Lcd monitors are not the same size as Crt monitors. Lcd monitors are easily larger for the same sized Crt monitor! Monitor measurements are measured diagonally. Since the advent of the television, this has been the manufactures approved for screen measurements. When computer monitors hit the scene, the determination became the diagonal determination of the tube itself, not the actual viewable screen. When you look at your monitor, there is a plastic box that houses your Crt tube and other components, but when you look at the front of your monitor, there is probably an inch or more of framework around your picture tube. This hides the rest of the Crt tube that is enclosed within the box.
Now take a ruler or tape measure, and measure the actual image you are viewing, measure diagonally, and you will see that the actual determination is smaller than the monitors claimed size. For example, my 19 inch Crt monitor, measuring the actual image from the lowest left hand projection of the picture to the upper right hand projection is easily 17.25 inches, or in other words, only .25 inches larger than 17 inches, if the monitor determination were the actual viewing screen this 19 inch monitor would only qualify as a 17 inch Lcd monitor. This is where the Lcd determination comes in.
Lcd monitors are measured by actual viewable area of the screen. They do not have a large rounded out tube beyond the screen, it is a flat panel of Liquid Crystals behind which are a series of tube lights that shine straight through the color crystals to illuminate your display. A 17 inch Lcd monitor is 17 inches diagonally, a 19 inch monitor is 19 inches diagonal or about 1.75 inches larger than my example of the Crt tube.
Another little known glich in monitor measurements is how the diagonal determination of a widescreen monitor reduces the widespread height of the monitor which in turn reduces the actual size of a approved 4:3 to a smaller size. Example: If you purchase a 32 inch widescreen Tv and watch a approved broadcast movie in it's customary format, you in essence are watching a 26 inch television. A more in depth look at how this determination effects the full screen format, please read my Widescreen article. [http://www.thegourdreserve.com/dailysaleswidescreen.shtml]
Lcd Monitor vs Crt Measurements - What You Should Know Before You Buy