ViewSonic P220f 22" Flat CRT Monitor

Rating:
Summary: ViewSonic P220f 22" Flat CRT Monitor
Review: Don't expect a clean screen on this monitor. It will come with visible horizontal lines 1/4 and 3/4 of the way down from the top of the screen and they are annoying when you have a light background or a dark background. If your background is black they may not show. Don't spend your money on this monitor. I was very diappointed for the price I paid. ViewSonic says this:

Two faint horizontal lines on my monitor screen

The two lines you see are called horizontal damper wires. These damper wires are required to maintain the aperture grille's alignment and will cast a shadow on the screen. In most applications, these lines will blend into the background, but they will be visible against lightly-colored screens. They are an integral part of the technology and are not considered a defect.

Why doesn't ViewSonic disclose these lines in the specs?

Rating:
Summary: "Thin Lines"
Review: I do not have this particular monitor, but I have a similar monitor that also has the thin lines across the screen. They are annoying at first, but I noticed that after using it for about a week, I got used to the lines, and did not notice them any more. While they are still visible if I LOOK for them, I just don't pay any attention to them anymore. This is NOT a problem with the ViewSonic, it is the same with ANY of the "flat" CRTs. All of them are based on the Sony Trinitron tube, and there are two kinds of this, the Trinitron, which is flat top to bottom, and the FD Trinitron, which is almost totally flat. Any Trinitron or "Flat" CRT will have these horizontal lines. Do not let this affect your purchase. You will get used to it after a week.

Rating:
Summary: Bright, large display!
Review: I initially read the PC WORLD review of the Viewsonic P225f in making my decision about purchasing this brand. I then read reviews and found that some descriptions of the P220f and P225f were the same. It appears that the P225f reviewed in PC WORLD June 2002 has a .25 pitch center focus and .27 pitch on the sides. But the newer P225f is .24 pitch throughout. It appears that the PC WORLD review is closer to the P220f which I recently bought. This has the .24/.27 pitch sizes.

That said, a number of reviewers commented that the Viewsonic seems great on graphics (which it is) and only mediocre on text. When I brought this monitor home, I was initially disappointed. I run at 1024 x 768. Much of my work is text only. Text on the edges seemed a little fuzzy and the text below Window's icons was not very clear. I was considering returning the monitor when I began playing with the menus and found that the factory default for contrast is 100%. Once I turned this down to the lower 90s, the text quality improved dramatically. Now I am very impressed with the monitor. When I looked at the Sony 540, which is in the same price range, the colors looked faded. Not so for the Viewsonic. This is a vibrant monitor. It also has a lot of controls, including focus, which the Sony 540 lacks.

For those reviewers concerned by the aperture grill lines, you obviously have only had shadow mask monitors in the past. My last monitor was a Dell 21 inch shadow mask. These are perhaps a little bit better on text, but they lag behind in graphics and color display. ALL aperture grill monitors have faint lines. You can't blame Viewsonic for this anymore than Sony or others using this higher end construction. The lines are really a moot point if you want the better color display that aperture grill affords.

I recommend this monitor for those wanting a large 22" screen without paying the $800 - $1000 for the P225f.

Rating:
Summary: Poor quality monitor - inconsistent distortion
Review: My first P225f monitor arrived with dust particles behind the flat glass panel. It took a week of effort to get it replaced by ViewSonic (they wanted me to pay for shipping). The replacement monitor arrived with a clean screen, but has image distortion on the right-side. No adjustments, repositioning or change of computers will allow the right-side of the screen to be focused as sharply as the left side. Also, the image curls up at the bottom corners, which the purity control won't eliminate completely. This monitor is a major disappointment. It is not good quality.

Rating:
Summary: the lines are normal
Review: Viewsonic is absolutely correct in stating that the lines are necessary parts of the aperture grill. Every monitor with this type of technology (which is an excellent technology, by the way) has these lines, including my Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 1000. They are nothing to worry about, and you will not notice them.