Iiyama Vision Master Pro 454
Iiyama is a manufacturer known for the quality/ price ratio of its products, but it has been known to fall short in quality. The Vision Master Pro 454, also called HM903DT, is the latest in the range. It has the most recent High Brightness DiamondTron tube, which puts it a generation ahead of the competition. As its name implies, the High Brightness can give higher brightness on screen as required. The screen has a display zone of 18" and a pitch of 0.25 in the center and 0.27 at the edges. The Vision Master Pro 454 is very smart in appearance, with its base setting it apart from the rest. This is where you find the controls for the settings, a pair of 2x1 watt loudspeakers and a 4-port USB hub. The overall design is subdued but effective. The connections are also original, with two 15-pin RGB inputs so that two PCs can be plugged in together. You just press a button on the facing to switch from one to the other. It has a refresh rate of 115 kHz and a bandwidth of 300 MHz. The maker claims a maximum resolution of 1920x1440 at 77 Hz. In practice, most modes (800x600 to 1920x1440) are predefined and work optimally at 85 Hz.
Geometry-wise, the Vision Master Pro 454 behaves very well. Its quality is not comparable with the Eizo T765, but it is still very good. In the predefined resolutions, verticality and horizontal lines are respectable up to 1600x1200. Beyond this, adjustments are required to obtain a good regular rectangular image over the entire screen. The OSD is the same that the other Iiyama models have had for some time, with the exception of the shortcuts to OPQ configuration, which, a bit like the Eizo T765, make it easy to switch between the three predefined view modes. Nothing speaks against the wealth of options, especially for adjusting purity corner by corner. The moiré effects are a bit more visible than on theT765, but easily handled. The black and white color chart tests showed good overall rendering. We just noted that, for equal contrast and brightness, the Vision Master Pro 454 does not give such pure blacks as the others (such as ViewSonic or Eizo). Its brightness and contrast are nearly perfect, both in games and movies, but this is at the cost of a little weakness in shades such as black. Overall, the latest Iiyama is a fine success, attractive for its image quality and ideal for games. Its contrast and brightness will be an extra comfort factor in desktop use.
