The Best LCD Monitor Deal to Come Along Yet!
Written: Jul 12 '04
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Pros: Bright and clear, easy on the eyes, good value!
Cons: Integrated speakers are worthless, price has gone up since my purchase
The Bottom Line: Recommended. Excellent quality monitor; very bright and clear picture. Great for most users.
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| basilisk4's Full Review: Liquid Video A170E101 Monitor |
Introduction
Although many of them were written several years ago, I have written over 200 reviews on Epinions.com, and I have found that the ones that run the most smoothly and come out the best are for those products about which I am really excited. This LiquidVideo 17" LCD passive matrix monitor (Model No. A170E1XX1, UPC No. 0838304001993) is something about which I am still really excited.
Although I'm only 24, my eyes have gotten progressively worse since I started college. Also, as you may already know, traditional computer screens are especially hard on the eyes. I initially tried to compensate for both of these problems, as well as satisfying my urge for newer and better technology, by buying a Nokia 21" monitor. This was a fine, fine piece of technology, but it was still a traditional CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor, with all their inherent problems. This meant that although it was bigger than the 17" monitor I had been using, the 21" was still somewhat hard on my eyes, was not as bright as an LCD monitor, and weighed a ton (100 pounds, actually).
The thing that kept me out of the LCD monitor market, however, was the same thing that stops most people -- money. Even now, LCD monitors can be prohibitively expensive, and even the cheapest ones are significantly more expensive than CRT monitors, which are perfectly adequate for most people's needs (and which have dropped in price tremendously as LCD technology has become cheaper and more readily available to the public). So I waited, resolving that I would investigate more and purchase an LCD monitor when the time (and price) were right.
I didn't have to wait long. Circuit City ran an ad listing this LiquidVideo 17" LCD monitor for an incredible $279.99 after mail-in rebate. Even as short on cash as I was at the time, this was too good a deal to pass up, with similar 17" LCD monitors selling for $400-500 and up.
Pros
The picture quality of this monitor is spectacular. Although the maximum resolution of 1280x1024 is significantly worse than many high-quality 21-inch CRT monitors, this is likely to be a distinction without meaning for most users. As far as resolution is concerned, 1024x768 is the standard for most Windows-based desktops, and few applications require (or can even make use of) a much higher resolution. What's more, this monitor at 1024x768 is so much more clear and crisp than others that you'll probably just leave it at that resolution as I have. In addition, since this monitor looks so good at 1024x768, you probably won't miss the difference in raw size even in going from a 21" CRT to this 17" LCD.
On a related note, the brightness of this monitor is one of its best features. Like most LCD monitors, the LiquidVideo 17" LCD monitor is significantly brighter than traditional CRT monitors. If you put one of each side by side, the difference will amaze you; however, one can see the difference even without seeing them side-by-side. The awesome brightness of these screens is a large part of why they are so much easier on the eyes than CRTs. If you are like me and have suffered eyestrain from looking at your monitor for too long, it might be time to switch from a CRT to one of these babies.
Size matters when talking about monitors. If you don't believe me, then you have never carried around and tried to adjust one of the gargantuan 21" CRTs. Weighing in at under 8 pounds, the LiquidVideo 17" passive matrix LCD monitor is easily movable. Since it has the small, flat form factor for which LCD monitors are known, it can fit in places that your old monitor never could. It's amazing how much more versatile your workstation setup becomes after replacing that bulky old CRT with an LCD.
Cons
The main problem with this monitor is one that has been essentially irrelevant to me -- the integrated speakers are garbage. They are mono rather than stereo, and they sound horrible. They are so bad that when I didn't have any other speakers available for a few weeks, I chose to alternate between using headphones and not having any sound at all, rather than listening to sound through the speakers integrated into the monitor. This should be of little importance to most users, however, given how cheaply and easily one can get good-quality compute speakers these days.
The fact that this monitor is passive matrix is also likely to be of little importance to most users. Suffice it to say that passive matrix screens are widely considered to be inferior to active matrix screens, but the combination of advances in the quality of passive matrix technology and the fact that active matrix screens are significantly more expensive than passive matrix ones make passive matrix screens the better choice for most average or entry-level consumers. In other words, if you don't know what an active matrix screen is, you probably don't need one.
The Verdict
When I purchased this monitor at $280, it would have been (and has been) a spectacular deal if it did nothing other than continue to work for awhile. It has delivered more than I had hoped for, and has become one of my favorite purchases.
Unfortunately, as more people have purchased this LiquidVideo LCD monitor and become aware of its level of quality, Circuit City (the primary retailer of Liquid Video, as far as I can tell) has raised the price. They are currently selling this monitor for $399.99 at their website. Even so, I have been so happy with this monitor that, were I in the market again, I would consider buying this monitor for $400, even though I paid much less. Also, watch for sales at Circuit City on this item!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 279.99
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
basilisk4
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 233
Trusted by: 214 members
About Me:
Soon-to-be married 26-year-old lawyer who likes electronics, computers, and cars.
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