17" LCD Part III: It's Christmas Already!

QDI LM-700

What a surprise when we unwrapped it! The monitor surround is gray with a blue stand and quite flashy.The whole thing is made of plastic, mounted on a blue stand. The LM-700 is what is normally referred to as an "entry-level" screen. But to tell the truth, although it's a matter of taste, the overall effect is rather cheap. The finish really needs to be looked at again. The imitation aluminum buttons are necessary, but we would have preferred them to be a bit more discreet. The design aims to emulate that favored by Apple, but it is not the sort of Apple you'd want to buy. The screen would look perfectly at home in a classroom for little kids; it's truly a "design for kids". Except that, like all the screens mounted on a stand, it lacks stability. It fell over as soon as it was slightly jolted. Apart from these esthetic considerations, the next surprise is to discover that the LM-700, which only has an analog connection, is one of the last screens to fail to adjust the phasing correctly. The image obtained upon powering up was blurred, and we had to adjust it manually through the OSD. Similarly, the color range needed to be adjusted manually. Another detail is that the only languages offered for navigation through the options are English and Chinese.

As far as games are concerned, the movement is smooth and leaves no noticeable trail. From a comfort point of view, the screen is similar to that of a CRT. On the other hand, the color rendering is slightly less satisfactory. The screen lacks brightness, and the colors are drab. The dark areas are not clearly visible.

On the other hand, the screen is perfectly suitable for office work or for surfing the net. Text is clearly defined and with little sign of trailing. In short, this monitor is suitable for anyone who wants a 17" LCD screen at home for a really reasonable price.