Computer Monitors

Things to look out for:

Dot Pitch:  Refers to the distance between pixels.  (Something like 0.256mm Pitch)  So obviously the smaller the dot pitch number, the closer the pixels are together and the sharper the picture.

CRT: Cathode Ray Tube.  The huge glass tube you still find in most TV's and monitors.  The CRT fires electrons along each line of the phosphor coated screen which glow when hit by the electrons producing the image you see.

Refresh Rate on CRT Monitors:  The number of times the CRT redraws the image on screen.  The faster the refresh rate, the less the monitor flickers.

i.e. If your monitor has a refresh rate of 75 Hz, that means that the image on your monitor is redrawn 75 times per second.  The higher the number the better.

Interlaced:  As the electron beams pass through every line refreshing the phosphors keeping the image nice and crisp, interlaced monitors skip every other line starting at the top going left to right and down refreshing all the odd lines then back to the top to refresh every even line and therefore are much more prone to flickering.

Non Interlaced or Progressive Scanning:  Refreshes every line as it goes (no skipping) so much less chance of flicker, eye strain and headaches.

TFT Screen Displays:  Typically, the type of backlight used on LCD monitors are cold cathode fluorescent lamps that can operate at frequencies above 70KHz, 1000 times faster than a CRT and therefore are as near as damn it flicker free.  Not to mention very slim so you can free up most of your desk space.