Contrast: LCD VGA, video monitors have made great strides to narrow the gap on contrast. Contrast is important for viewing in low light situations and ensuring that black tones appear black (rather than muddy grays), and is most important for gaming and movie playback. Although CRT monitors pull of the victory, the margin of difference is now minor, with the best LCD VGA, video monitors matching CRT video VGA monitors for most practical purposes.

Color: CRT monitors still hold the advantage in regard to color purity and quality. LCD monitors have again made great improvements here, and now offer bold, brilliant colors in many cases. The best TFT LCD VGA video monitors are very good, and the average user would be hard pressed to note the difference for basic computing use. For gaming or movie watching, as well as professional-level image editing, this difference can range from slightly to significantly noticeable, especially in a side-by-side comparison.

Size/Weight: An obvious advantage for TFT LCD VGA video monitors, and one of their main selling points. LCD monitors can weigh as little as 1pound for the smaller portable handheld screen sizes, and are often just 1-6 inches deep, including the depth of the base stand. CRT monitors by comparison can easily weight 40-50 pounds, are often over 15-inches deep, and are very inconvenient for moving. It goes without saying that LCD monitors help free up a tremendous amount of desk space.

Screen Burn-in: TFT LCD VGA or video monitors do not suffer from screen burn-in. Although most CRT displays today also avoid this issue, because of the way TFT LCD monitors are manufactured, there is no risk of burn-in caused by nonmoving images that are displayed for a long period of time.

Viewing Angle: CRT video or VGA monitors do hold the advantage versus TFT LCD monitors here as well. However, it should be noted that TFT LCD monitors have dramatically improved, and current models offer a very wide viewing angle, easily over 160 degrees, which is all that is needed in practical situations.

Response Time: Response time refers to the time the screen takes to update pixel colors. This is very important for gaming and other fast moving images like movie playback. A slow response time will leave a 'trailing effect' where certain pixels seem to lag behind the action. The very best TFT LCD video, VGA monitors now offer sub 20 millisecond response times, which makes them generally acceptable for gaming. CRTs of course still hold the advantage, since their response time is not noticeable.

Screen Flickering: For those that spend a lot of time on a computer, one of the biggest issues leading to sore eyes and headaches is the screen flicker caused by CRT displays. Although screen flicker is generally not a problem for CRT displays that offer a 85 MHz screen refresh rate, many monitors do not, and default Windows settings are often lower as well. LCD video, VGA monitors clearly are the better choice here, as there is no flicker at all as a result of the differences in technology.

Magnetic Interference: TFT LCD vide or VGA monitors have the advantage here, and are not affected by magnetic sources, namely speakers. As a result, some LCD monitors even offer integrated speakers, and do not require special shielding. CRT monitors are affected by the magnets in speakers, and depending on the model and closeness of the speaker, can result in a distorted picture.

Touchscreen for TFT LCD VGA, Video or PC monitors
Touch screen overlays will reduce up to 25% of the monitors brightness. Touchscreens are becoming now more popular because of the interfacing between computers and small handheld TFT LCD color monitors. Handheld battery operated TFT LCD video monitors are more popular because of new led backlit technology that is extending the life of the LCD calf light bulbs by a factor of up to 5 times longer lifespans. Some portable handheld units can now work up to 100 hours with a single set of batteries.

Power Consumption: Again, TFT LCD vs. CRT, LCD comes out ahead. LCD monitors consume considerably less power than CRTs. Most LCD monitors consume between 20-50 watts of power, while CRT monitors generally consume 50 to over 160 watts. Touchscreen models even more current.

Dead LCD Pixels: One disadvantage of TFT LCD monitors is that they do include the potential of having so-called dead pixels, i.e., pixels that simply do not function. These pixels cannot be repaired, and can be quite annoying if they are in the main viewing area of the monitor, and are especially noticeable in word processing and other applications where the screen background is generally white. CRT displays do not suffer from this issue, but TFTLCD manufacturing has improved to greatly reduce the frequency of this problem.