The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful: 17" LCDs Reviewed
No-frill Design
The design of the LCD72VM is simple and without frills. The manufacturer's goal was simplicity and above all affordability - and it succeeded. However, the panel is too fragile, the product of a design that's already old in the LCD monitor field. And yet the 72VM is brand-new. Its base consists of two plastic components that snap together, and you'd do well not to repeat the assembly procedure too many times, because the snap tabs are fragile.
Ergonomics
The ergonomics are like the design - simple and inexpensive above all. The tilt adjustment is very limited. There's a single VGA connector and the power supply unit is built in - score one point for that. Don't look for cable chases on this model. And don't count on using the loudspeakers. In short, don't expect miracles in terms of ergonomics.
Disappointing Colors
The calibration of our LCD72VM wasn't up to our expectations:
Few colors were really perfect, but 98% of the color values were in the calibration range of our sensor. The remaining 2% were concentrated in the darkest shades.
| White spot | Black spot | Contrast |
|---|---|---|
| 0.47 | 204 | 434:1 |
The optimum point of operation proved to be not bad at all, however. 204 cd/m² is a good luminance value and 0.47 cd/m² is one of the best black depths we recorded after calibration during this set of tests. But without calibration, the colors weren't very true.
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The contrast wasn't among the most stable, either:
