Customer Reviews

Sony CPD-E540 21" FD Trinitron CRT Monitor

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As I began to realize that my 17" monitor that came with my PC was starting to affect my posture (by prompting me to lean forward to see more detail on the screen), I decided it was time to upgrade to something larger. And because I am also a watcher of DVD movies (which I play on my PC), I wanted a screen size large enough to enjoy films.

So naturally I sought a monitor about the size of a medium television - say, 31" or so. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown they don't make monitors that even approach that "medium size." (Perhaps in the future?). So with that dissapointment acknowledged, I went on to what was available: 21" and 22" monitors, all of which display about 20" diagonally when all is said and done. In other words, about the size of a large television -- circa 1970!

Screen: The Sony E540 has one of the largest screens one can find at this time at a reasonable price. And I am impressed by the slight difference in size compared to my previous screen - an extra couple inches does make a difference in the ease-of-reading text, and a subtle but appreciated improvement in watching movies and in graphics. The Sony is my first flat-screen monitor, and I think it makes a noticeable difference in eye comfort. The refresh rate is pleasing (I'm not sure what it is, but it must be high enough as I can neither see any flicker, nor hear any subtle high-pitched tone as one would hear from a television set). The screen is bright without being washed out, colors are accurate, and the two faint horizontal lines which all monitors of this design have are subtle to the point of being invisible unless one is viewing a solid white screen from close up - completely invisible when watching films from a few feet back.

The reason I wanted a monitor such as this one was to improve my eye comfort. This one has done that. It also needed to be accurate enough for my graphics work, and it is. Everything else is not as important to me, but I'll describe my impressions anyhow:

Aesthetics: The two-tone monitor's shell is suitably modern when viewed from the side, though the "frame" around the screen itself is a little bland and wide - not sexy enough IMO. The top of the monitor at the front edge has a flat area several inches deep suitable for placing a picture frame on (or whatever items you use to personalize your space) without interference with the air vents. Plastic is standard beige on front and grey on the sides/back; the darker shade on the sides and back helps make it seem smaller than it is, but it is still a pretty deep monitor so be sure you have room for it; an LCD this is not.

The green LED light that indicates the monitor on is kept far away from the screen itself (more than two inches down from it) so it does not distract.

The monitor weights about the same as a Volkswagon as others have noted (or complained), but it swivels (and tilts) on its base with remarkable ease; only a light touch is needed, and that is what matters.

I've experienced no technical problems - the monitor shuts off when the PC is shut off, the on-screen controls are simple to set, and it automatically degausses itself at start-up as needed.

At times, this monitor is available at an exceptionally low price, making the decision to enlarge your perspective an easy one.

I purchased the Sony CPD-E540 back in March 2002 for $599 retail to replace my aging NEC 17" monitor. It is difficult to provide subjective opinions on a monitor without having another to compare it to, so let me just state that I have not been disappointed with this purchase. It takes full advantage of my ASUS V7700 Deluxe (actually, the resolution is limited by the video card). The picture is not distorted in any way, text / graphics appear crisp, and the picture is much brighter than my CRT (a quality common among all Aperture Grille monitors if I understand correctly).

I am not too fond of the monitor's weight, as I had to lug this thing up into the loft of my old apartment and then back down when I moved.

One other issue that is common with all aperture grill monitors is the presence of one or two horizontal lines on the display that are easily ignored, but can be noticed.

I consider this to be a good investment that will continue to be enjoyed through several generations of computer upgrades.

I was hesitant getting this monitor because although I knew I wanted a 21" screen, I was afraid it would be too massive to fit on my desk (a corner unit). I was also torn between this and the comparable aperture-grill NEC FE2111 which appears to be used by a large number of top gaming PC manufacturers (Alienware, Falcon, etc.).

I've always wanted a Sony and kicked myself last time (6 years ago) I bought a non-aperture grill monitor, so I thought I'd never forgive myself if the NEC FE2111 turned out to be a dud, so I took the plunge.

As I brought the massive box into the house, I was kicking myself--what was I thinking that this huge monitor would fit?

But once I got the monitor on the desk, it fit much more nicely than I ever imagined. The back of the monitor is much more narrow than I ever imagined, allowing the monitor to sit way back into the corner of room--about the same depth as my old 17" monitor.

Wow! I love the image quality too. Bright, clean, crisp. I've only had it for 2 days, but so far I love it!

I am 15, and i use my pc alot. I used to have a 16' Sony Flat Screen Monitor, but i needed a bigger one for gaming and using the internet. This monitor helped tremendously, and the display is crisp, clear, and refresh rates are FAST! For Example, right now im using 1600 x 1200 and the refresh rate is 85 Hertz. If you use this Monitor, i recommend using 1600 x 1200 because it looks the best, although the monitor can display incredibly higher resolutions. I highly recomend this monitor for someone who wants a BIG monitor, a perfectly flat screen, but wants to avoid the unbearably high prices of LCD monitors the same size.

I got one of these used for cheap. The screen had lost a noticeable amount of sharpness. Luckily all it needed was a slight adjustment of the focusing control (10 minutes--mostly for removing and then re installing the back cover). If you're a serious gamer then you know how nice a high refresh screen is or you don't know what you've been missing. I run most FPS at 1280x1024 @100Hz. My gpu can't do more than about 50-60 fps for new games like Crysis2 so I run it at 1600x1200 @85Hz. Also a good setting for general 2D desktop stuff. The spec says it will do 1920x1440, and it does, but it doesn't look so great. A new screen might be a different story.

Very crisp image quality. Kind of expensive but it is worth it.

It looks sleek and isn't as deep as 21" monitors used to be...but poor convergence, fuzzy text and quality problems plague this monitor. If you read lots of the online reviews for the e540 you will find the most common complaint to be the convergence of the monitor. If you set all the red green and blue phosphors to be perfectly aligned in the center of the screen they were horribly misaligned on the corners, particularly on the left side. The result was text that was clear in the center of the screen but very blurry towards the left. Aiding to the problem was that there were 3 vertical convergence controls (top, middle, and bottom) but only 1 horizontal. It seems as if Sony purposely crippled the controls on the lower end monitor so you would be forced for a reason to buy their more expensive line.

About a week into getting the monitor it also started experiencing shaking problems that made it useless. Although it was infrequent, the problem did reappear every few days - even on a different computer (so I rule out a video card problem).

Another negative was the very thin video cable that I think would be prone to interference. Sony took far too many shortcuts on this model. Stay away.

Very heavy and not worth the price, exchanged it with Diamond pro and Wow...

This monitor, well, it sucks. It was a waste of the $600 I spent. The biggest problem is that it's very blurry above 1600x1200 making those modes almost useless (on XP). Attached to my PowerBook it can't handle rates greater than 60Hz above 1600x1200 and it so blurry even at lower resolutions it's unusable.

Second major complaint is the display is flat and lifeless. Colors are washed out and contrast is poor. Forget calibrating it for anything, you are lucky to just have it look decent.

It's a very poor quality 19" display in a 70 pound 21" box. Unless you want a monitor that's big because you have eyesight problems then this isn't the monitor for you.

Would I buy one again? Hell no.