# The monitor handbook

> Ten chapters that go from what the eye can see to what the cable can carry. Each explains one decision, with its formulas, its figures drawn to scale and its limits, so that a specification sheet holds no more mysteries.

Source: https://monitorselector.com/us/monitor-handbook/ (Monitor Selector, 2026-11-14)

## How to read it

The chapters follow the order of the decisions. The first three settle the question that comes before all others, the size of the screen: what the eye resolves, the distance at which a screen is comfortable, and what the depth of a desk allows. The fourth converts resolution into real workspace. The following four deal with the quality of the image: panel, motion, wide layouts, color. The last two cover what surrounds the screen, the cable that feeds it and the eyes that look at it.

Each chapter opens with its conclusions for readers in a hurry and closes on the questions most often asked. The numbers in the tables and figures are computed from the same formulas as the [selector](https://monitorselector.com/us/#selector); none is copied from a manufacturer’s sheet. Terms are defined in the [glossary](https://monitorselector.com/us/glossary/), and the reasoning behind the recommendations is set out in the [method](https://monitorselector.com/us/methodology/).