Are KDS monitors any good?

[CommanderYtineres]

I see some 19''s at walmart for $188. Anyone have a KDS monitor?

 

[RanDum72]

They are decent. They have three-year warranties so they should be fine.

 

[Macro2]

I know a guy who refurbs monitors, He said KDSs have problems with solder joints letting go. More in the cheaper line. OTOH, I have a 17 trinitron KDS still going strong after 2 years.

Mac

 

[CommanderYtineres]

What is a good website to find reviews on old monitors?

 

[Macro2]

google.com

 

[minendo]

I bought a 17" KDS Avitron in 1998. It still works perfectly. I also just sold my KDS Rad 5 15" LCD. Great monitors in my opinion.

 

[Electric Amish]

I have one at home. A couple of friends have them. I've purchased a few here at work. Haven't seen a problem with them at all.

amish

 

[LED]

Price/Performance they are good deals and the warranty is valid...exchange and so forth...Had a clients that went out 3 days before the warranty and KDS shipped a replacement without problem.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: LED
Price/Performance they are good deals and the warranty is valid...exchange and so forth...Had a clients that went out 3 days before the warranty and KDS shipped a replacement without problem.

I can also vouch for the good warranty process @ KDS. Overal they are a good value.

 

[Whitedog]

My 5 year old VS 21 is getting ready to DIE. It turned blue on me the other day a couple of times. I smacked it and it came back. Also, some voltage regulator or something on it has been bad for 2 or 3 years... it has to "warm up" before it is at full brightness...

You get what you pay for.

My 19" Avitron I have here at work is fine. I'd suggest the models with the Sody tubes in them.

 

[tomstevens26]

Decent picture for the price but I seriously question their reliability. My dad has went through 3 17" in 2 years. They were really good about honoring the replacement warranty and very quick to ship a replacement so that is at least one positive thing.

A more positive note, however, would be never having to see how good their warranty service performs

 

[jaeger66]

I tried a 19 inch Avitron last year, it was awful. The color was very washed out and the geometry was as bad as I've ever seen. Don't be fooled by the Sony tube, the tubes KDS uses are the ones Sony has deemed unfit for use in their own monitors.

 

[SuperSix]

Originally posted by: jaeger66
I tried a 19 inch Avitron last year, it was awful. The color was very washed out and the geometry was as bad as I've ever seen. Don't be fooled by the Sony tube, the tubes KDS uses are the ones Sony has deemed unfit for use in their own monitors.

I highly doubt KDS is using Sony's cast-offs. Any proof of that statement?

That being said, I am very happy with my KDS 19", has been working 24x7 for nearly 4 years. The only beef i have with them is they are constantly changing model numbers..

And they do have good warranty service - should you need it.

 

[dkozloski]

KDS is a bargain basement or discount store disposable monitor. You get what you pay for.

 

[Jittos]

KDS is probably most popular for its inexpensiveness.

I had been using a 17" one for 3 years. it's still working fine. but last week I just got myself a 17" LCD =)

 

[Alptraum]

I highly doubt KDS is using Sony's cast-offs. Any proof of that statement?


I don't think they do this either. They just license the tech and either make their own or buy the tubes from somebody else that does. However, these are definetly lower quality then what Sony uses. i don't know how much of that is due to using a lower quality tube and how much is due to the other elctronics in the monitor. KDS are junk in my opinion. But I am really picky about monitiors. However, if you just want a monitor thats cheap and gets the job done they are ok. You basically get what you pay for.

 

[nick1985]

i and my friend both have 17" KDS flat screens. we have no problems. i have had mine for about 1 year and 3 months, my friend about a month

 

[jaeger66]

Originally posted by: Alptraum



I don't think they do this either. They just license the tech and either make their own or buy the tubes from somebody else that does.

The KDS Avitron 195 was advertised as featuring a Sony Trinitron tube. Not some licensed derivitive like SonicTron or DiamondTron, and not just a "aperture grille monitor"(all of which are Trinitron based). It contained a genuine built by Sony Trinitron tube. Purchasing B-grade tubes is how they attract buyers while at the same time keeping down price. They can advertise a FD Trinitron monitor, without having to design or build the tube, at a cut-rate price. Stand one next to a genuine Sony and you'll see why.

 

[nicowju]

My mom uses a KDS AV7TF (around 3 years old now) and it's still working great. I had a friend who had to RMA his, and he says the service was pretty good

 

[HalfCrazy]

I was using a 15" KDS VS-550 for a long time when the color in it went out. I called the company told them about the problem. I got a replacement in two days which was very nice. I still have the replacment monitor but it's laying in the corner of the room. It's still in working order but I upgraded to a 17" Samtron 76V. I got a really good deal on this new after the mail in rebate.

 

[CommanderYtineres]

I was thinking about getting this sony http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...3m3hODFE6i5AOM96iE1s=?ProductSKU=HMDA400/L/RF

But I see this new http://www.dealtime.com/DealFrame/D...=DMEB2&FPT=POV&NDS=10&NMS=10&NDP=10&MRS=&CT=2

 

[jaeger66]

Ye gods. Chop down those links a bit at www.tinyurl.com.

Click here

or paste: http://tinyurl.com/5h45

 

[jaeger66]

As for that monitor, I don't know. I've never been impressed with flat screen shadow mask monitors.

 

[Nolan75]

I have been using a KDS 19" that I got a wal-mart for over a year and have had no problems with it. I think that the picture quality is pretty good. I would recomend the monitor to anyone who does not want to spend an exorbitant amount of cash on a monitor that is not that much better.

Nolan

 

[Bovinicus]

Me and a friend of mine both own the VS-195e. They aren't the greatest monitors, but they are cheap and have an excellent warranty program. My friend's actually died very soon after getting it. They sent him a new one and paid for shipping. It has been going strong for probably around 3 years now. Mine a little less.