X-bit labs

Closer Look at 17” LCD Monitor Features. Part III (page 16)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 02/03/2004 | 10:57 PM ]

This one is good, very good. There is only one factor which can scare away a potential buyer: the price! LCD monitors of the HX series from Sony are among the most expensive products now available. I can’t say they are stars in the market – they are very good, but not unique. Add also the negative factors like the relatively massive case, no portrait mode and no height adjustment, the strange color temperature settings and minor flaws in the firmware. The declared brightness of 400nit has nothing to do with reality: it is not supported by the contrast ratio, and is of no practical value.

Anyway, if you don’t bother about the price, Sony SDM-HX73 would become a good choice. Otherwise, consider competitor models that sometimes offer the same quality at a lower price.

Conclusion

As you may have already understood, there is no “ideal” monitor in this roundup, either. Each of the tested models has strong and weak points, which make it suitable for tasks of one type, and absolutely incompatible with tasks of another type.

The monitors from Acer, especially AL1721, pleased me once again. AL1721 can fit nicely into an office or home environment due to its characteristics and exterior.

Samsung upset me, on the contrary. The new models from the 173 series have brought nothing really new. The product list from Samsung is very long and variegated now, and sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between two models. All this only makes shopping a hard task. However, it is clear that 172N, 172V and 173S models can find their buyers, since they are well-done mainstream models many customers are looking for. Unfortunately, the models on PVA matrixes have disappeared from the market, only the old 171B and 171T rarely emerge, while new 173P and 173T haven’t yet reached the shops. There is also a strong shortage of models on new 16msec TN+Film matrixes – SyncMaster 172X. As I have shown you with my measurements, the 16msec matrix doesn’t provide a considerable speed boost, but I’d like to see top-end monitors from Samsung, rather than mainstream and value ones. After all, it is the price that affects the response time, the functionality and the setup quality, which are absent by the models we have seen today.

I’d like to single out Sony SDM-HX73 once again. It is an excellent product, but its price is overstated compared to the competitor products, and it is the price that often becomes the crucial factor when you are shopping for a new LCD monitor.

Color Coordinates of RGB Filters (CIE x, y)

If you want to use the color profiles I created during my tests, feel free to download them from here.