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ViewSonic VG171
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More…| Overall Rating | 88 |
| Quality of text/graphics | Outstanding/Outstanding |
| Controls ease of use | Good |
| Features | Very good |
| Screen size and resolution | 17 inches; 1280 by 1024 standard resolution |
| Vendor's panel specifications | 0.26mm pixel pitch; 40 msms pixel redraw time; 250 cd/m typical luminance |
| Video inputs | Analog and digital |
| Rated viewing angle | 150 degrees horizontal and 140 degrees vertical; diiffusion film technology |
| Base adjustments | Tilt, swivel |
| Dimensions (W,D,H) and weight | 16.1 by 6.6 by 16.1 inches; 14.3 pounds |
| Rated power consumption | 50 watts, maximum; 3 watts, standby |
| Emissions control | TCO'99 |
| Other features | Color adjustment software |
| Support policy score | Outstanding |
| Support policies | Three-year warranty; 24-hour weekday, plus Saturday and Sunday toll-free support |
ViewSonic VG171
VG171 Review, by Richard Jantz February 1, 2002
WHAT'S HOT: The ViewSonic VG171 won the top spot among 17-inch LCD monitors in our March 2002 roundup thanks to its outstanding display quality and a comparatively low street price of $769. It offers both digital and analog video interfaces; tested via its digital video mode, this model outscored all of its competitors in both our text and graphics tests. Our panel of judges remarked on its sharp text in Microsoft Word and Excel documents, as well as its rich and vivid colors in our photo and color scale tests. Though the digital mode of a dual-input monitor typically provides better images than the analog mode, we saw little difference between the two from the VG171: When we ran some of the same test screens in the unit's analog mode, text was still pleasingly sharp--Arial text looked clear down to 7.5 points--and photos had saturated, natural-looking colors.
WHAT'S NOT: There are no high-end features at this price. This model does not pivot to allow using the display in portrait orientation, and it has no USB ports or speakers. When making on-screen adjustments, such as changing the brightness or contrast, only a single horizontal bar serves as a visual gauge of the amount of adjustment. Although this inconvenience isn't critical, some users may prefer the added precision of a numeric value.
WHAT ELSE: The VG171 has five basic control buttons aligned horizontally on the bottom of its front panel. Despite the lack of numbers on the controls, it's easy to auto-adjust the image, and manipulating the individual controls is relatively uncomplicated as well. You use the up and down arrow buttons to navigate among the on-screen menu choices, and you use the buttons marked '1' and '2' to exit and select, respectively. It would be nice if the 1 and 2 buttons on the bezel were labeled 'Exit' and 'Select', but it's easy enough to get used to the convention, which is consistently applied. The auto-adjust and Manual Image Adjust controls are inactive when you connect the VG171 via its digital interface. Digital technology makes them unnecessary--those adjustments are as good (or bad) as they're going to get. A Kensington antitheft slot is built into the case to help prevent your expensive monitor from walking away.
The printed documentation is a sparse quick-start guide, with setup instructions that consist of only three diagrams. A thorough manual is included on CD-ROM, however, along with two color-calibration applications, Colorific and True Internet Color.
The VG171 uses diffusion film technology to provide horizontal and vertical viewing angles of 150 and 140 degrees, respectively (as measured by ViewSonic). If you want wider viewing angles, you should consider one of the more expensive models from ViewSonic or others that use in-plane switching (IPS) or multidomain vertical alignment (MVA). We noticed some loss of brightness when looking up at this monitor; to ensure consistent brightness and contrast, you should place the VG171 at a height that's level with your line of sight. Since this monitor is not height adjustable, that could mean using a riser, or raising or lowering your work surface.
UPSHOT: The VG171 focuses on the fundamentals: It delivers top-notch display quality at a terrific price, but it omits some convenient extras such as a speaker jack or a USB hub.
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Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by:
Strengths: great picture
Weaknesses: old looking casing
Overall: i have had this monitor for 3 years doing some of my best graphic design work on it. no problems here. certainly not the best picture out there, but unless i was to compare side by side, i see no issues.
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Reviewed by: andrew_debbie
Strengths: Good looking display.
Weaknesses: DVI does not work at with several ATI cards and WinXP. Analog VGA is marginal.
Overall: It seems to be hit or miss but there is a known issue with this monitor and some ATI graphics cards. I've been waiting a year and there is still no fix. With my 5 year old low end ATI card, the display works fine. I do not recommend this monitor. It may work for you but why take the risk.
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Reviewed by: Balzar2000
Strengths: Great color and sharp images. Easy to install and setup. It has better quality than my 19" CRT screen.
Weaknesses: None that I have found.
Overall: Despite what the other reviews say, I installed an ATI Radeon 7500/LE and had no problems at all. I have two computers and am going to buy another one.
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Reviewed by: thh
Strengths: Brtight, sharp
Weaknesses: Deficient color reproduction
Overall: Even with the latest "colorific software" and the color matching strip I failed to achieve a proper color balance on this screen. Lower midtones tend to be pastel violet instead of neutral Gray. Recommended for text oriented work but not for imaging, photography or graphics. This is not a LCD generation replacing good CRT's for image processing! Not yet.
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Reviewed by: jdw
Strengths: Sharp, clear text, graphics; easy setup, operation; dependability; great bezel, stand design; ELF-shielded power adapter.
Weaknesses: None that I'm aware of.
Overall: I'm using the VG171 with a Radeon 7500 card which I upgraded to for the digital hookup and I've had absolutely no problem with either product on a well-configured and well-maintained computer.
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