Flat out performance.
Written: Feb 27 '03
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Pros: Flat screen, superb picture, great build quality, easy on the eye
Cons: Tricky OSD, beige in a world of black
The Bottom Line: Great monitor, fantastic picture and really flat screen. If you see one pick it up. If not buy another Mitsubishi NEC model.
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| readk's Full Review: Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 710 (17 in.) CRT Convention... |
I've been the proud owner of a Diamond Pro 710 for just over 2 years now and as a new'ish member of Epinions I was looking for kit I owned which had been reviewed. I have to agree with the other reviews here so far. The 710 is a five star monitor and served as a great indicator of where the Mitsubishi/NEC range was going at the time. I think that the whole Mitsubishi range should be recommended, the Diamondtron NF technology behind it has server the company and users alike very well indeed.
I was lucky enough to have received a Diamond Pro 710 as part of a PC system deal from UK manufacturers Mesh. As soon as I took it from the box I new it was a quality peice of kit. The build quality is first class with a sturdy feel and a very well finished case which frames the flat screen perfectly. One issue here though, now I have a black PC I wish the monitor less beige but hey it's not such a big deal.
In operation the monitor is excellent. It has survived a few PC upgrades in its time and I have used it with a number of video cards (Matrox G400 / GeForce 2MX / Radeon 9000 Pro). The 710 is a great all-rounder as I have found in a number of applications (as a primary display for office and home / as a secondary monitor for DVD viewing). The monitor has always produced a crisp colourful image with very little need to utilise the Colour/Contrast/Brightness or Fine Picture Mode. As it is perfectly flat the monitor is really easy on the eye. I have little problem using the PC for hours on end at home even after a full eight or more hours on a lesser display at work.
All of the controls for the monitor live on the front panel of the unit. Here a simple but sometimes annoying menu allows all geometry and screen functions to be accessed. The menu is simple in that a 'down' button scrolls the user through four sub-menus with a 'right' button used to select one of the many options. Frustration grows though as you scroll a menu too far or pass your selection by pressing 'right' too many times. As you cannot go 'up' or 'left' you have to continue to scroll until you again come to the icon you wanted to select. This surely did not escape the design team which makes you wonder why they left it in? That small gripe aside there are plenty of options for the tweaker but the monitor did it all right out of the box so 'Degauss' is the only option which gets regular use from me.
As with all aperture grille monitors there are two very fine lines on the screen to get used to. This looks a little funny at first, two horizontal lines about a third in from the top and bottom of the screen, but you soon begin to ignore them especially on dynamic backgrounds such as movies and games. The lines are actually dampening wires, which are used to support the CRT's aperture (the grille, which like a shadow mask is used to restrict light in precise ways so that the final image displayed will be accurate and sharp).
The use of aperture grille technology provides for a brighter, flatter screen than I have ever used before. I can't see me ever choosing to use a shadow mask monitor again. In fact I resent using one at work.
I'm so happy with my monitor that I feel loyal to Mitsubishi. Whichever replacement I chose, when the time comes, it will certainly have a Mitsubishi Diamondtron tube.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
readk
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Member: Kevin Read
Location: Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, England
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
A big guy from a small country re-visiting epinions
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