KDS - Adequate and Affordable
Written: Aug 23 '01
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Pros: Great Price - Good Resolution - Nice Style - Easy Controls
Cons: Bulky and Heavy. Sticks out quite a bit in the back. Burn-in smell unpleasant.
The Bottom Line: On a scale of 1-10 I give this monitor full 10 because of the nice features, resolution and the very affordable price.
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| buddy12660's Full Review: KDS Visual Sensations 190 19 inch CRT Monitor |
I used a 17" monitor for quite a few years and finally decided to go ahead and purchase a 19" monitor for my new monitor. I didn't want to spend a lot of money but wanted a monitor that would be adequate for the system I built for myself. The main reason I wanted a 19" monitor was because I do on-line gaming and wanted a big screen so that I could see more game detail.
After looking around for a while I spotted the KDS at a low price of $199.99 which was about $200 less than my wifes 19" monitor. The box on the KDS listed the features of the monitor and it looked good to me.
18" viewable tinted screen. It is coated with Glare Advance FST with Invar Shadowmask. I have found this to be much more easy on the eyes than my old monitor. This is a big plus to me as I am on my computer for 8-10 hours at a time.
Resolution is a very nice 1600 x 1200. It is non-interlaced and there is no noticeable flicker or lines. I personally run my resolution at 1280 x 1024 and am very pleased with the output. I can run it at maximum resolution but prefer not to as the 1280 x 1024 is plenty for my needs. I did not have any problems whatsoever at the maximum. JPEGs or any pictures that I bring up on my computer are crystal clear and look very nice.
The display colors are unlimited on it. All colors look true to life and good. We have just recently started scanning our photos and placing them on CD's. I have compared the photos on my monitor to the photos on my wife's more expensive 19" ViewSonic monitor and there is no noticeable differences that I can see.
It has a flat screen which is good on the eyes as well. The flat screen also gives you more viewing area. I have found that by and large I prefer a flat screen monitor over the other. It has an overscan capability for larger viewing area as well.
Another plus is that it is Mac compatible for those that are operating a Mac.
The adjustment controls are in the very middle on the bottom of the monitor. It is a one button control for ALL adjustments. This is a feature that is definitely very easy to use compared to the multiple buttons on my wife's monitor. It is a real time saver when it comes to adjusting the monitor. The on-screen adjustments are very clear and easy to understand. I never even had to read the book on the controls to learn how it worked. This makes it very nice for the beginner.
Another plus for a beginner is that there is no software needed for set-up. Windows automatically detects and installs it for you. No additional drivers were needed to update it or anything. This is one of the easier monitors to set-up out there in my opinion. Windows picks it up, finds it's name and installs the software that easy. Nothing to it.
The documentation is rather small. Only 11 pages, however with a monitor this easy to set-up they must have figured there wouldn't be much needed as far as information to set it up. Although the book is small, it is thorough as far and setting up and using the monitor. The manual only covers instructions in English whereas other monitors cover multiple languages.
The monitor comes with a 3 year warranty. For the price you wouldn't have expected that long of a warranty which, in my opinion, speaks highly for this product. As far as the warranty is concerned they are right in there with the higher priced monitors. Due to the fact that I had never used a KDS monitor before this 3 year warranty greatly influenced my decision to purchase it.
As far as negatives on this monitor there are only 2 that I can think of that are of any importance. One is on the initial burn-in when I first set up the monitor there is a slight burning smell that comes out of the vents in the monitor. This only lasted for a couple to 3 hours and seemed to be gone.
Secondly is the front to back bulkiness of the monitor. It has a rather long back on it. This can be inconvenient depending on how far away from the wall you have your desk. It is a good idea to have your desk about 8" from the wall so that you can accommodate the extra length. It is not much different from other monitors, but it is a bit more bulkier. It is rather heavy and could be hard for a woman to move around. However it is actually 1 pound lighter than my wifes.
I have had it for a year now. It runs 24 hours a day and has done so since the day I purchased it. I have never had a problem and it is operating as perfectly now as it did the day I fired it up.
I highly recommend this monitor to the beginner and advanced user alike. I don't think there is a monitor out there that can beat this one for the price. I am very satisfied and would definitely purchase another one.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199.99
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
buddy12660
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Member: Rick Brooks
Location: Montana
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 19 members
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