Techie2000
In Vertigo
Premium
join:2001-12-05
clubs:
|  Planar PX191 Silver 19" LCD Review
Inside the Box
Well I got the box. Stuck to the outside were shipping labels, and a plastic envelope with the invoice. Not too exciting, eh? So anyways you open it up and there is a plastic bag with the quick install guide, user manual, planar CD, and Pivot Pro software CD. Also there is a transformer unit that connects to the monitor, and a power cord that connects to the transformer (like a laptop power connector). It comes with two video cables. One is a VGA cable, and the other is a DVI cable. Oh yeah, there is an LCD in there too. It's packaged between two pieces of foam, and is in a big plastic bag so it doesn't get dusty or damaged during shipping.
Out With The Old, In With The New
Well if you saw my post in Home/Office setup photos you know about the huge CRT I had. For a minute I put them next to each other, and determined that the LCD is about the same physical screen size as my 21" CRT which made me happy. The viewable area does seem a little wider than the CRT. However once I remove the old CRT and put the LCD in its place, the LCD does seem smaller. I have all this desk space that was being wasted by the back of the CRT. I still have no clue as to what to do with it now. So anyways the LCD was already attached to the stand so I didn't have to worry about assembling that. All I had to do was connect the transformer to the back of the LCD, the power cord to the transformer, and the DVI cable to the back of the LCD and my video card. Once I had everything connected I hit the power button, and I powered on the computer.
Booting The Computer
Well surprisingly the DVI connection removes the necessity to have to adjust the monitor that you have when you use an analog VGA connector. I booted the computer and the screen was perfectly aligned the whole time, from the BIOS screen coming up, to the GRUB boot loader, to windows desktop.
The On Screen Display
The on screen display is decent. A lot of the options are "grayed out" when using the DVI connection. To call up the OSD you simply press the "M" button and the menu pops up. You can then press the "S" button to scroll down through the menu. You can then go to the next menu by pressing "M". There are 4 menus total. The options are as follows. The options "grayed out" when using a DVI connection I've put "(VGA Only)" next to.
Menu Page 1
-Auto-Adjustment (VGA Only)
-Contrast
-Brightness
-Horizontal Position (VGA Only)
-Vertical Position (VGA Only)
-Clock (VGA Only)
-Phase (VGA Only)
Menu Page 2
-Display Mode
-OSD Off-Time
-Language
-Sharpness (VGA Only)
-Reset
Menu Page 3
-Input Select
Menu Page 4
-Color Setting
-Color Adjustment - Red
-Color Adjustment - Green
-Color Adjustment - Blue
Most of the options are of course fairly self-explanatory. Auto-Adjustment will fill the entire screen with the image from a VGA connection. Display Mode simply gives you information on the current resolution and refresh rate. Input select allows you to switch between the VGA and DVI inputs. This effectively gives the monitor a built in video switch so you can connect both your desktop rig and your server to the monitor.
Setting Up Windows
There wasn't much to do. I bumped up the resolution of the screen to the native resolution (1280x1024) and disabled any refresh rate overrides I setup with the NVIDIA drivers since DVI is locked at a 60Hz refresh rate. I popped in the Planar CD and it isn't much. Just a little bit of common freeware (acrobat and stuff) plus the user manual in electronic form and a link to the registration site. Not really that useful.
Rotation
The Pivot Pro software I just installed it to try and it was okay. It worked fine to rotate, but it messes up the TV tuner output. It doesn't seem much different than the NVIDIA rotation except that it allows you to setup keyboard combos to rotate it, so I uninstalled it and just use the NVIDIA driver for rotation.
On the hardware side, you can of course move the screen vertically, and left and right, and up and down. The screen rotates clockwise, and you can tell when you have finished rotating it completely by a loud clicking noise (the first time I rotated the screen I thought it broke when I did that, however the sound is normal).
TV Tuner Performance
I have a Hauppauge WinTV Go! card. The WinTV 2000 software worked pretty much the same as on the CRT. However the colors did seem a bit brighter and the different color shades were a bit more distinct. Also the static on channel 2 is a bit more noticeable on the LCD than the CRT.
BF1942 Performance
I normally play BF1942 at 1024x768x32. At this resolution I did notice a bit of tearing and ghosting with playing. I thought it just needed my eyes to adjust to the LCD and the way it works. However unsatisfied I tried bumping the resolution to the highest BF1942 would let me (1280x960x32) and there was a huge difference. Performance was just like it was on the CRT. Only minimal ghosting was noticeable and only when I waved the mouse and back fourth as fast as possible for the specific reason of trying to ghost. The colors were definitely more distinct here as well.
Enter The Matrix Performance
Enter the Matrix is a darker game than BF1942 as far as environments go. The blacks were distinctive, but black on an LCD looks different from black on a CRT. However I still could make out all the individual details in dark areas. They weren't all drowned out in black who I hear is sometimes a problem with LCDs. I ran it at 1280x1024 and noticed no ghosting while playing Enter The Matrix.
DVD Performance
I tested DVD Performance using PowerDVD and Star Trek: Nemesis. DVD performance was great. No noticeable tearing or anything. You could make out the distinct blacks in all but the darkest shots, but I wouldn't say it’s much different from viewing the same darks on a CRT where it all just goes into one dark section. The space scenes looked nice and crisp. You could still make out the stars in space, and the ships and the planets looked fine too.
Overall Recommendation and Final Words
The Planar PX191 is a solid choice for anyone looking for an LCD for gaming, multimedia, or even just surfing the web. The screen size is very decent, and the base that it comes with is very useful and flexible. Although if you wanted to you could unmount it from the base and mount it to your own VESA compliant mount. If you are looking to enter the world of LCDs then I would definitely recommend the PX191. The screen size is definitely perfect for viewing DVDs from across the room, and it looks stylish. I'm very glad I went with the silver over the black.
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"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." - Captain Jean-Luc Picard |
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ShinyTop8
S T I
Premium
join:2001-05-08
Pensacola, FL | Thanks for that review. I am sure that all of us who contemplating the purchase of an LCD monitor are grateful for a real life experience.
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We are governed by a plethora of constitutional morons. |
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dbmaven
There's no shortage
Premium,Mod
join:1999-10-26
Sty in Sky
clubs: | Indeed - well said Shiny...
Link to this review has been added to the Forum FAQ REVIEWS section. |
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Techie2000
In Vertigo
Premium
join:2001-12-05
clubs: | Glad I could be of help...:)
I'm sure AR  will be by later today with his comments on how he likes his. |
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Xanadu
Premium
join:2002-05-09
Birmingham, AL | Techie, please post some pics. |
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Techie2000
In Vertigo
Premium
join:2001-12-05
clubs:
| Okay. Here you go. Descriptions in order...
1. Back of the monitor. You can see the VESA mounting plate.
2. Front of the monitor displaying a website in MSIE.
3. The inputs that go into the back of the monitor. The only one you don't see is the VGA input because I haven't bothered to connect that. But it's to the right of the DVI connector.
4. A side view of the LCD
5. A picture of the transformer I was talking about.
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"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." - Captain Jean-Luc Picard |
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