ViewSonic N1700W 17" LCD Monitor with TV Tuner

Rating:
Summary: If only it worked!
Review: For the first 4 months, this monitor worked well. The image was decent, although not as crisp or stable as my CTX 17" LCD. I liked the televison feature too. Minor annoyances included highly sensitive buttons and the flimsy speaker covers.

The real problems started after about 4 months. The monitor went dead. It did display from the PC or television. It did not respond to any of the controls (remote or on the unit itself). I could not turn it off from the power button either.

I called Viewsonic and they had me ship the unit back and they supposedly sent me a new one. I immediately installed the unit and had the same problems. It did not repsond to any of the buttons. When I plugged it in, it turned itself on, but did not respond to any of the controls.

They sent another and I had the same exact problems. Finally, I called back and they sent a third unit without me even having to send the 2nd replacement back. So, now I'm using the 3rd replacement and this one is far from acceptable. The screen had an extremely distracting flicker. I solved the problem by adjusting the LCD setting. Now, I'm looking at fuzzy text. Not all of the text is fuzzy, just random letters and characters. It looks almost like output from a copier or printer w/ a toner problem. The fuzzy letters form a striping like effect. I'm not experienced enough to check card settings. However, the average user should not have to endure such problems.

Rating:
Summary: Poor construction quality and image
Review: For the first 4 months, this monitor worked well. The image was decent, although not as crisp or stable as my CTX 17" LCD. I liked the televison feature too. Minor annoyances included highly sensitive buttons and the flimsy speaker covers.

The real problems started after about 4 months. The monitor went dead. It did display from the PC or television. It did not respond to any of the controls (remote or on the unit itself). I could not turn it off from the power button either.

I called Viewsonic and they had me ship the unit back and they supposedly sent me a new one. I immediately installed the unit and had the same problems. It did not repsond to any of the buttons. When I plugged it in, it turned itself on, but did not respond to any of the controls.

They sent another and I had the same exact problems. Finally, I called back and they sent a third unit without me even having to send the 2nd replacement back. So, now I'm using the 3rd replacement and this one is far from acceptable. The screen had an extremely distracting flicker. I solved the problem by adjusting the LCD setting. Now, I'm looking at fuzzy text. Not all of the text is fuzzy, just random letters and characters. It looks almost like output from a copier or printer w/ a toner problem. The fuzzy letters form a striping like effect. I'm not experienced enough to check card settings. However, the average user should not have to endure such problems.

Rating:
Summary: Poor construction quality and image
Review: For the first 4 months, this monitor worked well. The image was decent, although not as crisp or stable as my CTX 17" LCD. I liked the televison feature too. Minor annoyances included highly sensitive buttons and the flimsy speaker covers.

The real problems started after about 4 months. The monitor went dead. It did display from the PC or television. It did not respond to any of the controls (remote or on the unit itself). I could not turn it off from the power button either.

I called Viewsonic and they had me ship the unit back and they supposedly sent me a new one. I immediately installed the unit and had the same problems. It did not repsond to any of the buttons. When I plugged it in, it turned itself on, but did not respond to any of the controls.

They sent another and I had the same exact problems. Finally, I called back and they sent a third unit without me even having to send the 2nd replacement back. So, now I'm using the 3rd replacement and this one is far from acceptable. The screen had an extremely distracting flicker. I solved the problem by adjusting the LCD setting. Now, I'm looking at fuzzy text. Not all of the text is fuzzy, just random letters and characters. It looks almost like output from a copier or printer w/ a toner problem. The fuzzy letters form a striping like effect. I'm not experienced enough to check card settings. However, the average user should not have to endure such problems.

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the journal reviews
Review: I accepted the reviews in major trade magazines. I'm now ready to return my second monitor back to viewsonic. A major disappointment after having great success with another monitor. I believe it is a model specific issue.

Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Review: I've brought the monitor around 3/03. The picture quality is excellent. DVDs looks great on it. The TV is ok. The TV colors are not as vivid as my CRT tv.
The only caveat is problems with the controls: this includes both the buttons on the monitor and the accompanying remote control. I keep getting this problem where the both the remote and monitor control keep locking-up. When it locks, it can't be turn on or off no matter if it is on or off already. The only way to fix it is to manually power down the monitor by turning-off the UPS or unplugging the monitor. I've already sent the monitor back once for service and got it back. I still have the same problem. I assume they didn't fix it. I suspect it is a firmware problem. It has become an annoying nuisance.

Save your money and don't get this model. It is more problem than it is worth. For a $900 LCD monitor, I expected better quality. Usually, they make good stuff, but I think they missed the boat on this one. They have other models and other makers also have LCD-TVs also.

Update(2/2004) - All 4 of the monitors that they sent me never work correctly. Guess what? I was able to ascertain from one of the technical support rep. that the supposedly "new" replacment monitors (I'm using that term very loosely) are actually monitors that were used before as demos or showcase items which they are calling "new". To make long story short, they keep sending me these defective monitors and I keep sending them back. They have a no refund policy. Good luck to people who brought this monitor. Just be wary of magazine reviews.

I just hope my experience will help people out. Looking from the list of reviews, I'm not the only one with the same quality control issue with this monitor. Well, this is my first and will be my last ViewSonic product.

Rating:
Summary: If only it worked!
Review: This LCD worked for about 2 days.

Now it doesn't.

Customer support is pathetic, hence this review.

It was a wonderful 2 days, though!