* This review is also posted on the high speed 19" thread for those that prefer to continue the discussion in a broader context.
The monitor arrived and everything looks good. Zero dead or stuck pixels and no uneven backlighting, no damage. It came with a "pixel perfect" guarantee, so that part was not a surprise. GamePC charged $740 including the guarantee, however I'm sure those willing to take a chance will find it for substantially less elsewhere in the weeks to come.
This 19" monitor very likely uses the same panel that is in the Sony HS94P as the panel is rather reflective. Viewsonic calls their coating the Glare 2H so I think we can say that Sony's X-brite nomenclature is a bit more, um sophisticated. Bottom line here is that if reflections bother you, look elsewhere. In my office all the lights and windows are in front of me below eye level and the wall behind me is dark, so glare and reflection are not issues I care about. It did prevent me from taking any useful screen pictures though as much of what is seen is me with camera.
The base on the Viewsonic VP series is fully adjustable for height, tilt and the screen rotates to portrait, so compared to the Sony with tilt only this is a big plus. On the other hand, the Viewsonic lacks the Sonys funky George Jetson futuristic styling. Gamers wanting a 19" display will have an additional choice, however it will suffer from the same glare issues as the Sony does.
Angle of viewing is specified as 160 degrees, and that seems correct. The 12ms pixel response spec also seems correct, and I have been unable to see any ghosting at all in any game, so gamers should be happy about that. As far as the panel characteristics, anything that has been said about the Sony will hold true for the VP912 as well I imagine. Viewsonic and Sony are both conspicuously silent on whether this is a 6 bit or 8 bit panel leading me to guess that it may be 6 bits and that the magic coating used is to improve the color appearance. If so, it works remarkably well, as the colors are gorgeous and very saturated, but the glare and reflection is the price paid. .
In any case, not only does the color look great but the monitor shipped the with the brightness correctly set to 50% and the color set to 6500K which is unusual in my experience, but very welcome. It will probably look awful in stores next to all those poorly adjust monitors with their brightness set to high and their color set to 9500K. There are five buttons on the lower bezel for making adjustments, and they work easily.
I bought the monitor mostly for text apps, as I have a SQL database front end that is limited to 1280x1024, and does funny things when the font sizes are increased. The cost of re-coding it would be a significant portion of the $25,000 we already have in it, so that was not an option. Text is crisp and legible so that end is covered now.
I will be adding a 2nd 23"-24" display for non-text apps after I see the new LED backlit units early next year, but for now the VP912b has got my text apps handled and gaming on it is very good as well.
jg
The monitor arrived and everything looks good. Zero dead or stuck pixels and no uneven backlighting, no damage. It came with a "pixel perfect" guarantee, so that part was not a surprise. GamePC charged $740 including the guarantee, however I'm sure those willing to take a chance will find it for substantially less elsewhere in the weeks to come.
This 19" monitor very likely uses the same panel that is in the Sony HS94P as the panel is rather reflective. Viewsonic calls their coating the Glare 2H so I think we can say that Sony's X-brite nomenclature is a bit more, um sophisticated. Bottom line here is that if reflections bother you, look elsewhere. In my office all the lights and windows are in front of me below eye level and the wall behind me is dark, so glare and reflection are not issues I care about. It did prevent me from taking any useful screen pictures though as much of what is seen is me with camera.
The base on the Viewsonic VP series is fully adjustable for height, tilt and the screen rotates to portrait, so compared to the Sony with tilt only this is a big plus. On the other hand, the Viewsonic lacks the Sonys funky George Jetson futuristic styling. Gamers wanting a 19" display will have an additional choice, however it will suffer from the same glare issues as the Sony does.
Angle of viewing is specified as 160 degrees, and that seems correct. The 12ms pixel response spec also seems correct, and I have been unable to see any ghosting at all in any game, so gamers should be happy about that. As far as the panel characteristics, anything that has been said about the Sony will hold true for the VP912 as well I imagine. Viewsonic and Sony are both conspicuously silent on whether this is a 6 bit or 8 bit panel leading me to guess that it may be 6 bits and that the magic coating used is to improve the color appearance. If so, it works remarkably well, as the colors are gorgeous and very saturated, but the glare and reflection is the price paid. .
In any case, not only does the color look great but the monitor shipped the with the brightness correctly set to 50% and the color set to 6500K which is unusual in my experience, but very welcome. It will probably look awful in stores next to all those poorly adjust monitors with their brightness set to high and their color set to 9500K. There are five buttons on the lower bezel for making adjustments, and they work easily.
I bought the monitor mostly for text apps, as I have a SQL database front end that is limited to 1280x1024, and does funny things when the font sizes are increased. The cost of re-coding it would be a significant portion of the $25,000 we already have in it, so that was not an option. Text is crisp and legible so that end is covered now.
I will be adding a 2nd 23"-24" display for non-text apps after I see the new LED backlit units early next year, but for now the VP912b has got my text apps handled and gaming on it is very good as well.
jg