All computer monitors, video cards, browser software and web sites are not created equal. That's probably a shocking thing to say, I know, but it's true. Can you do anything about it? Can you select a monitor and video card that are better suited to viewing digital photos and video? Do some browsers work better than others? Can you optimize the configuration of your browser to maximize the display of those killer web sites you're looking for?

Yes, you can, if you know the secret. Before I reveal all, however, you must promise not to tell anyone else!

What's Your Problem?

PROBLEM: Select and configure a computer monitor, video card, and web browser that are optimized for viewing photography-related web sites. SOLUTION: Make sure everything you do solves at least one part of the problem. When all parts of the problem have been solved, stop.

In the world of marketing, this illustrates a concept called "market-driven marketing." Using this technique, a salesperson would attempt to determine your exact requirements, then sell you products that exactly meet your requirements. Alas, this concept still appears to be a secret in the marketplace. Most salespeople employ a concept call "product-driven marketing," where they simply push whatever products they have in stock, without regard to your requirements. Their hero, William Salesperson, once said, "A product, is a product, is a product" or something to that effect.

In the world of computer systems consulting, every request for a computer system is viewed as a set of unique problems, each of which must be solved. Secretly, this is called "needs analysis" or "requirements analysis," but we never say this out loud because it scares clients away!

Let's make a list of your, um, needs.

It's The Results That Count

You want results. Getting those results is the problem. Identify the results you want, and you can solve your problem. First, consider the level of quality that is available on the web, then decide upon the level that you can afford.

Your viewing enjoyment of a photo displayed on your computer depends upon the resolution of your video card and monitor, the number of colors they can display, and the color temperature of your monitor. Sounds like picking the right lens, film, and flashbulb for an indoor shoot, doesn't it?

If It Isn't True Color, What Is It?

On a computer, "truecolor" actually requires 16.7 million individual colors to produce. When color monitors first came out, only 16 colors were used. When the VGA standard came along, 256 colors were available. Super-VGA arrived once manufacturers realized that computer shoppers had credit cards. With Super-VGA, you can select from 16 to 16.7 million colors, or more.

Although many web sites feature photos presented with only 256 colors, those photos are not something any photographer would want to brag about. Web sites with real photo galleries always use 16.7 million colors. To view these sites, your monitor and your video card must support 16.7 million colors. If they do not, your computer will probably "dither" the colors, which will probably put you into a dither as you try to figure out why everything looks as if it was drawn with colored pencils.

What do you know so far? You know that you need a monitor and a video card that support 16.7 million colors. Most color monitors built today will support this many colors, but not all color laptop computers do. Many cheap video cards do not support 16.7 million colors, but most do. But wait, there's a catch.

Resolution vs. Colors

On a computer, the resolution of the display is measured by the number of dots it can display. These dots are called "pixels," because that sounds more expensive. A standard 14" or 15" monitor on a PC is usually set up for 640x480. That means that the image on the monitor is 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels tall. Some people run 15" monitors at a resolution of 800x600, which means that their image is 800 pixels wide and 600 pixels tall. Just about everybody that has a 17" monitor runs it at 800x600 or higher. Now here's the catch. A cheaper video card might support 16.7 million colors at 640x480, but if you set it for 800x600 it might only support 65,000 colors. At a resolution of 1024x768, that same video card might only support 256 colors. In order for a video card to support more colors at higher resolutions, it needs more memory. That's one of the reasons why better video cards are more expensive -- they come with more memory than the cheap ones.

Older VGA cards often came with only 256k or 512k of RAM. If you have one of these, throw it away, because it won't support truecolor. What do you need for 16.7 million colors at common resolutions? 1-MB of RAM will support 16.7 millions colors at 640x480. At 800x600, your video card will need 2-MB of RAM. If you have 4-MB of RAM, you're good up to 1280x1024, while 8-MB covers you up to 1600x1200. But wait, there's another catch.

Does Our Monitor Support High Resolution? Yes Sir, It Certainly Doesn't!

Regular 14" monitors may not work properly above 800x600. Rather than admit that these monitors do not support higher resolutions, their makers might say, "our monitor runs at 1280x1024, interlaced." Watching an interlaced monitor for too long will make your eyes fall out, or so I've been told. In real life, a 14" or 15" monitor should be run at 640x480 for best results. If you have good eyesight, you could run a 15" monitor at 800x600. I never liked the results, so I moved up to a 17" monitor at 800x600. Many people are very happy running their 17" monitors at 1024x768. Before you run out and upgrade to a 17" monitor and video card that supports 16.7 million colors at 1024x768, wait, there's another darn catch!

Old Proverb: If It Isn't There, You Won't See It, Unless It's A UFO

Most web "surfers" have a 14" or 15" monitor running at 640x480, set for 256 colors. That is not a good choice for viewing photo sites, but most of them don't want to view photo sites anyway! Web site developers often have to cater to the masses; therefore, most web sites are designed for 640x480 screens, with a maximum of 256 colors. I know that my clients, and their viewers, demand truecolor for their photo galleries, so I develop sites that support 16.7 million colors at, you guessed it, good old 640x480. Almost every monitor and video card sold today will support this combination, since the 1-MB of RAM required is pretty much a standard now. Some photo sites opt for 800x600 at 16.7 million colors. If you go for this combo, you will be covered 99.9% of the time. Did someone just ask if there was another catch? Of course there is, otherwise people would enjoy buying computers.

Roger Miller Had The Right Idea

If you have kids, and you already have a computer, then they have already told you over and over again that you need a faster CPU and more RAM. We have already seen how video cards use more RAM, and they also benefit from a faster video processor, or accelerator. Regular VGA cards let your main CPU do most of the dirty work, slowing you computer down to a crawl. Not so, with a high-performance video accelerator. These expensive beasts will just "knuckle down, buckle down, and do it, do it, do it."

I used to use an ATI VGA Wonder. It was a nice card, running at 640x480, with 256 colors. Then I moved up to an ATI Mach 64 accelerator. Its best performance was at 640x480, with 64,000 colors, where it was 96 times faster than a standard VGA. Now I use a Matrox MGA Millennium, at 800x600, with 16.7 million colors. It is 257 times faster that a standard VGA. Oddly enough, it costs about $257 more than a standard VGA.

Now for the next catch. (Don't scream, this is the last catch!) Remember back earlier, when I mentioned color temperature? Many monitors have color calibration controls that allow you to adjust the color temperature of the monitor. For example, my AcerView 78ie monitor has default settings for 5500K, 6500K, 7100K, 9300K and 11500K. I could also fiddle around on my own, adjusting the red, green and blue (RGB) values directly. Either way, I can optimize my monitor for the type of photographs that I want to view.

Finally, A Straight Answer

Whew! Was that terrible, or what? Let's recap what you need for viewing quality photo-related web sites. First, you need a 14", 15" or 17" monitor that supports 16.7 million colors and a resolution of at least 800x600. The 14" model will get the job done and will also be fine for normal use. A 15" monitor is a better choice at the higher resolution, and some now support color calibration. If you might get into digital photography in the future, go for a 17" monitor that has built-in color temperature defaults and allows RGB adjustments. Select a video card that has at least 2-MB of RAM and supports 800x600 at 16.7 million colors. If you can afford it, go for a video accelerator from Matrox or ATI. Stay with a name brand, or you may spend the rest of this century asking the question, "When will the driver be ready?" Trust me, you don't want to know about that!

Now You Need A Browser

Thank goodness there are some easy choices left in this world. You will need a good web browser that can handle various graphic file formats and knows how to display them in the right place. In this case, we don't care about the details. Netscape Navigator is the defacto standard. You buy it, you use it, it works. Microsoft Internet Explorer is gaining ground. You get it for free, you use it, it works. The current version of either browser will handle anything the web throws at it. Of course, the current version of either browser will also crash your computer whenever it feels like it, but there's nothing you and I can do about that!

Do Something Useful

You can adjust your browser to suit a particular web site. If you don't see any photos or images on the site and there are large, empty spaces, then make sure your browser is set to download and display inline graphics. Somebody may have turned it off previously, to speed up the download of a poorly-designed site. If you don't see any text on the page, check that your browser is set to its default colors, which are usually black text on a white background. If you set your background to black, then black text will be invisible.

If it seems like you always have to scroll down about a 1/2-inch to see the bottom of a photo or page, then try hiding your browser's toolbar and location bar. This will give you a larger vertical image. If you are running your monitor at 640x480, always open up the browser to full-screen. If there is a horizontal scroll bar in your browser, that means the site was designed for a higher resolution. Try cranking your monitor up to 800x600.

If everything on the page seems off to the left, with empty space on the right, then you are probably running at a higher resolution than the site was designed for. This is often the case when you are at 800x600 but the site is at 640x480. Either pull the side of your browser in until the page looks right, or reset your monitor for 640x480.

Really good web sites always have a page devoted to browser setup. They want you to enjoy your visit, so they explain how you should adjust your monitor and browser for the best results.

Recap

To recap, most web sites are designed for a PC user with a 14" monitor, running at a resolution of 640x480 with 256 colors. To optimize your viewing from a PC or Mac, choose a monitor and video card that support 16.7 million colors at 800x600, or higher. A 15" monitor and high-performance video accelerator will keep you happy for years.

Use Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. When you enter a web site, first look for a "Browser Tips" page. Follow their recommendations and enjoy yourself.

Conclusion

Surfing the Internet doesn't have to be a frustrating, time-wasting experience. There is no black magic required in order to get "the right stuff." Use the advice in this article to help determine what you "really, really want" and to make sure that your equipment can handle the job. Expect to fine-tune your browser slightly for each web site you visit. Oh, and don't hesitate to let your friends look over your shoulder while you surf. They will be left wondering where you ever learned to use all of this high-powered technology!

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Latest Revision: Saturday, 07 May 2005 08:52 AM