Cadalyst - April 2008 - (Page 22)

cadlabsreview warranty for parts, labor, and the display backlight earned the NEC display another A+. Grays were neutral to slightly warm with clean grayscale ramps, and it showed no sign of any flicker or ghosting. Colors were vivid, saturated, and spot on. For additional information about the NEC MultiSync LCD2690WUXi, visit the company’s Web site at www. necdisplay.com. Highly Recommended. VP2250wb ViewSonic 800.888.8583, 909.444.8888 www.viewsonic.com Price: $449 ViewSonic’s three-bird logo has adorned a wide range of quality displays, including the 16:10 wide-aspect-ratio professional-grade LCD VP2250wb monitor that the company submitted for this year’s Cadalyst roundup. Based on a 22” (21.6” viewable area), 2.6”-deep color active matrix panel that features 106% NTSC color capability, the VP2250wb has a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050 with a dot pitch of 0.276 mm. The response time is a very speedy 2 ms, well within the 1–3 ms response range typical of faster CRT displays. ViewSonic’s VP2250wb display has a full complement of controls and comes with PerfectSuite Plus professional-grade LCD control software for color calibration, asset management, theft deterrence, and auto screen rotation. The ViewSonic VP2250wb earned straight As for color purity, brightness, contrast, focus, convergence, geometric distortion, and raster rotation. The vendor-rated brightness of the ViewSonic VP2250wb was 300 cd/m2. The display featured a remarkable 3000:1 dynamic contrast range, which provides darker black levels and overall display crispness. The viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical, are rated at 170º, which can result in a little visual darkening at the edge of the screen for off-axis viewing. But this is not a problem if the user is centered in front of the display. The stand offers extensive adjustments, including height, tilt, 120º swivel, and pivot. The stand quickly detaches for the VESA wall-mount option. The stand was stable throughout its range, with no wiggle even at the most extended settings. Using an energy-thrifty 50 W in operation, the ViewSonic VP2250wb has a vendor-rated horizontal sync range of 24– 92 kHz and a vertical sync range of 50–85 Hz. The physical size of the VP2250wb is 20.1” x 15.3” x 12.2”, including the stand, and the entire mechanism weighs 16.1 lbs. 22 The ViewSonic VP2250wb supports both analog and digital connections, with 15-pin mini D-Sub and DVI-I connectors. The inputs are HDCP compatible, and the display is certified for Windows Vista. The display includes a USB 2.x hub with four connections on the back of the panel near the cable connections. The VP2250wb does not have integrated speakers. The VP2250wb has a full complement of display controls, and the display comes with PerfectSuite Plus professional-grade LCD control software that features color calibration, asset management, theft deterrence, and auto screen rotation. Display controls are accessed by five black buttons located at the bottom center of the front bezel and include a multicolor LED power indicator to indicate the current state of the display. The OSM is easy to use and navigate. On the test bench, the ViewSonic did well, earning As for brightness, contrast, focus, convergence, geometric distortion, and raster rotation. The display also earned an A for color purity — the reds were a bit on the orange side, and the yellows were a bit dull, but other colors were excellent and the color balance was not sufficient to warrant a deduction of any kind. Overall, the displayed image was pleasing with excellent contrast. Grays were clean and neutral, with clean and step-free grayscale ramps, and there was no evidence of any flicker or ghosting during any of the extensive display tests that we ran. At $449, the ViewSonic VP2250wb is the least expensive display in this roundup. That distinction earned it an A+ for pricing. The display is covered by a fairly standard three-year warranty on parts, labor, and the display backlight. For more information about the VP2250wb and other ViewSonic displays, visit the company’s Web site at www.viewsonic.com. Highly Recommended. Ron LaFon, a contributing editor for Cadalyst, is a writer, editor, and a computer graphics and electronic publishing specialist from Atlanta, Georgia. He is a principal at 3Bear Productions in Atlanta. www.cadalyst.com cadalyst April 2008 http://www.necdisplay.com http://www.necdisplay.com http://www.viewsonic.com http://www.viewsonic.com http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - April 2008

Cadalyst - April 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central The Summer of BIM Thin Is In — Large LCD Monitors Caligari trueSpace 7.5 — 3D Modeling Software HP Compaq 8710w — Mobile Workstation Autodesk Design Review 2009 — Design Viewing and Collaboration Software Getting Better — What Should You Learn? Technical Uses for Nontechnical Software AEC on Macs Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Tips Rain Down on Harry

Cadalyst - April 2008

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