KDS Rad-7C

I am writing this little note to those out there who are searching for a lower priced flat panel monitor.

Now I am by no means equiped with the equipment that the labs are and really I don't have the visual accuity to make note of every little problem this monitor may have.

However from a real users perspective I am fully qualified to give my opinion. I have read all the guides on LCD panels that Tom's has posted and noticed one thing in common. A majority of the panels are in the higher end of the price range, and may be more than most are willing to pay for just a decent monitor.

The KDS Rad-7 may be for you.

It is a 17 inch flat panel that can currently be had at your local Wal-Mart for under 400 US. Now many may sneer at this low price as it may seem that you can't get quality for that low of a price. Well I beg to differ.

Now the monitor does have serious Moire problems...as a matter of fact in my setup it has severe difficulties reproducing a standard moire pattern. However this has never been a real problem in most everyday uses that I have encountered.

The panel may have a slower responce rate than what the high end monitors have (I have tried to find the responce rate and it is not listed on their website) but I would imagine that it is in the vacinity of 40ms. This is slow compared to the latest greatest models, however I found that this does not hamper the monitor under most circumstances.

It is capable of reproducing the colour scale with fair accuracy and the brightness that this monitor has has blown me away. When I first moved from a 19" KDS monitor to a KDS Rad-5 I noticed that the flat panel was so much brighter that I had to reduce the brightness on the panel as it was to bright at first. When I moved up to the 7C it was even brighter it seemed than the lower Rad-5. Once tuned it is very capable of reproducing the grayscale accurately as well.

As for ghosting and slow responce time I do not notice it at all. There is some lag in the repsonce time but not enough to be a real problem. This monitor has been great for gaming in my opinion.

I started gaming on my old Rad-5 and it was acceptable and once I moved up to the Rad-7C all of the initial quibles I had with gaming on a flat panel went away. The responce time is certainly quick enough to render accurately in the fast paced FPS games that I love.

For general use I have found that in my limited monitor experience you can get no better. All text and graphics are rendered quickly and accurately.

I also love watching DVD's on this monitor. The action is crisp and smooth. I notice no difference from my TV in many instances. I just finished watching Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and I noticed no ghosting and the scenes were all on par with a good TV.

While this is a lower end model it shouldn't be tossed out of the competition for just being cheap. Give it a shot and take a look at it. Certainly if you can afford a higher end model go for it. However if you are on a limited budget as I am then do not hesitate to check out this monitor. Again as I have said I am by no means a proffessional monitor reviewer, however I am a proffessional geek and I have found that this monitor suites every need that I have.

Currently upgrading my status from geek to guru