ViewSonic's latest LED monitor shows
off its wares in glorious HD
It's a sad fact that while testing this
latest 21" monitor from ViewSonic, I realized just how utterly naff my
current viewing setup actually is and, admittedly, once you become used to
having the extravagance of a large monitor, it's very difficult to return to
anything less.
ViewSonic's VX2770Smh-LED is a sleek
SuperClear IPS monitor that presents bold colors, great greyscale and a
horizontal and vertical viewing angle of 178°. It's housed in a frameless bezel
(or 'borderless display' as ViewSonic puts it), which offers you an exceptional
image of resolutions up to 1920x1080, with a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000,000:1,
which when viewing something of a full 1080p HD nature makes the monitor feel
bigger than it actually is.
ViewSonic
VX2770Smh-LED Monitor
The finish is of the polished piano-black
variety and looks rather nice when placed on a desk, but due to the monitor
controls being built in the base, there's no option for wall, or swing arm
mounting. Once the base is securely screwed on, the monitor feels sturdy
enough, although with it being so thin, it can feel like you're about to break
it when manipulating it into a more ergonomic position. However, there's no
need to handle with kid gloves, as it's mounted onto the base pretty solidly.
Once hooked up to our test machine via
HDMI, we found the display to be as near perfect as you could possibly imagine,
the aforementioned colors were vibrant and there was little to no blur during
fast-paced gaming moments or video playback. The sound, through the built-in
pair of 1,5W speakers, was a little too squeaky for our liking, lacking in bass
and oomph, but when connected via the 3.5mm audio jack, the volume improved
slightly, but there was still a notable absence of decent bass.
However,
despite the fairly weak speakers, the awkward to reach buttons and sadly
lacking USB functionality, ViewSonic's VX2770Smh was an absolute pleasure to
use
The touch controls on the base of the unit
offer the basic navigation through the OSD, along with the power button, but
their position is set a little too far back under the screen, so when we went
to press them, we effectively blocked out all light and couldn't see what we
were touching. The use of a torch was necessary at one point, and having hands
like hams didn't help much either. While the position of the buttons keeps the
VX2770Smh looking sleek and trendy, just moving them forward a good inch or two
would make all the difference.
Around the back of the base you'll find
VGA, DVI and HDMI inputs, as well as 3.5mm audio in and out ports.
Unfortunately, there's no USB present, which would have made an ideal
companion, but again, due to the thinness of the screen and the design of the
base, the placement of any extra ports, USB or otherwise, would have made them
difficult to reach and plug in.
However, despite the fairly weak speakers,
the awkward to reach buttons and sadly lacking USB functionality, ViewSonic's
VX2770Smh was an absolute pleasure to use. The screen really was crystal clear,
and having a full 27 inches of viewable area to look at made the 24" Dell
models I was using pale into significance. Naturally, it would have been nicer
to have gone beyond the 1080 resolution, although to be fair the quality of the
screen would most likely have suffered.
In conclusion, this is a stylish and
glossy, yet functional monitor. The main drawbacks - audio and button placement
are easily overcome and forgiven, because the image quality is so good. In all
honesty, once you have the OSD settings as you like them and upped the bass via
the PC audio controls, then there's nothing to complain about really.
|
Specifications
§ Uses 40% less power,
without compromising your viewing quality and has mercury-free WLED
backlight.
§ SuperClear IPS
(in-plane switching) panel technology for 178 / 178 degree wide viewing
angles, and the most consistent color performance.
§ Sleek frameless
design and thin profile with touch sensitive controls.
§ Full HD 1080p with
16:9 aspect ratio, achieves perfect image reproduction without distortion.
§ Connectivity
options for Digital HDMI and DVI (with HDCP) and Analog VGA inputs
§ 30,000,000:1 MEGA
Dynamic Contrast Ratio for true-to-life picture depth and clarity in any
room.
§ Dual stereo
speakers with SRS Premium Sound for a rich multimedia experience.
§ Includes LCD
Monitor, VGA cable, HDMI cable, audio cable, power cord and adapter, Quick
Start Guide, ViewSonic Wizard CD-ROM.
|
