![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
I present my very subjective mini-review of NEC/Misubishi's newest 12ms 19" LCD offering: the RDT194S.
As a Japan-only model you've probably never heard of this panel, but it's based on NEC/Mistubishi's newest TN+Film LCD released in Japan back in May. I live in Japan and as part of my Doom3/HL2 upgrade I purchased one of these bad boys. From what I can tell it's just now starting to appear in US/European products (the Viewsonic VP912b appears to be based on this panel) so I'm sure more comprehensive reviews will start appearing soon. Until then consider this a sneak-preview.
SPECS
THE GOODS
After reading all the reviews I could, I had been leaning towards the Sharp LL191, Sony SDM-HS94P, and Samsung 193P. Not able to read Japanese, I had never heard of the RDT194S so it wasn't even on my radar when I started shopping. But after visiting a store that had the LL191, Samsung 193P, and RDT194S on display I was floored. The 194S was stunning! The colors were...well...damn the colors are dripping with colory goodness! Better than the 193P when I compared them side-by-side, no fooling. Perhaps it's the brightness (400 cd/m2 on the 194S vs. 200 cd/m2 on the 193P) that does this, I don't know and I'm not a professional at this, but I was really impressed with the fidelity of this display from the get-go. Add in DVI input, 12ms response time, 450:1 contrast, and a price slightly less than the 193P (here in Tokyo at least) and I was sold.
Currently the 194S is connected via D-Sub to a laptop of mine while I await my new Athlon64 / 6800GT rig. When the new machine gets here I will update this review.
The Stand
Standard NEC fair: 30 degree front/back tilt, panel can be raised or lowered about 12 inches. There's cable management in the back (not that you can see it in this picture) that helps keep things tidy.
The controls
I knew that this was a Japan-only model so I expected Japanese-only on-screen displays. Playing around with the OSD I was surprised to find multiple language support: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and Japanese. This model is indeed intended for export at some point.
The OSD is easy to navigate and use via pictographs so it would be possible to use the monitor even if it were in Japanese. But thankfully, I don't have to.
So far I have the monitor hooked-up via analog D-Sub. The driver install was fine, I had to browse to the drivers on the supplied disk, but they installed without problem. When I get my new system, I'll hook it up DVI and let you know how it goes.
DV-MODE
Quite a bit of the (Japanese) marketing materials are dedicated this feature. I can't read all of the materials but from the little bit I can read and playing around I can say that DV-MODE is a single-button that provides access to 3 preset contrast/brightness settings to optimize the display for different playback modes. Two settings for movies and games and one setting for digital photographs.
I haven't had the monitor long enough to say if this is any benefit, but the changes are very noticeable and quite effective in making dark more images visible.
The Panel
What can I say, the appearance is plain and uninteresting, especially compared to the new Sony's. But it's not the bezel I care about, it's the display and ohhh yum...
The brightness of the panel is the first thing you notice. Especially since it came out of the box with the brightness set on 100%. This panel is extremely bright and gives a very rich tone to the colors. Much more vivid than the Samsung 192T I used to own or the Eizo 21" panels I have at work. As I said, when I looked at the RDT194S right next to a 193P and LL191 the RDT194S looked much mode vivid. My wife noticed too saying "this one looks better" after comparing the 193P and RDT194S. I could look at this thing all day. Luckily I have no dead pixels.
As for the contrast, I can't say much as I don't really know how to compare and evaluate that. Let me just state that the blacks are dark (and reflective as you'll see in a moment) and the whites are WHITE.
As for the "screen door" effect, I don't see it. At 0.294 mm the pixels are as big as any other 19" LCD I've seen, but nothing stands out as abnormal or annoying.
The 12ms response time really makes a difference. I can see no streaking or ghosting whatsoever even though I've tried really hard. My old Samsung 192T would streak so bad it looked like comet trails but not so with the RDT194S. I don't have any 16ms panels to compare this one to, but after seeing this kind of performance, I could never again consider the 20ms 193P.
I tried very hard to capture the richness of the colors on this display, but try as I might, each picture fell short. If someone could post a howto on taking pictures of your LCD, please do and I'll try again. Until then here's a very poor approximation:
Hey, Who's That Guy in the Mirror? Oh, It's Me.
Response time is great, color is wonderful, brightness kicks ass, price is right. Yummy. This is the Uberpanel to rule them all...
Now here's the downside to this stunningly beautiful monitor: catch the right angle and this display is a mirror
The effect is actually worse on camera than in person (I don't know why) bright colors don't have any problem but blacks and very dark colors are reflective to the naked eye. Now you can't shave with this thing or put on makeup, but the reflection is there. Yes, that's my air-conditioner on my porch. If you're wondering, that trap-door is an escape ladder.
I can't say how much of an impact the reflectivity is. I haven't played enough with it yet to tell you. I will update the review.
Conclusion
I'm obviously biased; I love this display or I wouldn't have bought it. I was really impressed with the vivid, rich, and deep colors I saw in this display when I compared it to others. I am still impressed. I can't wait to put in some long gaming hours and see just how well it performs under stress.
FYI in the store, neither my wife or I noticed the reflection in this or any other panel we looked at. This leads me to believe that we are blind...
...or that when viewing normal images the reflectivity is a non-issue. I'll have to use this panel more before I pass judgment on that.
I'm very interested to see professional reviews of the new Viewsonic VP912b to quantify what makes this panel tick and if it's a good as I think it is. If you're shopping for a new 19" LCD I would highly recommend that you add any future monitors based on this panel to your list of candidates.
As a Japan-only model you've probably never heard of this panel, but it's based on NEC/Mistubishi's newest TN+Film LCD released in Japan back in May. I live in Japan and as part of my Doom3/HL2 upgrade I purchased one of these bad boys. From what I can tell it's just now starting to appear in US/European products (the Viewsonic VP912b appears to be based on this panel) so I'm sure more comprehensive reviews will start appearing soon. Until then consider this a sneak-preview.
SPECS
- 19" 16.7 million color LCD w/ 12ms response time
- Native resolution 1280x1024 w/ 0.294mm dot pitch
- Brightness 400cd/m2 w/ DV-MODE
- Contrast 450:1
- Viewing angle 160/160
- Input D-Sub and DVI-D
- Refresh rates 56-75 Hz
- Color temp 5000K, 6500K, 7500K, 8200K, 9300K
- Input voltage 100-240V 50/60 Hz (yeah! global voltage support from the built-in transformer)
- Power consumption 38W / 2W standby
- Dimensions 490 (W) x 503 (H) x 273 (D) mm (includes stand)
- Street price in Akihabara: 83,000 - 87,000 Yen (about $750-$790)
THE GOODS
After reading all the reviews I could, I had been leaning towards the Sharp LL191, Sony SDM-HS94P, and Samsung 193P. Not able to read Japanese, I had never heard of the RDT194S so it wasn't even on my radar when I started shopping. But after visiting a store that had the LL191, Samsung 193P, and RDT194S on display I was floored. The 194S was stunning! The colors were...well...damn the colors are dripping with colory goodness! Better than the 193P when I compared them side-by-side, no fooling. Perhaps it's the brightness (400 cd/m2 on the 194S vs. 200 cd/m2 on the 193P) that does this, I don't know and I'm not a professional at this, but I was really impressed with the fidelity of this display from the get-go. Add in DVI input, 12ms response time, 450:1 contrast, and a price slightly less than the 193P (here in Tokyo at least) and I was sold.
Currently the 194S is connected via D-Sub to a laptop of mine while I await my new Athlon64 / 6800GT rig. When the new machine gets here I will update this review.
The Stand
Standard NEC fair: 30 degree front/back tilt, panel can be raised or lowered about 12 inches. There's cable management in the back (not that you can see it in this picture) that helps keep things tidy.
The controls
I knew that this was a Japan-only model so I expected Japanese-only on-screen displays. Playing around with the OSD I was surprised to find multiple language support: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and Japanese. This model is indeed intended for export at some point.
The OSD is easy to navigate and use via pictographs so it would be possible to use the monitor even if it were in Japanese. But thankfully, I don't have to.
So far I have the monitor hooked-up via analog D-Sub. The driver install was fine, I had to browse to the drivers on the supplied disk, but they installed without problem. When I get my new system, I'll hook it up DVI and let you know how it goes.
DV-MODE
Quite a bit of the (Japanese) marketing materials are dedicated this feature. I can't read all of the materials but from the little bit I can read and playing around I can say that DV-MODE is a single-button that provides access to 3 preset contrast/brightness settings to optimize the display for different playback modes. Two settings for movies and games and one setting for digital photographs.
I haven't had the monitor long enough to say if this is any benefit, but the changes are very noticeable and quite effective in making dark more images visible.
The Panel
What can I say, the appearance is plain and uninteresting, especially compared to the new Sony's. But it's not the bezel I care about, it's the display and ohhh yum...
The brightness of the panel is the first thing you notice. Especially since it came out of the box with the brightness set on 100%. This panel is extremely bright and gives a very rich tone to the colors. Much more vivid than the Samsung 192T I used to own or the Eizo 21" panels I have at work. As I said, when I looked at the RDT194S right next to a 193P and LL191 the RDT194S looked much mode vivid. My wife noticed too saying "this one looks better" after comparing the 193P and RDT194S. I could look at this thing all day. Luckily I have no dead pixels.
As for the contrast, I can't say much as I don't really know how to compare and evaluate that. Let me just state that the blacks are dark (and reflective as you'll see in a moment) and the whites are WHITE.
As for the "screen door" effect, I don't see it. At 0.294 mm the pixels are as big as any other 19" LCD I've seen, but nothing stands out as abnormal or annoying.
The 12ms response time really makes a difference. I can see no streaking or ghosting whatsoever even though I've tried really hard. My old Samsung 192T would streak so bad it looked like comet trails but not so with the RDT194S. I don't have any 16ms panels to compare this one to, but after seeing this kind of performance, I could never again consider the 20ms 193P.
I tried very hard to capture the richness of the colors on this display, but try as I might, each picture fell short. If someone could post a howto on taking pictures of your LCD, please do and I'll try again. Until then here's a very poor approximation:
Hey, Who's That Guy in the Mirror? Oh, It's Me.
Response time is great, color is wonderful, brightness kicks ass, price is right. Yummy. This is the Uberpanel to rule them all...
Now here's the downside to this stunningly beautiful monitor: catch the right angle and this display is a mirror
The effect is actually worse on camera than in person (I don't know why) bright colors don't have any problem but blacks and very dark colors are reflective to the naked eye. Now you can't shave with this thing or put on makeup, but the reflection is there. Yes, that's my air-conditioner on my porch. If you're wondering, that trap-door is an escape ladder.
I can't say how much of an impact the reflectivity is. I haven't played enough with it yet to tell you. I will update the review.
Conclusion
I'm obviously biased; I love this display or I wouldn't have bought it. I was really impressed with the vivid, rich, and deep colors I saw in this display when I compared it to others. I am still impressed. I can't wait to put in some long gaming hours and see just how well it performs under stress.
FYI in the store, neither my wife or I noticed the reflection in this or any other panel we looked at. This leads me to believe that we are blind...
...or that when viewing normal images the reflectivity is a non-issue. I'll have to use this panel more before I pass judgment on that.
I'm very interested to see professional reviews of the new Viewsonic VP912b to quantify what makes this panel tick and if it's a good as I think it is.
If you're shopping for a new 19" LCD I would highly recommend that you add any future monitors based on this panel to your list of candidates.