Before I begin, three caveats:

(1) The monitor is called the ViewSonic 17PS on the box and on the front of the monitor. However, the actual model number is 1786PS. For precision, I'll use the latter designation.

(2) I realize this is an older model. But I think that you can learn something about the company based on the quality and longevity of its products. Also, there is a strong market right now in used computer equipment, and not everyone looking through epinions.com is going to be trying to find information on the latest and greatest.

(3) I feel very strongly that monitors are just too dang big and heavy. Almost any CRT technology, as a result, automatically loses a star. I am really, really, really looking forward to seeing the prices of large-format backlit color fast-response LCD displays to drop in price. I love the fact that the Apple Cinema Display---a really huge LCD monitor---only weighs twenty pounds. When I can get a 21" monitor in a 20-pound format, I'll be giving out that fifth star.

That being said, let's get to it. I've always been happy with the ViewSonic monitors I've bought. They tend to last for years, they stay relatively crisp, the color stays good, and to date, I've had absolutely zero complaints.

For computer equipment, that's really unusual.

The 1786PS is a 17" (431mm) monitor with up to 1600x1200 at 60Hz, and 0.25mm dot pitch. I bought mine approximately three years ago, and I'm still running with them, one on a FreeBSD 3.2 box, and one on a Windows NT 4.0 system (they're identical hardware, but it's a little like reading Flowers for Algernon). The only artifacts that have shown up are some vertical ghosting to the right of strongly contrasting vertical lines (for example, at the edge of my windows, there is a series of slightly lighter striations that extend about a third of an inch to the right before fading to normal), and that's only in one of the monitors (the FreeBSD one, which is pretty much on all the time). The other is still pretty much perfect. I've been running them in 1280x1024 most of their lives, and have never gotten any appreciable eyestrain---at least, none that I wouldn't have gotten off of any monitor (I tend to work too much).

The feature set is pretty complete on one of these, as well. Skew, rotate, pincushion, trapezoid, degauss, and everything else is hidden in a menu-based system accessable via the front of the monitor.

The downside of all CRT monitors, of course, is the weight and depth. The 1786PS is in the middle of the range for 17" monitors: 38.5 pounds (17.5kg). This is pretty luggable, actually. However, the depth of the monitor (from the front to the back) is fairly long, and on a shallow table, this thing is going to be hanging out there a bit.

Still, it's a solid, reliable monitor. Mine has taken a certain amount of abuse (one move, more cat hair than I like to think, being on a really disturbing amount of the time, a few power outages), and is still hanging in there. The only reason I would even think of upgrading is if this gave up the ghost, or I could get a reasonably priced LCD-type or plasma-type color monitor in a larger format (it's not until they cost around $1000 that I'm gonna do that, though).

Note that the price paid was three years ago. Comparable models today are quite a bit cheaper, so don't panic when you see that.




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 700
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh