The last CRT survey (page 7: Movies quality, viewing angles)

Movies quality

LCDs are subject to four problems when it comes to movies. Viewing angles are sometimes narrow, they must have fast response time if we don´t want to perceive too much afterglow, some use dithering to interpolate from 6 bits to 8 bits (to get closer to 16 million colors) and finally a growing number of monitors use glossy panels that reinforce contrast but introduce a mirroring in dark areas.
To reach fast response times, manufacturers have used for quite some time a technique called overdrive. This technology over excites crystals to make them turn faster. The counterpart is that colors temporarily lack accuracy. This is the reason why we see visible twinkling effects in shades of the same color. It also sometimes adds to possible compression defaults in video sequences, resulting in viewer discomfort.

With CRTs, even if they are only analog (which means that they will never be HDCP certified), there is no dithering, reaction time problems, viewing angles turning black or overdrive. So are they perfect for watching movies?

Almost. There is no twinkling effect, or afterglow, but all three monitors have glassy panels. The glossiness isn´t as strong as the Nec 20WGX², but we can see our reflection in it. The image is so nice, however, that we quickly forget about it.

This time, we would be inclined to favour the biggest monitor, the best homogeneity and the best color quality. The 18" of the Philips might be a little too small. Between the Iiyama and ViewSonic, we fell they are equivalent, except brightness is more homogenous for ViewSonic and the black body a little better for movies.