NEC MultiSync LCD1760V 17 inch LCD Monitor

OK, my wife saw a 15" LCD monitor at a computer show a long time ago and fell in love with it. Of course, at the time, a decent sized LCD was about a thousand bucks. I wouldn't consider it at that price. But we recently got a second printer, a MONSTER multifunction HP machine. We have nowhere else to put it but on the top of the computer desk. Originally, it was sharing a rather large computer desk with a 19" Viewsonic CRT monitor and a Samsung laser printer. This made for a pretty crowded desk. So I looked at LCD monitors again, and noted that decent ones were down around the ~$500 range, retail. I also discovered that newer LCDs were being released with 16ms response times, which helps with the ghosting problems of earlier LCD monitors. I decided now was a pretty good time to buy. I tried doing research to determine what the best models were. I couldn't find a comprehensive list of newer 17" models besides the list compiled by PC World. On that list, this monitor is currently ranked #5 in their top 10. I believe it should be ranked higher than #5. My reasoning? Well, I've always felt (still do) that a computer monitor is the one hardware component that you MUST buy from a "brick and mortar" retail store. The reason? Exchanges of large, bulky items are a real pain unless you have a local store that you can make the exchange in. As no LCD monitor is "perfect" (read: dead pixels are OK, as long as there aren't too many), it is especially important to be able to exchange a LCD monitor easily if it doesn't meet your expectations. Anyway, I checked four major retail stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Staples) in my area that all carry a good selection of LCD monitors. The ONLY 17" LCD monitor listed in the top ten list compiled by PC World that can be found on the shelf of these major retail stores is the NEC LCD1760V. For that reason, I believe this monitor should be higher on the list. I'm sure all the other nine are great. But if you want to buy one, you will most likely have to order it online, which is not a good idea. IMHO

This monitor couldn't possibly be easier to use. There are no "drivers" needed for Windows. It is recognized as a plug and play monitor. After Windows starts, just go to the control panel and change your resolution to 1280 X 1024 X 60 Hz. DONE! In case you are thinking that 60Hz is a low refresh rate, remember that this is a LCD monitor. LCD monitors do not suffer from the "flicker" problems of CRT monitors. 60Hz on a LCD will be more flicker-free than 120Hz on a CRT. The buttons on the bottom are impossible to see, as they are paper thin. That's actually a good thing. You should only need to touch these buttons once or twice the first day you own the monitor. After that, the buttons are practically invisible, so they do not distract from the good looks of this monitor. Basically, once you have your brightness and contrast set, you'll never need to touch those buttons again. Having worked in the CCTV field, I know how to properly adjust a monitor. To my eyes, this monitor looks about right at 50 brightness and 50 contrast. For some strange reason, it auto-adjusts itself to 100 (MAX) brightness. You'll need sunglasses to use it at that setting, as it is really BRIGHT. Of course, this setting will depend on your video card settings, also. I'm using a GF4 MX440 at default factory settings and 16 bit color.

The display quality of this monitor simply could not be better. I'm comparing it to a 19" Viewsonic CRT. I expected sharper text quality. No surprise there. What I didn't expect was brighter, more realistic color reproduction. Comparing photographs displayed on the two monitors, the picture quality of this LCD monitor is at least 50% better. I really wasn't expecting that. The 19" Viewsonic CRT monitor I own has impressive picture quality. I thought the LCD monitor would match it, at best. The colors displayed on this 17" CRT are very vivid and life-like. The true test of a LCD is how it displays motion (games, video). Another nice surprise is that the video quality (full motion video) of this LCD also surpasses the video quality of the 19" CRT monitor it replaced. Of course, it has a fast 16ms response time, which helps here. But I was expecting at least SOME ghosting of images. So far, I haven't noticed any "ghosting".

In short, I believe I've found an LCD monitor that favorably compares to CRT monitors in areas where CRT monitors used to rule. It used to be a no-brainer. You couldn't consider buying an LCD unless you didn't want to watch videos or play games. Now I'm not so sure. While I'm not a gamer, I'm pretty sure most gamers would be happy with this particular LCD.

I got the black cased version of this monitor. The display is so bright, and the case so dark, that the case has a tendency to almost "disappear" after a while. After staring at a white document, if you look at the case, it is tough to see any detail. I like that. The case is very unobtrusive, as it should be.

On quality . . . all LCD monitors are allowed a certain number of "dead" pixels, as it's almost impossible to make a LCD monitor with no dead pixels. But if this monitor has a dead pixel, I have yet to find it. Quality control at NEC must be extreme.

I like that the power supply is built into the monitor, so it just plugs into the wall . . . no external power supply needed.

The main thing you should be looking for in any monitor is image quality . . . trust your eyes to choose a monitor for you, even if another monitor has better specifications. To my eyes, the picture of this LCD monitor is very bright, with vivid, lifelike colors . . . and images don't "ghost" as they are in motion. If there is a problem with image quality, I'd say that it might be just a tad too bright. Brightness should be adjusted to make "dark" areas of a picture look natural. Contrast will adjust the difference between light areas and dark areas of the picture. But even with these settings adjusted as close to optimal as possible, light areas of the screen are just a tad too bright. This may or may not be a problem. To my eyes, it looks fantastic . . . just a bit too bright. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to give this monitor a 9.5, deducting a half point for being just a bit too bright. I'd knock off a full point for that, but many monitors have the exact opposite problem (not bright enough), so I think it's refreshing that NEC seemed to err on the opposite side.

This is a fantastic monitor, LCD or otherwise. I think it would beat most comparably sized (say, 19") CRT monitors, regardless of how you use it.