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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Flat out: Ten 17-inch LCD monitors tested August 12, 2003 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/peripherals/soa/Flat-out-Ten-17-inch-LCD-monitors-tested/0,139023417,120277123,00.htm
 
Prices are dropping, quality is improving, and vendors are even starting to offer warranties on dead pixels. Next time you upgrade monitors, flat panel LCDs are definitely worth a look.We received so many LCD monitors for this review that we have split it into two monthly instalments. This month in part one, we bring you the 17in monitors from AG Neovo, AOC, BenQ, IBM, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, and Viewsonic. And then in part two next month, the saga continues and we bring you the report on 18in models from IBM and Philips and 20in+ models from BenQ, LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, and Viewsonic. Hype cycle All this growth--combined with increased competition--has enabled the manufacturers to slowly bring the prices down and the features and sizes up, to a point where LCDs are still pricier than CRTs--and probably always will be--but are definitely a worthy consideration to add to your next PC system purchase, particularly if space is limited in your workplace. It has been a while since the Labs have looked at LCDs. In the T&B feature, Panel beating: 15 LCD displays tested, from March 2002, the average price for a 15in LCD was AU$1000. In June 2000, 15in LCDs were around the $2500 price point! Business benefits
CRT monitors do still have their own benefits such as slightly better and uniform colour reproduction (very important to graphic designers and photographers), and faster refresh times. CRT monitors also have a higher contrast ratio somewhere around 700:1 which means that the blacks are blacker and the whites are whiter. Another issue to look at is viewing angle: it pays to check what is acceptable and what isn't within your office, particularly with some of the bigger screens. Especially if you are using them to monitor information, you may not necessarily have them sitting directly in front of you--for example stock market watching, server monitoring, or in multi-display modes. Most of the monitors in this report performed very well and had a wide field of view, but some were better than others. And still the issue of pixel policies is around. These days, most manufacturers have an established policy on dead pixels. Check the features table to see specific manufacturers' policies. With so many monitors on review, space is at a premium, but these brief reviews should hopefully give you enough to go on. AG Neovo F-417
It has no DVI port or speakers, just a power connector and a 15-pin D-Sub analog video input. The contrast and brightness levels were above average once configured and calibrated, and the colours also were acceptable. The video speed test was also above average, with very little pixellation or delay in the playback. Also colour reproduction was excellent and the depth of field was very good. Neovo has led the field in terms of style, but many other manufacturers are now heeding consumer calls for better-looking products and are following suit. This leaves the Neovo not necessarily out in the cold, but certainly in amongst a lot more competition. Overall, the Neovo is a very good monitor but may unfortunately get lost in the crowd, particularly lacking a DVI connector.
AOC LM720
The colour reproduction was very good as was the brightness and contrast adjustment. Unfortunately this monitor only has an analog 15-pin D-Sub connector available and that is hard wired into the rear of the unit. One of the side effects of not running a digital signal (DVI) is that there is a slight shimmer on the image, particularly when running at these higher resolutions. The AOC seemed to produce slightly more shimmer than some of the other analog units submitted for this review.
BenQ FP791
The BenQ is fitted with a removable panel covering a recessed slot; this is designed for a module (called the "digital photo frame") that allows the display to operate as a picture frame, cycling through a slideshow of images directly from most standard digital camera flash memory cards without the need for a PC. This could be very handy for on-site sales/marketing or in-store static presentations for clients. BenQ tells us this feature is now standard on all FP791 BenQ LCD monitors. While the brightness and contrast were average, the colour display was quite impressive. Overall, the BenQ FP791 is a very well constructed monitor.
IBM 6374-AB1 Thinkvision
The image quality was excellent, almost on par with some of the units running DVI. The contrast was slightly down, however all the colour scales displayed very well. All in all, the IBM was a good all round monitor and quite suitable for applications around the office, particularly the replacement of CRTs. The quality of construction and materials is worthy of particular note.
Mitsubishi Diamond View DV172
Image quality was nothing to write home about, but at least it didn't need to have the brightness and contrast set to 100 percent to get an acceptable picture. While not carrying any outstanding features that give it an edge, it also doesn't carry any particularly bad features either. Overall, if you are looking for a solid, well-constructed monitor, the Mitsubishi DV172 is certainly worth short listing.
Panasonic Panaview TX-LCD17SSIL
This panel features a TV tuner module that fits into the rear of the unit. This may not be helpful in an office environment, however it would make a great option in educational institutions or in a retail environment for displaying TV images, DVDs, or videos via the S-video and composite ports. Interestingly, there is also a picture-in-picture (PIP) function that allows a user to operate the monitor and also watch TV in a small box at the same time. The image quality was excellent, once we had set up and calibrated the monitor. Overall, the Panasonic is hard to pass up, particularly for image quality.
Philips 107S4FB
Overall the Philips is very attractive and minimalist and would suit a multiple-display system due to its slimline bezel. However, the image quality was acceptable, but not the best.
Samsung 172W
The default factory settings are relatively good, with slight tweaking needed to get the image perfect. The contrast was excellent, and colour reproduction was reasonable. Overall, the image quality was slightly above average. If you are after immediate wow factor then this is definitely the unit to go for.
Sony SDM-HS73
An interesting feature is a separate backlight button that can be adjusted along with contrast and brightness to give an added depth when configuring the display. The colour was very good, and contrast and brightness was excellent. Unfortunately, the lack of DVI or S-video inputs really lets down what has the potential to be an excellent panel.
Viewsonic VX700
Unfortunately the Viewsonic VX700 did very little to impress us. Overall, it was certainly slightly below the average of the other monitors submitted for this review.
How we tested
If you are looking at upgrading from a CRT monitor to an LCD, particularly in the larger sizes, it's worth checking if your existing graphics card has a DVI port on it, or buying a graphics card that supports it. The difference in image reproduction on some monitors between the 15-pin D-Sub port and the DVI port is amazing; somewhere around a 10 to 15 percent improvement in visible image sharpness. Look out for...
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The Neovo F-417 is a standard 1280 x 1024 resolution 4:3 format. The buttons are clearly marked and very tactile, the only issue is that the menu can at first seem a little daunting, however after some practice it is relatively easy to navigate and control this monitor.
This monitor is relatively plain and simple, but this is not a bad thing. There is no panel landscape/portrait swivel, nor did the base of the unit allow any right/left swivel. There was a very good range of forward/aft tilt on the panel.
The BenQ FP791 is one of the new generation of LCD monitors with faster refresh rates, although still not really close to that of a decent CRT monitor.
Typically IBM, this model is black, bold, and angular. The base is extremely sturdy, while not incorporating any facility to rotate the monitor, however the angle of tilt is very wide. The menu system would have to be one of the most informative and easy to use. On the downside, this panel only has a 15-pin D-Sub input.
The Mistubishi DV172 is slightly top heavy and could be prone to overbalancing. The base/stand is very light and does not have any side-to-side swivel action; the tilt action also is limited.
The Panasonic's pedestal mount provides both swivel and tilt adjustment to suit any application, this action is very smooth and there does not seem to be any inclination that the panel is top heavy or likely to tip over. The quality of construction is very good. If this unit is required for high usage, it's worth taking into consideration the durability of its construction.
The Philips' contrast and brightness leave a little to be desired as do the colour levels. The base has no left/right swivel, however it has excellent tilt adjustment, so much so that the whole LCD actually tips over backwards should it be angled too far back. This monitor does not support DVI, nor does it have any integrated speakers.
The Samsung is a 17in widescreen, measuring approximately 14.5in wide x 9.0in high. Its native resolution is 1280 x 768. After a while, you get used to the strange format, and certainly widescreen applications like movies appear much better on their own native format.
Sony's base is relatively sturdy, but includes slightly below average tilting forward/aft functionality; there is also no base swivel either.
When setting up and calibrating this monitor, we found even with the brightness and contrast set to 100 percent, we still could not achieve the optimum settings. While the brightness was not so bad overall, the contrast was not impressive at all. Colour graduation was acceptable.
RMIT IT Test Labs is an independent testing institution based in Melbourne, Victoria, performing IT product testing for clients such as IBM, Coles-Myer, and a wide variety of government bodies. In the Labs' testing for T&B, they are in direct contact with the clients supplying products and the magazine is responsible for the full cost of the testing. The findings are the Labs' own--only the specifications of the products to be tested are provided by the magazine. For more information on RMIT, please contact the Lab Manager,