X-bit labs

Closer Look at the 19" Monitor Features. Part III (page 4)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 03/30/2005 | 01:45 PM ]

Iiyama ProLite C480T

The ProLite C480T from Iiyama belongs to the opposite market niche if it were compared with the previous model from Acer. This is an expensive multimedia model, equipped with a TV-tuner and a remote control. In fact, it is a hybrid of a regular computer monitor and an LCD TV-set.

The monitor is very wide due to the large speakers on the sides of the screen, but you can remove any or both of them by unfastening the two thumbscrews they are held with. I can’t omit one defect in the design of the speakers: there is no groove in the monitor’s case for the wire that connects the speakers, so this wire becomes squeezed between the speaker and the case, not allowing them to fit tightly to each other.

The base of the monitor only permits to change the tilt of the screen.

The large speakers (they are large in comparison with other monitors’ speakers) ensure an acceptable quality of the sound. Unlike with many multimedia monitors, their sound isn’t downright bad, but of course even inexpensive “discrete” active speakers would sound much better.

By the way, the grid on the speakers seems to be made of aluminum, but it is actually plastic, wrapped around the carcass.

The connectors are mostly located on the removable TV-tuner module: a high-frequency connector for the ordinary TV antenna, a SCART connector, and a set of connectors for component video signal (including two audio connectors).

At the bottom of the rear panel there’s a connector for attaching audio from the computer (the audio inputs change as you switch between the video ones), a DVI-I connector, and a connector for the external power adapter. There’s no usual D-Sub input because the DVI-I connector can transfer digital as well as analog signal (but the majority of LCD monitors use a DVI-D connector which physically lacks the group of pins that transfer analog signal), and you can attach the monitor to the D-Sub output of your graphics card via the special adapter enclosed with the ProLite C480T. You can only encounter some troubles if you use non-standard cables, for example extension cables or cables to KVM switches.

All the control buttons are found on the monitor’s top edge. I can’t say this is a handy solution as I couldn’t get used to the buttons as much as to press them blindly during the tests. The rather plain-looking menu offers a standard collection of settings.