Great Deal For Most Users
Written: Mar 26 '03 (Updated Dec 30 '03)
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Pros: quick response time, sharp lines, simple product design
Cons: Dark areas are still not perfect.
The Bottom Line: I am extremely satisfied, and recommend it highly to all those except professional photographers.
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| konky2000's Full Review: NEC MultiSync LCD1760V Flat Panel (TFT) Monitor |
I spend almost all day looking at my computer doing web programming. I also have a lot of experience doing photo processing in Photoshop.
I switched to this flat panel monitor because my older big monitor was starting to make funny sounds and I wanted something that took up less space on my desk.
After only 1 day of use, I am happy to report that both me and my girlfriend are extremely satisfied with this new monitor.
As far as text display, the monitor is stellar. I actually feel that text looks sharper on this monitor than it looked on my older monitor.
Glare is a thing of the past as well, because the flat screen doesn't reflect light like my old monitor did.
One issue with these flat panel monitors is 'response time.' Older flat panel displays would have a small ghost image if something moved too quickly on the screen. This meant that games were very hard to play because the action would be blurry. This ghosting is not a problem with this screen though. Playing a fast moving race car game (Grand Prix Legends) I didn't notice any ghosting at all. I do notice a bit of response lag when I scroll large blocks of text in a word document, but that is not a major issue.
This monitor also does not have a height adjustable stand. All I am able to do is tilt it and swivel it. More expensive monitors are height adjustable, so that might be something to consider.
On the other hand, it has screw holes on the back, so I could take the panel off of its stand completely and attach the panel instead to a wall/desk mounted monitor arm, thus removing the monitor from my desk completely. I will probably do that eventually, so I am not too concerned with not being able to adjust the height of the stand at this time.
Before rushing out to buy this monitor (something I recommend for most users), though, there are some very important things to keep in mind.
Even though the monitor specs say that the display can handle a wide variety of resolutions, for all intents and purposes the only practical resolution you will be able to use is 1280 x 1024. Flat panel displays, unlike traditional monitors, are not very good at displaying varying resolutions.
This monitor's 'native' resolution is 1280 x 1024. Any other resolution is going to look jagged and will be likely to give you a headache if you try to use it for extended periods. Even 1024 x 768 looks very ragged and blurry. If you have a computer with a decent graphics card and a fast processor this won't be a problem. If you have a slower computer, though, you should give this monitor a miss. Sure, you will theoretically be able to display lower resolutions, but in reality, those resolutions will look so bad that you won't be likely to use those resolutions for any extended period.
The same applies to games. If you have a PC game that you need to display at 800 x 600 in order for your computer to play it, it will look pretty bad on this monitor.
Although this monitor does have a 450:1 contrast ratio, it is still not as good as my old monitor. Dark areas of games and photos are noticeably murky and colors overall are not quite as subtle as they were with my old monitor.
In my video game colors are a little more over saturated than before, which is sometimes a good thing, but overall a little unrealistic looking.
In short, if I was doing a lot of important photo processing, or graphic work, I would AVOID the use of flat panel displays because they are still noticeably worse than old school CRT monitors in that department.
Also, be prepared to fiddle a lot with the brightness/contrast controls in order to get the right setting.
Finally, this monitor does not have a Digital Video Input (DVI), which theoretically is superior to the standard display input. I have read, though, that the whole DVI/Analog thing is overrated and I tend to agree with that conclusion. Still, if you absolutely need DVI, you won't get it from this monitor.
In short, I brought this home very skeptical, but after 1 day of use have no second thoughts at all and am now trying to figure out what to do with my gigantic old monitor. Unless you are a graphic specialist, I would recommend that you too take the plunge.
*** UPDATE ***
I have now owned and used this monitor for the last 8 months and I am happy to report that I am completely satisfied with my decision to purchase this product. It might not still be the best monitor on the market, but if this monitor is available at a reduced price, I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 579
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
konky2000
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Member: Konky Two Thousand
Location: Oakland, CA
Reviews written: 66
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
30 year old web designer living in Oakland, CA
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