Sony CPD G200 17 inch CRT Monitor

This is a complete rewrite of a 17" Refurbished monitor I bought in 2000/01. Now I will list a bunch of specifications I think is important to make a knowledgable purchase of a monitor. First about me. I have worked in Electronic's since 1960, first for the US Air Force. Then in 1964 ,when I got out, I went to Jr College to get even more knowledge on electronics. I have worked in the industry since then. So I hope I can explain these specifications so if your looking to buy, you will know what to look for.

What Refurbished means. Many time a corporation will after a couple of years, will a trade-in their old equipment for new,more advanced equipment. Then the seller will send these to the factory where they will test and repair this equipment. They then certify that these are like new.
Most factories will give a warrenty on them also.
Why I bought this monitor is the fact in 2000/01 to get a 17" monitor the prices were way out of my range. This particular monitor when new cost $560 but when I seen it at $117 I had to buy.

Now there are 2 types of controls, analog and digital(computer). Analog controls are brightness, contrast, , horazantal / vertical size and horazantal / vertical position. Any other adjustment is done on the inside and I do not recommend if you do not know what your are doing not to open as even if the monitor has been off for a couple of days, there are dangerous voltages inside that can injure or even kill you.

Digital controls, which this monitor has, is actually a small computer that controls everything and displays on the monitor. The controls on this monitor are DisplayMouse™ Control, Brightness, Contrast, H/V Size, H/V Centering, H/V Convergence, Image Restoration , Zoom, Raster, Rotation, Pincushion, Pin Balance, Keystone, Key Balance, Color Temperature, Moire Adjust,
Manual Degauss, H/V OSD Position, Control Lock, Help Menu and Multi-Language Select (9 languages).
Now I know a lot of you will not know what some of the controls are. But with the right program even you can make adjustments that on a analog, I would have to open up and do manually. Thanks to another review (fun4night4us) and his review on a monitor, I can give you a location of a free utility to adjust a digital monitor. This includes a help file on what you are adjusting. The url is http://www.freepctech.com/rode/004.shtml , I have used this and it is a fantastic utility. The only adjustment I had to make on this was the brightness and contrast. I knew I had a good monitor but after using the utility and seeing how good it really is. I know I have a Top grade monitor.

Pixel size the smaller the better. For 17" and larger I recomend at least .26mm which is smaller than a strand of hair. Smaller size means sharper and clearer image. This monitor has 24mmcenter and .25mm towards the edge.
This thing weighs 41 lbs so I know I need a strong support for it. Now for screen resolution this monitor can use are
Maximum Resolution
1600 x 1200 @ 75Hz
Recommended Resolution
1024 x 768 @ 85Hz
Preset Resolutions
640 x 480 @ 60Hz VGA Graphics
640 x 480 @ 85Hz VESA
720 x 400 @ 70Hz VGA Text
800 x 600 @ 85Hz VESA
832 x 624 @ 75Hz Macintosh? 16"
1024 x 768 @ 75Hz VESA
1024 x 768 @ 85Hz VESA
1280 x 1024 @ 75Hz VESA
1280 x 1024 @ 85Hz VESA
1600 x 1200 @ 75Hz VESA

Now on the HZ , you want your monitor to be able to go higher than 60hz as at 60hz you may not notice it but it can be exhasting on your eyes.

Power requirements can tell you how much energy the monitor uses and if it has differant modes of operation and this monito is
Power Requirements
100-120/220-240V AC; 50-60Hz
Power Management
International Energy Star, NUTEK, and VESA
DPMS Compliant
Operation:120 watts
Suspend:15 watts (maximum)
Active Off:3 watt (maximum)
Power Off: 0 watt

It is a flat screen crt monitor and I have used it with the last 2 computers I have built. I used during beta testing of Windows XP Home and not once has the os failed to use nothing but the right drivers.

I always run at a resolution of 1024x768 32 bit color. It is always sharp and clear. I watch tv and DVD movies on this monitor and do not like using a tv as this is sharper and clear than the tv.

The controls are a little hard to get used to but once you do it is not hard at all
The menu has a list of controls for just about any thing you want on a monitor. It will even recommend the resolution to set it at. Which is 1024x768 at 85Hz. I get no eyestrain and I am usually at the computer either on the net or watching tv or a DVD movie, anywhere from 8 to 10 hours a day.

As I said before do not be afraid to get a refurbished monitor. I have (for about 12 years ) and as long as they are factory referbished and tested. I have been totally satisfied with my buying of them.

If you give me a Helpful or below rating, how about letting me know in comments and I will try and answer by updating this and other reviews.

As usual on any review I right come back again as in the next 2 weeks I am likely to add more things to this review.

Reviews I have updated
http://www.epinions.com/content_179833638532