SUMMARY: Full-page Monitor

Subject: SUMMARY: Full-page Monitor
From: Barb Ostapina <Barb -dot- Ostapina -at- METROMAIL -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:42:56 -0500

Thanks to everyone who sent ideas in response to my full-page monitor
query. The decision was sort of made for me (isn't that so corporate), so I
wasn't able to use any of the suggestions THIS time, but maybe NEXT time...
(BTW, the choice is a 19" Gateway. If anyone has suggestions about how to
get the most out of it, I'm all ears!)
--B
barb -dot- ostapina -at- metromail -dot- com

Here are the recommendations:

**********
I vote for Sony Trinitron. Had a 19" one
at my last job. I thought I needed better glasses until I got that
monitor. I liked it so much I bought I 15" one for home (too bad I
couldn't afford a bigger one....).

Debbie Ashcraft
Jenkon International, Inc.

**********
Buy the biggest and the best that you can afford. Stay away from lower-end
models, but look at name-brands. I've suffered through lower-end, and then
made it part of my contract to have higher-end. Yes, it'll cost them more
$$$ up front, but the color, the focus and the non-flickering monitors are
better.

I have a 21 inch diag NEC that cost about $2,500. It's a work-horse. I
had a 21" Shamrock [which seem to populate the Southern California area]
and in two words:It Sucked.

See if you can try one or two out before -- most computer salespersons
wanting to earn their commission and a satisified customer will let you do
this. If not, take your business elsewhere.

Hope this helps!

Chris Carmichael
Synergy Microsystems, Inc.
San Diego, California, EEUU

**********
Don't buy Panasonic. I bought a 17", and had lots of problems with
compatibility, and their voice mail system has an endless loop in it,
which keeps you from actually getting to a human in any department (this
is as of a year ago, anyway).

-David Castro
techwrtr -at- crl -dot- com

P.S. I've heard good things about Nokia monitors. Check out
http://www.computers.com for reviews, or http://www.cnet.com.

**********
I've got a MicroScan 17X from a California-based company called ADI; it's
one of
those funky monitors that can be physically rotated between portrait and
landscape view. While I'm pretty happy with the monitor (although I DID
want something bigger than 17"), I had some bad experiences with the ADI
service people. I recommend staying away from them.

**********
My recommendation would be to spend as much as possible on a 21-inch
monitor (Mitsubishi, NEC, Sony) as this size is the only one that will
give you a true two-page, full-size view of either Letter or A4 sized
layouts. {I just hope you have a large workspace/desk.;-) }

Another one you might consider that was briefly on the market is the
Radius Pivot, but I'm not sure who owns Radius these days and I haven't
seen the model advertised for some time so it may not be available any
more.

Sincerely,
Richard L. Tuft
Documentation Specialist
AT&T-Unisource
Spicalaan 1-59, 2132 JG Hoofddorp, The Netherlands

**********
I have a 17" MAG monitor at the moment. Nice but not page-sized. I'm
hoping to get a larger monitor, maybe 19" or 20", in a few months.
I'd be very interested to hear what you come up with. Would you mind
summarising for the list?

A guy I work with bought a 17" Sony monitor. It's superb -- really
crisp and clear. Sonys are expensive but I'd be tempted to pay the
extra to get one. We stare at the things for a long time, so it's
worth getting something good I think.

Regards
---
Stuart Burnfield

**********
We've just done an evaluation of a large number of monitors. If you let
me know what size you want and what you plan to use it for I could
probably make some suggestions. There are some good deals on 17-inch
models--the price jumps when you move to 20 or 21-inch. If money is no
object, a Sony Multiscan 20sf II, (packing a Trinitron CRT), powered by
a good 4MB video card (or better if you work with a lot of graphics)
would be a good combination. Ofcourse, you will want to have a decent
overall system backing it . . . it's all tied together. There's also an
excellent new LCD monitor (even more expensive) that rotates to portrait
mode for reading word processing files. I could get the name of that one
if you're interested.

Thomas Hancock
Editor
PC Today
131 West Grand Drive
Lincoln NE USA 68521

http://www.pctoday.com

**********
A few general pointers: Go for a 19-inch monitor rather
than 17 inch if budget permits because you'll be able to
get more of a page on the screen simultaneously without
having to squint or shelling out the premium for a 21-inch
monitor. Don't settle for anything less than a 75 Hz
refresh rate. If you're primarily writing, emphasize a
really crisp display over one with marvelous color; in
fact, I originally went for a greyscale monitor because the
crispness of the text was better than anything possible
with color. I've got a big color monitor now, and it's
nice, but I prefer the old one. If at all possible, buy
something you can see, not something you've read about;
monitors are very subjective things.

Check out PC Magazine and its competitors to find a recent
review of monitors so you'll know what you're looking for,
but don't rely exclusively on their recommendations:
"editor's choice" often doesn't mean "best for me". (Not
being cynical, just noting that editorial criteria may not
match yours.)

--Geoff Hart @8^^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.

**********
I agree completely with Geoff Hart's excellent advice about refresh rates
(75 MHz or faster) and reading magazine reviews for initial guidance.

Stick with non-interlaced refresh rates unless you are not sensitive to the
flicker that interlacing can produce.

I would suggest trying 17 inch, 19 inch, and 21 inch monitors before
deciding on the size. Bigger is not always better. For me, 19 inch and 21
inch monitors put the edges of the image outside of my comfortable field of
vision. With the bigger monitors I find myself moving my head to look at
one side or the other. That is annoying to me, so I ended up with a 17
inch monitor and a few more dollars left in my wallet.

Jim Van Winkle

**********




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