While no LCD can keep up with the rapidly changing scenes of a movie or a game the way a CRT can, LCD manufacturers keep finding ways to bridge the gap by lowering their pixel-response times. Individual response-time specs are just one of the many numbers that affect a monitor's overall performance, and the way the specs are calculated isn't standard across manufacturers. Nevertheless, the 19-inch ViewSonic VX924 has a fast 4-millisecond (ms) grey-to-grey pixel-response rate and it displays movies and gaming backgrounds with fewer errors than LCDs with significantly slower pixel-response times.
The ViewSonic VX924 gets its dapper look from a two-tone colour scheme. A 0.6cm matte-silver bezel surrounds a 1.9cm matte-black bezel; the silver section of the bezel widens to 2.5cm at the bottom to accommodate five silver onscreen menu (OSM) control buttons. The base follows the silver-and-black colour scheme and is 28cm wide but only 20cm deep. This oblong design keeps the display from wobbling from side to side, but a firm touch to the front sends it wobbling back and forth. A hinge attaches the panel to the neck and allows the panel to tilt 20 degrees backward and 5 degrees forward; however, the screen doesn't raise, lower, pivot or swivel. At almost 48cm tall, the VX924 has plenty of height for taller individuals, but shorter people may wish the screen could be lowered.
Two snap-off plastic covers cleverly hide the input ports and the cords, creating an attractive back panel. The top panel hides the digital, analog and power inputs, while the lower panel keeps the cords and the two plastic cable-management clips hidden.
The ViewSonic VX924's printed guide has one page of written instructions and four small illustrations that show you how to connect the VX924's cables to your PC or Macintosh computer. If you are connecting the VX924 to a Mac older than a G3, you will need a Macintosh adapter.
Once the VX924 is connected to your computer, it's easy to adjust the standard settings through the OSM, such as image position and colour, brightness and contrast levels. The panel's five buttons are big and well labeled, making adjustments even easier. Unlike some other monitors, the ViewSonic VX924 doesn't provide the ability to adjust the settings through a keyboard and mouse.
Tested at its native resolution of 1,280x1,024 using the analog connection, the ViewSonic VX924 did reasonably well on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based tests. The biggest problems we encountered with the VX924's performance arose from the screen's lack of uniformity. The VX924's screen was darker at the top than the bottom, and light leaks occurred around the lower periphery, especially midway down the sides. This lack of uniformity caused the VX924 to display shades of grey and colours, especially dark ones, differently from top to bottom. These issues gave the VX924's otherwise bright and vibrant colours slight variations in tone but did not have a substantially negative effect on its overall sharpness. On the greyscale test screens, the VX924 produced a consistent range of greys, with only a slight smattering of green at the low end of the spectrum.
With its fast 4ms grey-to-grey pixel-response rate, the VX924 does exceptionally well with video playback and gaming. In our tests, we saw no streaking or ghosting during DVD playback -- just full, accurate colours, good details, and only slight noise (pixel fluctuations) in solid-colour backgrounds, which you would see with any LCD. Games looked simply great -- full of detail and vibrant colour.
The ViewSonic VX924 comes with an industry-standard three-year limited warranty covering parts and labour. ViewSonic's Web site provides additional support in the form of an interactive Q&A database and e-mail tech support.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
NOTE: Products in this test are for comparative purposes only and are not necessarily available in the Australian market.
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David
26/10/2006, 10:27 PM
rating
10/10
Perfect for gaming, movies, internet browsing.
Pros: I have been using this monitor for over 7 months no and this monitor is awsome for gaming, DVDs and regular PC tasks.
No, ghosting, no shadowing, no flickering.
I didn't do alot of gaming on this monitor. So please read exstensive reviews about it.
Cons: None up to now/
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