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From...
Monitors stick their little necks out
Monitors with short-neck tubes save space -- but how's the view?
November 4, 1998
Web posted at: 4:20 PM EDT
by Jon Jacobi
(IDG) -- In a perfect world, we'd all have flat-panel monitors to help relieve the crunch on desk space. But until flat-panel prices drop some more (15-inch models still cost about $1000 to $1200), there's a more affordable -- if partial -- solution: short-neck CRT monitors.
The first was Hitachi's 19-inch Hitachi SuperScan Elite 751, which arrived on the scene last year. Now short-depth tubes are showing up in 17-inch monitors. About two inches shorter than traditional CRTs, these new models can squeeze into the space needed for a standard-sized 15-inch monitor.
To get an indication of how the new 17-inchers look, we tested two models from well-known vendors CTX and Philips. CTX's VL710S has a depth of 15.6 inches, while Philips' 107B measures only 15 inches from front to back.
It's clear that short-depth technology poses a challenge to vendors.
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Short-neck challenges
Shorter tubes necessitate wider deflection of the electron beam and make it more difficult to produce a sharply focused image --especially in the corners and along the edges of screens. The aforementioned Hitachi SuperScan Elite 751 did a great job of surmounting these obstacles, producing a terrific picture (see "Top 19-Inch Monitors" link below). But newer monitors -- with even shorter tubes -- are producing mixed results. (For a review including some 19-inch models with ultrashort tubes see the "Latest 19-Inch Monitors" link.)
To differentiate the two models we review here, you must note their differences.
Short on depth, long on differences
Image quality differed in key respects, although either monitor would be acceptable for undemanding, mainstream business or home use. The Philips 107B has the better picture overall. On a screen showing various fonts from 6.8 to 9.8 points, the Philips displays crisper, sharper looking text, especially in the corners. In contrast, the CTX VL710S was adequate but lacks the sharpness that characterizes the Philips 107B.
On graphics, neither monitor earned above-average scores, but the Philips edged out the CTX with a somewhat more vivid, color-saturated screen. One screen showed the differences best: In a photo of fresh sliced fruit, the Philips rendered the yellow peaches well, while the CTX's colors were only so-so.
The CTX has the decided edge on price. Although the company's list price of $415 is comparable to Philips's street price of $429, a Web search indicated the CTX VL710S can be found at prices closer to $300.
CTX has a three-year parts and labor warranty--except on the tube (the most expensive part), which is covered for two years only. Philips backs all parts of the 107B for three years. CTX offers relatively short phone support hours of nine hours per weekday. Philips is more in line with industry trends: 15 hours a day during the week and nine hours a day on weekends.
One area where CTX clearly outdoes Philips is on its implementation of USB.
USB ports and on-screen controls
Long-rumored USB ports are cropping up on monitors as devices such as cameras, keyboards, mice, and scanners become available. Both the CTX and the Phillips monitors offer USB, but the CTX VL710S does a better job by making an integrated USB hub with four downstream ports standard. Philips's hub is an add-on option via a proprietary bay. If you want to add USB to the Philips 107B, expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $100, depending on the type of hub and the number of ports.
On-screen controls differed too. The Philips 107B takes a less-is-more approach with a single menu button and four adjustment buttons. The on-screen display was well organized and fairly easy to navigate. We found one of the 107B's features to be a pain: If you don't press the unusual "Save and Exit" button before exiting, you lose your adjustments. Like most CTX monitors, the CTX VL710S provides controls that span the front bezel and allow direct access to adjustments. They were reasonably easy to use.
So which of these two models is the better deal?
Which is best?
Since we haven't yet tested these two models for our "Top 10 17-Inch Monitors," we can compare them only to each other -- although neither has the picture quality of the better models on our Top 10 (see link below).
Which one is a better buy? If you don't need USB, you may be happy with the Philips 107B. This monitor has a better image -- especially on text -- and also a longer warranty. But if your budget is tight, you'll want to consider the VLS710: It's priced very well -- especially considering the built-in USB.
Similar specs
The CTX and Philips monitors have comparable specs. The viewable screen size is 15.7 inches for the CTX and 15.9 inches for Philips. Both models use a shadow mask tube: CTX states a dot pitch of .26mm; Philips reports .28mm. The deflection angles are identical at 100 degrees.
The refresh rates of both monitors, at the recommended 1024 by 768 resolution, are more than acceptable: up to 105 Hz for the Philips and 117 Hz for the CTX. In practice, most graphics cards will drive these monitors at a flicker-free 85 Hz at this resolution. The Philips 107B and CTX VL710S both meet MPR II emissions requirements, plus the NUTEK and Energy Star power saving standards.