Help in buying a LCD monitor.

[ranjan2001]

found some useful links on LCD topic worth reading

Viewing angles
*www.behardware.com/articles/619-17/updated-survey-13-lcd-20-5-6-8-16-ms.html

A Creative Pro's Guide to LCD Screens
*forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=231339&highlight=%3Cspan%20class=

LCD Buyer's Guide
*forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=1745344&enterthread=y

 

[premsharma]

Viewsonic 1912BW passed out my test better & had good menu too the only thing which bothered me was silver (shiny cheap looking) front panel, but it surely worth the price RS 13700/- here in delhi N. Place.

I also like this monitor, I don't think its silver frame going to discourage me but response time 8ms. Is response time GTG or BWB?

Other drawback is that it has got no DVI input interface. Except these two points, I think this monitor is OK and as you said it passed your tests.

But still, if any problem like dead pixels, will vendor take it back? or one has to go through horrible cycle of service centers. Though Viewsonic offers onsite warranty but God only knows how effetive will that be when you land up in a trouble.

 

[ranjan2001]

Hi prem, it has surely DVI port & it auto detect all setting from the card, it was the best out of box monitor I tested as of now & the only one that passed the test. I did not set any thing to test it, where as on Samsung I struggled to get it set as per my requirements & their menu is , god knows for whome have they done that.

Passmark monitor test has R/G/B smooth gradient test & a grey gradient test which is where most monitors fail, all 4 of this should pass for a good monitor. Since I did not like the front panel & decided that I am not going to buy, I did not test the response time with Direct X test but I guess any time reported below 12 ms is a GTG .

This monitor has good viewing angle as claimed, but before you buy TESTING is what I would always recommend. I found only one guy in nehru place who did let me test this & made special arrangement for me after 7PM.

NO vendor will take it back, the poor customer is now sent to (jail for his crime) the company service center for all ur problems. To my knowledge Viewsonic does not offers on site warranty, at least I am not aware of it, but lately they have appointed a new different distributor who will aggressively market their products, earlier its been Roop technology mumbai who never answered my any email I sent to them in last 6 months.
__________

What about Viewsonic VG 1921 & VG 1930 both vide models one 1921 without DVI and 1930 with DVI input.

I did not test these so cant say about anyone of them.

The issue of dead pixels is one more thing to be tested apart from response time. There are details analysis on sites like anadtech.com

I tested 6 LCD in last few months & none was found to have a dead pixel they had other problem though, so I assume that modern LCD quality is better than it was before.

 

[premsharma]

Hi prem, it has surely DVI port & it auto detect all setting from the card, it was the best out of box monitor I tested & the only one that passed the test.

To my knowledge Viewsonic does not offers on site warranty, at least I am not aware of it, but lately they have appointed a new different distributor who will aggressively market their products, earlier its been Roop technology mumbai who never answered my any email I sent to them in last 6 months.

I tested 6 LCD in last few months & none was found to have a dead pixel they had other problem though, so I assume that modern LCD quality is better than it was before.

Are you sure that this model VG 1912 has DVI interface. I am told by Roop Technologies that, it do not have have DVI input and hence they recomended me VG 1921 [without DVI] and VG 1930 [with DVI]. Cost was quoted to me as VG1912 @ 14000, VG1921 @14500 and VG1930 @ 15000. All these TFTs are wide screen. These costs probably includes the shipping from Mumbai to Agra and all other taxes. Are these prices ok?

I am based at Agra and no body responded to me other than Roop technology mumbai. He claimed that it has onsite warranty. I have no option but to believe him. He also gave me all India toll free number of viewsonic.

Are you sure that none had any dead pixels. That is not possible. Allmost, all of them will have some number of dead pixels. 4-5 dead pixels are permitted but not beyond that. You tested with software for dead pixel or by placing a white paper on TFT after increasing constarst & britness??

Can you say with certain confidence that all viewsonic TFTs will be better than others. Already 3-4 advance members here suggested to me that viewsonic is superior. Your Thoughts ?????

 

[ranjan2001]

I tested it on a DVI cable so its sure.
*www.tech2.com/india/reviews/tftlcd-monitors/viewsonic-va1912wwb/1340/0

Viewsonic have been known in graphic art series monitor ssince long & they can be relied upon but as I said earlier testing or a return policy should be there to protect you, are we customer at mercy of those dealer who have no idea of what a customer service.
DO u buy ur bike / cars/ without test driving it, or pant shirt all box packed???? no u don't, then why take an LCD or any IT product just bcoz illiterate lala dealers sitting with fat deep pockets to rob u out & then send you to the service center.
I downloaded passmark to test these monitors & you cant go wrong with these test, do homework & read the help file.

If there is a dead pixel then it will show in these test for sure.
Company testing is far more robost that the software one so on a new LCD its hard to find a dead pixel but as it ages you may develop dead pixels then u are covered under warranty.
__________
I finally found one excellent Lenovo 20 inch monitor getting one for the demo tomorrow, only issue is that the warranty is only 1 year here in India, but a friend using this in US said that it is at par with top models.
*www-8.ibm.com/lenovoinfo/3000/desktop/includes/i/qseries_monitor.jpg
*www-8.ibm.com/lenovoinfo/in/desktops/3000/q-series/accessories.html

 

[Ch@0s]

S-IPS is the panel type. In case you didn't know, the response time, contrast ratio really mean jack. What matters is what technology panel it is. S-IPS which stands for Super InterPlane Switching is an LCD technology (the current best all round). Similarly PVA (Patterned Vertical Array) is another type. TN (twisted neumatic) which is the most common is the worst kind of panel available. Whereas PVA, MVA and IPS panels are 8 bit per channel... i.e. can display true 8 bits of color(256 shades of red,blue and green each), TN panels are pathetic and can only display 6bits of color information. To display the 24bit color of a standard display, it actually switches between adjacent color values very quickly. However this is not very effective and gives the display a washed out appearance and that makes it look ugly. Also remember that the response times across different panel techs are not comparable.... PVA/MVA is the slowest and IPS the fastest with TN somewhere in the middle. So a 6ms IPS is a faster panel than a 6ms TN which is again faster than a 6ms PVA/MVA. Also the viewing angles of a TN are way poorer than a PVA or IPS panel. A TN is max 160/140 degrees (horizontal/vertical) whereas an IPS or PVA is 178/178. IPS panels are easy to identify... when looking from extreme angles, they have a purple tinge. I'm not sure what that lenovo screen is but if it costs any more than the dell 2007 and is not IPS, then its a sad deal. As I said before, look for IPS or PVA/MVA panels. Avoid TNs like plague.

 

[premsharma]

How do you know which TFT has which kind of panel. Companies don't declare it. What about viewsonic & samsungs which panels in use? IPS or PVA/MVA panels or TNs

 

[ranjan2001]

Hey guys got the lenovo , a beast, which is rock solid , Just opened it connected & I am typing this, ..........................
My goodness I cant believe, its rocking my eyes , its what I have been looking for , straight out of the box, no menu setting done yet , well calibrated colors at 6500°K

Ch@0s going by ur description this doesn't change color at all & appearance even if I move to 4 feet side up or down, it seems to be S-IPS panel, though when looking from extreme angles, it does have a purple tinge, but that may be due to its having a protective high quality PVC sheet which I was told not to be removed if I plan to return it......................but I dont think I am sending this back......Its what I needed & you were right in ur recommendations.

Its 16ms with my test but tried few fast moving film scene & it does not show ghosting to me.
More to follow in the day as I test this beast & color calibrate it with hardware.

 

[john_the_ultimate]

@ranjan2001
Please do post some pictures if possible and how much did it cost u?

 

[ranjan2001]

Sure will post images around 3-4PM today, its around 18000/- plus tax, as of now this passed all the test from passmark surprisingly all at default setting, so when I actually calibrate it it will be better, as of now the brightness is higher which is good but for graphics its essential that it has the brightness set around 120-130 foot candles.

 

[john_the_ultimate]

@ranjan2001
Thanks and looking forward to the pictures also it's a 19" or 20"?

I was also considering going for two (dual) 17" lcd setup but didn't find any with DVI input (all had VGA input) so if anyone could throw some light. I thought that going for two 17" will give me more work space.

 

[Ch@0s]

How do you know which TFT has which kind of panel. Companies don't declare it. What about viewsonic & samsungs which panels in use? IPS or PVA/MVA panels or TNs

Here is a good DB to begin with...

*prad.de/en/guide/hersteller_start.html

Samsungs only have TN or S-PVA cos those two panels are made by samsung itself. S-IPS is made by LG.Philips so samsungs won't have those.

@ranjan: download powerstrip and report back what panel ID it reports.

*entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

18k for an S-IPS panel sounds excellent. Could you post whom to contact to get it? Also what is the exact model no?

 

[ranjan2001]

John,
u have to wait as I could not get the friends camera & I dont want to post those crappy mobile images , Lenovo monitor surely needs better images. Its a 20inch LCD having 22inch body with a heavy base to support. The base also has in built speakers (good sound) & 5 USB port hub that gets powered seperately & needs one usb cord to connect to 1 usb port on the comp.

I too thought of dual DVI 19inch but found that not many applications support it & it will require extra stand to mount them as seen here. So total cost will be quite more as equal to a 24inch viewsonic or dell.
*www.digitaltigers.com/images/zv-duo21s_500x318.jpg

Ch@0s
thanks for those links the german site is quite a resourceful site having lot of info. I downloaded powestrip & the model it reports is LEN-2000, LXM-WL20AH is the detailed version of that model. By this details can you find out if its I-SPS or S-PVA?

The price is 18850/- plus 4% VAT, will post the dealer info & contact details by evening.

 

[ranjan2001]

Coming on banding, yes the monitor shows bit of banding but this is TN based 8-Bit gradent monitor even P-MVA panels; supposedly the best like the most talked about DELL 2007WFP shows banding. Consider the following link..

HI Sam, thanks for all ur help, I found later that these TN 8bit supposdely are actually 6bit plus 2bit interpolated & thats why they lack the gradients & can never pass that test.

On 24inch range Dell is not considered higher end its the cheaper models which it produces the 24 panels from NEC, Ezio, apple are considered far better but to us INdian we have to consider Dell as best , sad that we call ourself IT nation & dont have the best resources available here locally.

Now the response time what ever is 4,8,16 practicaly there is not even a slightest, minute lag while playing any high end games. Its as smooth as on any CRT.

Download pixperan & then test for the response time do you see the lag in those test, this software has a game too u can try that too & post your comments, it will help others.
*www.prad.de/en/monitore/pixperan.html

Actual screenshot of the test from the monitor, this one is the most difficult test & Lenovo LCD passed thsi on its default settings.
*img263.imageshack.us/img263/349/00012xp.th.jpg

 

[Ch@0s]

The Dell 2007WFP banding has been fixed.... it doesn't exist anymore on a02 later revisions and a03 revisions. Couldn't find any details of that model anywhere . Looks like its really new. Could you take a picture of the display from close and from the side and post it.

 

[ranjan2001]

Ok guys here are the images of this monitor.

front look
*img249.imageshack.us/img249/2471/img71852kj.th.jpg

Side look
*img258.imageshack.us/img258/127/img71861in.th.jpg

*img258.imageshack.us/img258/3002/img71874is.th.jpg
The base also has in built speakers (good sound) & 5 USB port hub that gets powered seperately & needs one usb cord to connect to 1 usb port on the comp.

Back
*img258.imageshack.us/img258/9516/img71881lm.th.jpg

*img258.imageshack.us/img258/7957/img71891ro.th.jpg

 

[john_the_ultimate]

Thanks ranjan for the pic..........that's a cool monitor.

 

[goobimama]

Hey Ch@os, what's the panel type on my dell 24 inch monitor? 2407wfp A02.

 

[Ch@0s]

^^s-pva. Its hard to say from those pics whether its an ips cos of the cover on top. Anyway display looks good . Congrats Ranjan.

 

[ranjan2001]

Ch@0s
Thanks I got new comp all bcoz of your suggestions & other members helping in decision making, it was quite a work last few months have been waiting since long & wanted the best for my use.

Now I just need to get my hand on 2GB ram Cellshock DDR2 1000(4-4-4), will look out once I settle down with this new comp.

I called up Lenovo but the guy on the other end could not provide this info as to what kind of panel is this, but reading on the web I assume its S-PVA & not the S-IPS , bcoz the S-IPS are far more expensive. I will remove the cover & take few shots then you can see the actual screen.
__________
Here is the contact details of Lenovo dealer.

Comnet Vision
Mr. Juneja (Sales retail) mobile no. 09899696135
B-1, Aggarwal Bhawan,
35-36 Nehru Place New delhi 19.

They have total 4 branches in delhi, if you give my reference then they can ship the monitor to ur city too, but please check with them.

Excellent pre sales support for Lenovo products, its a big showroom & they deal in other brands of desktop & laptops & IT products.