Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
3 Posts
0
1917
June 24th, 2006 16:00
Review - My 2007FP A02
Disclaimer - I'm not a professional reviewer, so take this review with a "sample of 1" grain of salt...
After going back and forth between the Viewsonic VP2030b and the 2007FP, I decided on the Dell by a nose and ordered it. Happily, it came yesterday 3-4 days after ordering it worked out of the box in DVI-D mode with no stuck pixels, and it has the A02 update from Mexico.
I was curious as to what the gradient banding would look like in person, so the first thing I did was check that out in Photoshop. The banding in Multimedia and Gaming modes was really bad - I can see why people with the A00 firmware wanted exchanges or refunds. In Desktop mode with the "fix", it was much improved, but not 100% eradicated. There is still a little banding in Photoshop. Some people say that a little banding is common with LCDs, but I don't buy that because I have 2 17" Dell LCDs at work that don't have the problem.
Bottom line on the banding: If you're REALLY picky about this banding issue and need zero banding, you may want to steer clear of this monitor and get something else. However, IMO, the fix is good enough for most of my purposes here at home.
Other Positives:
* The display is big and bright (with default settings).
* There is ZERO text blurriness - it is extremely crisp at 1600x1200 (typical LCD dithering at lower resolutions). I've seen people posting here about this problem, but it's non-existant for me.
* The stand is sturdy and feels solid. I always preferred the "01" stand that looks like a silver half moon and I worried about if this stand would do as well. It does. :)
* The menu took a moment to figure out, but it was intuitive.
* The styling is nice and unobtrusive.
* The wife likes it... :)
Other Negatives:
* The viewing angle capabilities and numbers are questionable. At viewing angles of more than 20-25 degrees from center, on the horizontal or vertical plane, a graying effect kicks in quickly. The graying doesn't increase much after its initial effect, so 30 degress or 60 degrees from center aren't much different, but it's bothersome, and it detracts greatly from the overall experience too much for me.
* Video viewing, as well as color contrast, were both only average to above average. The colors are nice, but not vivid and compelling enough to rave about. Ghosting wasn't really a problem, but it wasn't perfect, either.
* My stand is too stiff when rotating the monitor L/R. The entire base will sometimes start to turn if it's not held down with one hand.
Conclusion: It's a good LCD that has some good qualities, and it will do a good job for me and my family. Over time, I will come to appreciate this monitor's strengths much more than my minor quibbles, and if this monitor performs well long-term, I'll be really satisfied with it. With that said, it didn't totally blow me away, either. If the Viewsonic I was comparing this to was the same price (it is now cheaper at other sites with the $415 sale on the 2007FP over at dell.com), I may have been happier going that route. Only time will tell...
After going back and forth between the Viewsonic VP2030b and the 2007FP, I decided on the Dell by a nose and ordered it. Happily, it came yesterday 3-4 days after ordering it worked out of the box in DVI-D mode with no stuck pixels, and it has the A02 update from Mexico.
I was curious as to what the gradient banding would look like in person, so the first thing I did was check that out in Photoshop. The banding in Multimedia and Gaming modes was really bad - I can see why people with the A00 firmware wanted exchanges or refunds. In Desktop mode with the "fix", it was much improved, but not 100% eradicated. There is still a little banding in Photoshop. Some people say that a little banding is common with LCDs, but I don't buy that because I have 2 17" Dell LCDs at work that don't have the problem.
Bottom line on the banding: If you're REALLY picky about this banding issue and need zero banding, you may want to steer clear of this monitor and get something else. However, IMO, the fix is good enough for most of my purposes here at home.
Other Positives:
* The display is big and bright (with default settings).
* There is ZERO text blurriness - it is extremely crisp at 1600x1200 (typical LCD dithering at lower resolutions). I've seen people posting here about this problem, but it's non-existant for me.
* The stand is sturdy and feels solid. I always preferred the "01" stand that looks like a silver half moon and I worried about if this stand would do as well. It does. :)
* The menu took a moment to figure out, but it was intuitive.
* The styling is nice and unobtrusive.
* The wife likes it... :)
Other Negatives:
* The viewing angle capabilities and numbers are questionable. At viewing angles of more than 20-25 degrees from center, on the horizontal or vertical plane, a graying effect kicks in quickly. The graying doesn't increase much after its initial effect, so 30 degress or 60 degrees from center aren't much different, but it's bothersome, and it detracts greatly from the overall experience too much for me.
* Video viewing, as well as color contrast, were both only average to above average. The colors are nice, but not vivid and compelling enough to rave about. Ghosting wasn't really a problem, but it wasn't perfect, either.
* My stand is too stiff when rotating the monitor L/R. The entire base will sometimes start to turn if it's not held down with one hand.
Conclusion: It's a good LCD that has some good qualities, and it will do a good job for me and my family. Over time, I will come to appreciate this monitor's strengths much more than my minor quibbles, and if this monitor performs well long-term, I'll be really satisfied with it. With that said, it didn't totally blow me away, either. If the Viewsonic I was comparing this to was the same price (it is now cheaper at other sites with the $415 sale on the 2007FP over at dell.com), I may have been happier going that route. Only time will tell...
borezzz
1 Rookie
•
7 Posts
0
June 25th, 2006 01:00
Thanks for the review. Just a question on the viewing angles, you mean to say that there are also greying effects when tilted 20-30 degrees off axis (horizontal/vertical)?
I currently own a Viewsonic 2025wm, and I encounter this on my LCD. I was delibrating to change this to a 2007 instead, as I read that the S-IPS panels fare much better than the P-MVA panels (used in the Viewsonic).
borezzz
1 Rookie
•
7 Posts
0
June 25th, 2006 05:00