How do you determine what a 'good' monitor is?

"Some monitors give specs regarding a normal contrast ratio and a dynamic (or similar named) contrast ratio. Examples might be 500:1 for a normal ratio and 10,000:1 on a dynamic ratio.

The contrast ratio is how well the monitor displays the darkest darks vs the lightest lights. A low contrast ratio will cause the image to look kind of washed out.

The reason the dynamic contrast ratio is so much larger than the normal contrast ratio is that the actual contrast of the screen is 500:1, but the back light on the monitor will dim or brighten to match the scene of the movie (or game, or whatever). If you have a very hight dynamic contrast ratio then bright will be brighter, and black will be blacker, but not at the same time. The contrast ratio is still 500:1 at any given time. It's a bit like advertising ""This display can display colors out of a pallet of over one billion (only 16 colors at a time).""

So, don't put too much stock into dynamic contrast ratios. Just focus on the regular contrast ratios."