Viewsonic LCD VP171b: Just Got It!

[wenfun]

I just got my Viewsonic LCD yesterday. This is my first LCD. I'm a little disappointed...

My #1 complain is the picture is too bright (I know this sounds funny. This is usually a plus for most people). Unlike my CRT, I cannot adjust the contrast and the brightness of this LCD to complete darkness. Setting the contrast and the brightness adjustment to 0 only dims the display. It's still too bright. I probably can get an anti-glare screen to remedy this issue....

I see a lot of lines/ghosting/halo running across the screen. I tried both the 60Hz (recommended) and the 75Hz, no difference.
It reminds me of low-refresh rate CRTs. I thought LCD is not supposed to have this flickering problem. I don't know if I can get used to this. The image quality of my CRT seems a lot more stable.

Hard to read small text. This is a problem with 17" LDC in general -- the display is too small for the resolution 1280x1024. I have to upsize all my system icon fonts etc. Viewsonic included the 'Fine Tune' adjustment feature which allows you to align the image to get the best quality text. This really helps.

I also notice the lower half of the screen seems to be brighter than the upper half.

Aside from that, the power button at the front doesn't seem to work very well. I have to reach for my big power switch at the back everytime I turn my PC off and then back on. Hitting the power button at the front alone does not bring the moniotr on. I still have to experiment with this a little... Maybe it's defective.

 

[sodcha0s]

Are you using the DVI connector? I have this monitor and for me that made a huge difference. I was using the D-sub at first because the DVI cable wouldn't reach and did have some of the screen distortions and color issues you describe. If you do not have a DVI capable video card try getting a high quality video cable and keep it away from your power cords.

The only type of ghosting I get is when I scroll lines of text really fast, other than that the display is much more crisp and vibrant than my old Trinitron CRT.

About the text/icon size, you will have to adjust it and make it larger since you were probably running a lower res before. That is normal.

Use the 60Hz refresh, LCD monitors do not flicker like CRT's therefore 60Hz is fine. Running higher refresh will not only make no difference, it can damage the monitor.

Hope this helps.

 

[wenfun]

The monitor is currently connected to the VGA outpuf of the ATI Expert@Work 98. Do you have any recommendations for a 2D card with DVI? I deal with text primarily, not going to watch DVD with this monitor, not a gamer also.

According to the spec, the monitor should be able to support up to 75Hz. I didn't notice any image quality improvement with 75Hz over 60Hz. Also someone else posted having all sort of funny image problems using 75Hz. 60Hz is the recommended refresh rate; the 75Hz spec appears to have no practical meaning.

I'm convinced that I got a defective monitor. It always get stuck at the Windows logon screen (the point where the resolution and the color depth? changes). The monitor goes blank (white) with a bunch of vertical lines in different colors. Usually, turning on/off the big power switch at the back a few times would fix the problem.

Also, the Sharpness option under Manaul Image Adjust is disabled. sodcha0s, Is yours like that too? I found the Fine Tune option very useful, I wonder what the Sharpness option does....

//wen

 

[InlineFive]

First on LCDs 60ms acutually reduces the eyestrain. Secondly, My VP171B has none of the problems yours is showing, I am using DVI however. It might also be your video card for some of the ghosting problems being as it is so old.

If your monitor continues to have these problems I would suggest an RMA as it seems to me that it might be defective. If you read around and do some searches the general concensus is that this monitor rocks!

 

[Kongzi]

Sounds defective. I have the same monitor and I absolutely love it. I'm using DVI also. Everything is so crisp.

 

[PliotronX]

The monitor is currently connected to the VGA outpuf of the ATI Expert@Work 98. Do you have any recommendations for a 2D card with DVI? I deal with text primarily, not going to watch DVD with this monitor, not a gamer also.

First, sorry to hear about your probs with this monitor, and your suspicion of defect might be correct, so a new video card may not fix the probs, but it's worth a shot. You can get a good 2D card from ATI or NVidia that has DVI for about $35. They are available in both PCI and AGP if you need either one. The specific models are ATI Radeon 7000 and the Nvidia GeForce4 MX440. Take your pick, as they both have solid unified drivers currently and because you will be using the DVI, visual output quality will be identical. HTH

 

[wenfun]

Under Manual Image Adjust, the Sharpness option is disabled. Is that normal for this monitor?

 

[wenfun]

Also, anyone know if there is a backlight intensity control for this monitor? That would solve the being too bright problem.

 

[Tab]

lol you really need a new video card.

 

[wenfun]

I checked these two cards, they both have only one connector and supports "dual display support"?

Does "Dual" mean either VGA or DVI? Is dual display support less superior compared to individual dedicated DVI?

 

[wenfun]

Regarding my prev post, I meant the cards suggested by PliotronX...
ATI Radeon 7000
Nvidia GeForce4 MX440

 

[gplracer]

I just got rid of that monitor. I had it for a month or so. It really looks nice but everything is small. I put the dpi on 110 instead of 96 that helps a lot. I decided that a NEC 22" crt would be better since it is about the same price. I like games and 22" is a lot bigger. The vp171b did have real good color and sharpness.

 

[PliotronX]

Ahhz, I guess some of them do come without DVI, I'm sorry about that (good of you looking before leaping ). You can see the different Radeon 7k cards on this page with the third one down that has the DVI output for $34.

Regarding the dual capability, AFAIK this just means that only one analog output can be used at a time. If it were dual capable, you could get an adapter and use the DVI as a second analog head. But because in the cheaper cards there is one RAMDAC, converting the DVI to analog and using it at the same time as the regular analog output hooked to a different monitor is not possible.

 

[sep]

Got this Monitor hooked up to two pc's. One running a 9800 Pro (DVI) and the other running a G2 Pro (D-SUB). I'm not seeing any of these problems on either connection. No I don't use the G2 Pro system that much, but I would of noticed these.

I think you got a defective monitor. RMA this first. Can you try plugging this in someone else computer?

My Windows XP Home Settings:
-Monitor = VP171b (manufacture drivers), refresh 60Hhz, Resolution 1280x1024
-Font = IE View/Text Sizing - Medium or Large

Let me know if you want me to try something on the monitor.
-JC

 

[wenfun]

Sep,

Is your Sharpness option (under Manual Image Adjustmnet) enabled?


Thanx in Advan

 

[Excelsior]

I tried this monitor out for a week or so and I agree about it being too bright. I had to turn it all the way to 0 and it still seemed to bright.

 

[iwearnosox]

I've had this monitor for a few months now, and yeah- it's bright!

No ghosting or any other issues with it, I've got it on a DVI 9800.

 

[sep]

Originally posted by: wenfun
Sep,

Is your Sharpness option (under Manual Image Adjustmnet) enabled?


Thanx in Advan

I'll check tonight for ya. In any case I would start the RMA process if your close to the 30 return policy.

-JC

 

[sep]

Nope...it's grayed out!

 

[wenfun]

I got it from Dell USA. I tried to start the RMA process... Call customer service, they insist that I should talk to tech support first. Tried calling support, got timed-out and line dropped twice already. Failing the phone approach, I tried to get an RMA online. Finally, got a reply tonight with a troubleshoot document link....

http://support.dell.com/us/en/kb/document.asp?DN=HO1019511

This link supposes to explain "Monitor Troubleshooter: Horizontal or Vertical Lines " !!!???!!! I thought it is blatantly obvious that the monitor is defective. Unfortunately, I'm unable to login/access this file. I probably have to wait another couple days before getting a reply. The only fortunate part is that I'm nowhere near the 30day deadline. In any event, I think I'll return this monitor, because it's just too bright....

//wen

 

[sodcha0s]

wen,

Have you tried changing your video cable? I know it sounds useless, but having a cheap or defective cable will really make a difference in display quality, especially on an LCD display using the analog input. Like I said before, my monitor looked pretty crappy at first until I changed to the DVI.

 

[sep]

From what it sounds like the main problem for you is the brightness. I don't know what to say. I know this monitor could be used for spotting deer, but I like it vs my darker CRT that died on me.

Good luck!
-JC

 

[wenfun]

sodcha0s,

Like sep says, the biggest problem is the brightness. Unfortunately, I don't think changing the cable nor the video card would fix that.

thx,
//wen