thin and compact.	Larger, weigh more and take up more space than an LCD.
Screen Shape	Completely flat screen.	Older CRTs have a rounded spherical or cylindrical shape screen whereas newer CRTs have a flat screen.
Sharpness	At the native resolution, the image is perfectly sharp. Adjustments are required at all other resolutions which can result in measurable degradation to the image.	Normally sharper than LCDs (except when the LCD is at it's native resolution). Sharpness can be reduced by images with softer edges, flawed focus and color registration.
Bad Pixels	Can have many weak or stuck pixels, which are permanently on or off. Some pixels may be improperly connected to adjoining pixels, rows or columns.	In rare instances 1 or 2 dark phosphor dots, which are hard to detect. Aperture grille tubes generally have 2 very thin wires that are sometimes noticeable. Bothers some people but most don't notice.
Interference	May require frequent readjustments throughout the day due to timing drift and jitter. Analog input requires careful modification of pixel tracking / phase to decrease or eliminate digital noise in the image.	Produces irritating Moiré patterns. (Most CRTs include Moiré reduction, but this does not eliminate the Moiré interference patterns completely.)
Aspect Ratio	The aspect ratio and resolution are fixed.	Easily duplicates any preferred aspect ratio.
Black-Level	Not proficient at producing black and very dark grays. Not appropriate for use in dimly lit and dark conditions.	Appropriate for use in conditions that are dimly lit and dark. Produce a very dark black.
Contrast	Lower contrast than CRTs due to a poor black-level.	Produce the highest contrast levels commonly available.
Color and Gray-Scale Accuracy	Color saturation is reduced at low intensity levels due to a poor black-level. Images are satisfactory, but not accurate due to problems with black-level, gray-scale and Gamma.	Completely smooth gray-scale and an unlimited number of intensity levels. Best for applications that require a very accurate color and gray-scale calibration.
Cost	Considerably more expensive purchase price than comparable CRTs . (Cheaper lifetime cost: lasts about 13,000 - 15,000 more hours than a typical CRT.)	Less expensive than comparable displays using other display technologies. CRTs can save you more than 50% on the purchase price.
Gray-Scale	Have an irregular intensity scale and typically produce fewer than 256 discrete intensity levels. For some LCDs portions of the gray-scale may be dithered.	Perfectly smooth gray-scale with an infinite number of intensity levels.
Motion Artifacts	Slow response times and scan rate conversion result in severe motion artifacts and image degradation for moving or rapidly changing images.	Fast response times and no motion artifacts. Works best for rapidly moving or changing images.
Resolution	Works best at the native resolution. The native resolution can not be changed. All other resolutions require adjusting procedures which can cause considerable deterioration of the image.	Operate at the highest pixel resolutions generally available. Will operate at any resolution, geometry and aspect ratio without having to adjust the image.
Viewing Angle	Restricted viewing angles. Viewing angles affect the brightness, contrast and colors shown. Wide angles can lead to contrast and color reversal.	Viewable from almost every angle.
White Saturation	Saturation and compression can occur due to the bright-end of the intensity scale becoming overloaded. Contrast control must be carefully adjusted.	Rarely results in saturation and compression. CRTs are on the bright-end of the intensity scale.

Legend:

LCD Advantage

Equal

CRT Advantage