I have decided to write a review about the Viewsonic VX924 to contribute to the low amount of reviews floating on the internet.
This is not a technical review, just a review of an average user who, although is not in the IT or IT related industry, is very well oriented what is happening in it and has a good understanding of all the workings. The point of this was to give you readers a A-Z walkthrough of my experience with the monitor. It will be worth mentioning that this is my first home LCD so I do not have a large experience with those type of monitors (aside from laptop screens). It is also worth mentioning that I did read almost all the reviews available on the internet about this monitor including Tom?s Hardware among few.
Introduction:
When you receive the Viewsonic VX924 the first thing you do is the packaging; very well made and quite light. The monitor is snugly fit between two Styrofoam mouldings on either side of it with no protective foam at the front to protect its display, which is a bit puzzling to me.
Taking the monitor out of its shell is not a problem. The light weight of the unit is very surprising, after all, it is a 19? LCD we are talking about here. After you remove the protective foam and wrappings it is time to place it in the desired space.
I think everyone will be pleased with the aesthetics of this unit. I must say that this monitor is probably one of the best looking LCDs on the market right now. The monitor?s case is very well done. The controls are visible and easy to use and the stand is sturdy and truly makes you feel safe about your new expensive investment.
The VX924 comes both with DVI and analog video connections (and cables for both) which is very handy. The outlets are at the back of the monitor neatly tucked under an opening which can be covered by a panel.
Tests:
When you first plug in your monitor you will be surprised by the clarity of the picture. The large 19? display combined with LCD technology will sure make an impression on anyone who had used CRT monitors before. The large, black (and almost glare free) panel produces very crisp and vivid pictures. What impressed me the most were the edges of the display; perfectly straight. The picture on your desktop fits perfectly into the frame of the VX924, no waste of screen at all.
The native resolution is something of a disconcern to me. People say that in order to get the most out of the screen you need to use it in its native resolution which is 1280x1024. This may be true for work but for gaming it makes little difference (especially shooters). If you do decide to have your desktop running at 1024x768 it is not a big deal either. Yes, the text is a bit deformed but it is still reasonable and readable, however if your video card can go up to 1280x1024 I would recommend to use this size for your day to day operations.
Before I will get into games and DVDs I just want to point out one thing here which I agree with the critics of this screen. The VX924 does have a bit of trouble reproducing human skin tones. The colour is a bit ?washed out?, however, you have to look at the different part of the spectrum as well. Most of the images digitized are not perfect either. You will see pictures that are just ?washed out? to begin, even on a CRT tube, with which is no fault of this screen. The balance however will change when you get into digital art or any other colourful imagery. I must highlight that in my opinion the VX924 has no problems reproducing colours acceptable to 90% of the population. Perhaps to the remainder of the 10% of us that are in the arts & design industry, perfect colour reproduction is a big deal (it could be bread and butter for those people), however the average Joe will care less if the hue of a colour is just perfect or not; remember, everything will look out of balance on any monitor/TV unless you see it with you own eyes in real life. I will strongly highlight that the colour reproduction on this unit is more the acceptable.
Build ? 9/10 - UPDATED - 8/10 (bit cracky)
Aergonomics ? 7/10 - UPDATED - 8/10
Now lets proceed with the fun part of this review.
DVD playback: Shrek 2, Van Helsing
When it comes to DVD playback the VX924 performs pretty well. The motion blur is not a factor at all in 99% of the scenes however the colour reproduction, which is pretty good, is not very accurate and the reproduction of black is not to greatest either. The black colours are not a factor in Shrek 2 since it is a children?s movie thus very colourful. The overall viewing of this movie was very good and overall pleasant. I did not spend a lot of time watching the movie just because in general terms it looks good on this monitor.
Van Helsing is another story. Although the movie in general has a dark and medieval feel to it, I wanted to see if the reproduction of the colour black is also an issue in movie playback (aside from gaming). It is. In all night scenes you could not really distinct between objects. It is hard to explain this to those of you who never had any LCDs before. Those of you who do have or had an LCD monitor before, I am sure you know what I am talking about. The screen was one big blur of ?shades of black? which made watching the movie very difficult.
When it comes to motion blur there is none. The monitor performs very well in every aspect of DVD movie playback aside the ?black-factor?.
I am not sure of ?my viewing angles? but the claimed 160 degree viewing angles are a bit off. Although you can see what is on the screen when you move your body way to the left or right of the screen, the picture is unclear and discoloured. If you are sitting at this monitor by yourself watching movies or playing games then you are fine, however if you have a buddy next to you, he or she will not have the same experience watching what is going on on the screen as you will.
There is not too much to say about movie playback. The colour reproduction is good, there is no motion blur and the black reproduction is satisfactory.
Colour reproduction ? 7/10 - UPDATED - 7/10
Motion Blur ? 10/10 - UPDATED - 10/10
Black factor ? 4/10 - UPDATED 4/10 (some panel issues)
Gaming: Guild Wars, Halo and Doom 3
Because gaming is something that I like doing in my spare time, the number one reason for my LCD was a smudge-free display. Being able to concentrate on the action and not the blurry image was something I was concerned about when I first thought of purchasing an LCD.
Lets start with Guild Wars a somewhat of an MMO that has brilliant and colourful graphics and a slow pace to it. For starters the VX924 displays the game like a charm. Running around through different parts of the game exposed me to many different effects and environments. I have to say that not only I was impressed by the size (being 19? across) but also with the clarity and colourfulness of the picture. You become more immersed in the game by having such a large display in front of your eyes.
The blur factor in this game is almost non existent. I say ?almost? because when you rotate the camera around your character, some objects in the distance (like trees) will appear a bit blurry but that could also be part of the game?s engine. Whatever the reason may be, in order to really notice this, your nose would have to be literally 2 inches away from the screen and you would have to be looking for flaws like these. Overall, in slow-pace games this monitor performs excellent. It is big, bright, colourful and sharp.
When it comes to resolution, the game looks a bit better in the native resolution of 1280x1024 they say 1024x768, but not by that much and if the jaggedness of objects annoys you, just turn up the AA in options.
Next stop, Halo; a colourful shooter that does not need an introduction. The main reason I have decided to use this game was for its ?fast paced action?, the arch enemy of LCD screens. After playing a bit I have to say that I could not detect any blurriness. All of the action was well reproduced and like in GW, unless your face is 2? away from the screen, you will not notice anything unusual. The colours are well reproduced aside from black, which looks a little washed out. I have used Halo mainly as a game for motion. Although Halo is colourful it is not as colourful as Guild Wars.
I have also tested the Viewsonic VX924 with Doom 3 to test the depth of blackness and not motion blur nor colour reproduction. I have chosen this game in particular to test this specific field and was a bit disappointed with the blackness factor. Yes the game does look dark but the blackest spots are ?glittery?, almost look like they reflect light. You can get use to this when you play the game long enough, however, my conclusion was that LCDs and games with a lot of black areas do not mix.
To summarize the gaming section, most games look great on the VX924 aside from some that make an extensive use of black areas. Games like, Guild Wars, Halo, Half Life 2, World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3, Age of Mythology, etc. look excellent. Games like Doom 3 on the other hand, although playable, do not look as sharp as on a CRT tube.
Colour reproduction ? 8/10 - UPDATED - 8/10
Motion Blur ? 10/10 - UPDATED - 10/10
Black factor ? 6/10 (4.5/10 Doom3) - UPDATED - OVERALL 3/10 (blacks on the bottom part of screen is "sparkly")
Conclusion:
Overall I am very satisfied with this unit. Yes, I do have one dead pixel, yes, sometimes human skin tones are not ?perfect? and yes, the black is not pitch black, however, I can live with those issues. To me that did not really make any difference since the main advantage of this screen was the large size and workspace availability (space saving LCD technology). Again, you have to pick your battles and focus on the most important things to you that you look for in a computer monitor.
In general the Viewsonic VX924 is a great product. The display is large, full 19? of viewable area that you paid for, the picture clarity and reproduction is very pleasant to work with, the controls are easy to use, which makes navigation through the menus acceptable, and the unit looks great compared to so many other 19? LCDs on the market. What else can you ask for?!
The only downfall that I can think of is the steep price of $500 CDN (should be more like $450) but in general, I would give the VX924 8 out of 10 points and would recommend it in a split of a second to anyone who is looking for an 19? LCD monitor.
For more information please read this review:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/572-...d-monitor-survey-4-8-ms-tn-ips-va.html
PS: Please feel free to add any of your opinions or experiences with the VX924!
This is not a technical review, just a review of an average user who, although is not in the IT or IT related industry, is very well oriented what is happening in it and has a good understanding of all the workings. The point of this was to give you readers a A-Z walkthrough of my experience with the monitor. It will be worth mentioning that this is my first home LCD so I do not have a large experience with those type of monitors (aside from laptop screens). It is also worth mentioning that I did read almost all the reviews available on the internet about this monitor including Tom?s Hardware among few.
Introduction:
When you receive the Viewsonic VX924 the first thing you do is the packaging; very well made and quite light. The monitor is snugly fit between two Styrofoam mouldings on either side of it with no protective foam at the front to protect its display, which is a bit puzzling to me.
Taking the monitor out of its shell is not a problem. The light weight of the unit is very surprising, after all, it is a 19? LCD we are talking about here. After you remove the protective foam and wrappings it is time to place it in the desired space.
I think everyone will be pleased with the aesthetics of this unit. I must say that this monitor is probably one of the best looking LCDs on the market right now. The monitor?s case is very well done. The controls are visible and easy to use and the stand is sturdy and truly makes you feel safe about your new expensive investment.
The VX924 comes both with DVI and analog video connections (and cables for both) which is very handy. The outlets are at the back of the monitor neatly tucked under an opening which can be covered by a panel.
Tests:
When you first plug in your monitor you will be surprised by the clarity of the picture. The large 19? display combined with LCD technology will sure make an impression on anyone who had used CRT monitors before. The large, black (and almost glare free) panel produces very crisp and vivid pictures. What impressed me the most were the edges of the display; perfectly straight. The picture on your desktop fits perfectly into the frame of the VX924, no waste of screen at all.
The native resolution is something of a disconcern to me. People say that in order to get the most out of the screen you need to use it in its native resolution which is 1280x1024. This may be true for work but for gaming it makes little difference (especially shooters). If you do decide to have your desktop running at 1024x768 it is not a big deal either. Yes, the text is a bit deformed but it is still reasonable and readable, however if your video card can go up to 1280x1024 I would recommend to use this size for your day to day operations.
Before I will get into games and DVDs I just want to point out one thing here which I agree with the critics of this screen. The VX924 does have a bit of trouble reproducing human skin tones. The colour is a bit ?washed out?, however, you have to look at the different part of the spectrum as well. Most of the images digitized are not perfect either. You will see pictures that are just ?washed out? to begin, even on a CRT tube, with which is no fault of this screen. The balance however will change when you get into digital art or any other colourful imagery. I must highlight that in my opinion the VX924 has no problems reproducing colours acceptable to 90% of the population. Perhaps to the remainder of the 10% of us that are in the arts & design industry, perfect colour reproduction is a big deal (it could be bread and butter for those people), however the average Joe will care less if the hue of a colour is just perfect or not; remember, everything will look out of balance on any monitor/TV unless you see it with you own eyes in real life. I will strongly highlight that the colour reproduction on this unit is more the acceptable.
Build ? 9/10 - UPDATED - 8/10 (bit cracky)
Aergonomics ? 7/10 - UPDATED - 8/10
Now lets proceed with the fun part of this review.
DVD playback: Shrek 2, Van Helsing
When it comes to DVD playback the VX924 performs pretty well. The motion blur is not a factor at all in 99% of the scenes however the colour reproduction, which is pretty good, is not very accurate and the reproduction of black is not to greatest either. The black colours are not a factor in Shrek 2 since it is a children?s movie thus very colourful. The overall viewing of this movie was very good and overall pleasant. I did not spend a lot of time watching the movie just because in general terms it looks good on this monitor.
Van Helsing is another story. Although the movie in general has a dark and medieval feel to it, I wanted to see if the reproduction of the colour black is also an issue in movie playback (aside from gaming). It is. In all night scenes you could not really distinct between objects. It is hard to explain this to those of you who never had any LCDs before. Those of you who do have or had an LCD monitor before, I am sure you know what I am talking about. The screen was one big blur of ?shades of black? which made watching the movie very difficult.
When it comes to motion blur there is none. The monitor performs very well in every aspect of DVD movie playback aside the ?black-factor?.
I am not sure of ?my viewing angles? but the claimed 160 degree viewing angles are a bit off. Although you can see what is on the screen when you move your body way to the left or right of the screen, the picture is unclear and discoloured. If you are sitting at this monitor by yourself watching movies or playing games then you are fine, however if you have a buddy next to you, he or she will not have the same experience watching what is going on on the screen as you will.
There is not too much to say about movie playback. The colour reproduction is good, there is no motion blur and the black reproduction is satisfactory.
Colour reproduction ? 7/10 - UPDATED - 7/10
Motion Blur ? 10/10 - UPDATED - 10/10
Black factor ? 4/10 - UPDATED 4/10 (some panel issues)
Gaming: Guild Wars, Halo and Doom 3
Because gaming is something that I like doing in my spare time, the number one reason for my LCD was a smudge-free display. Being able to concentrate on the action and not the blurry image was something I was concerned about when I first thought of purchasing an LCD.
Lets start with Guild Wars a somewhat of an MMO that has brilliant and colourful graphics and a slow pace to it. For starters the VX924 displays the game like a charm. Running around through different parts of the game exposed me to many different effects and environments. I have to say that not only I was impressed by the size (being 19? across) but also with the clarity and colourfulness of the picture. You become more immersed in the game by having such a large display in front of your eyes.
The blur factor in this game is almost non existent. I say ?almost? because when you rotate the camera around your character, some objects in the distance (like trees) will appear a bit blurry but that could also be part of the game?s engine. Whatever the reason may be, in order to really notice this, your nose would have to be literally 2 inches away from the screen and you would have to be looking for flaws like these. Overall, in slow-pace games this monitor performs excellent. It is big, bright, colourful and sharp.
When it comes to resolution, the game looks a bit better in the native resolution of 1280x1024 they say 1024x768, but not by that much and if the jaggedness of objects annoys you, just turn up the AA in options.
Next stop, Halo; a colourful shooter that does not need an introduction. The main reason I have decided to use this game was for its ?fast paced action?, the arch enemy of LCD screens. After playing a bit I have to say that I could not detect any blurriness. All of the action was well reproduced and like in GW, unless your face is 2? away from the screen, you will not notice anything unusual. The colours are well reproduced aside from black, which looks a little washed out. I have used Halo mainly as a game for motion. Although Halo is colourful it is not as colourful as Guild Wars.
I have also tested the Viewsonic VX924 with Doom 3 to test the depth of blackness and not motion blur nor colour reproduction. I have chosen this game in particular to test this specific field and was a bit disappointed with the blackness factor. Yes the game does look dark but the blackest spots are ?glittery?, almost look like they reflect light. You can get use to this when you play the game long enough, however, my conclusion was that LCDs and games with a lot of black areas do not mix.
To summarize the gaming section, most games look great on the VX924 aside from some that make an extensive use of black areas. Games like, Guild Wars, Halo, Half Life 2, World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3, Age of Mythology, etc. look excellent. Games like Doom 3 on the other hand, although playable, do not look as sharp as on a CRT tube.
Colour reproduction ? 8/10 - UPDATED - 8/10
Motion Blur ? 10/10 - UPDATED - 10/10
Black factor ? 6/10 (4.5/10 Doom3) - UPDATED - OVERALL 3/10 (blacks on the bottom part of screen is "sparkly")
Conclusion:
Overall I am very satisfied with this unit. Yes, I do have one dead pixel, yes, sometimes human skin tones are not ?perfect? and yes, the black is not pitch black, however, I can live with those issues. To me that did not really make any difference since the main advantage of this screen was the large size and workspace availability (space saving LCD technology). Again, you have to pick your battles and focus on the most important things to you that you look for in a computer monitor.
In general the Viewsonic VX924 is a great product. The display is large, full 19? of viewable area that you paid for, the picture clarity and reproduction is very pleasant to work with, the controls are easy to use, which makes navigation through the menus acceptable, and the unit looks great compared to so many other 19? LCDs on the market. What else can you ask for?!
The only downfall that I can think of is the steep price of $500 CDN (should be more like $450) but in general, I would give the VX924 8 out of 10 points and would recommend it in a split of a second to anyone who is looking for an 19? LCD monitor.
For more information please read this review:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/572-...d-monitor-survey-4-8-ms-tn-ips-va.html
PS: Please feel free to add any of your opinions or experiences with the VX924!
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