Customer Reviews

Sony SDM-X82 Flat Panel 18" LCD Monitor

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

 

 

First, because I needed a monitor NOW, I ended up buying this monitor locally and paying about ... more for it than if I had bought it from Amazon (after shipping, rebates, and taxes).

Second, this is a very nice monitor. I'm hooked up via the DVI connection, so that might make a difference if you use the standard monitor connection. Pictures on the monitor are absolutely beautiful. Things like video clips and DVD playbacks look just fine (I've still done very few of those). Text, on the other hand, looks somewhat grainy (it varies from screen to screen), though it's still quite acceptable. I think this is actually a function of the dot-pitch for the monitor being larger than what my old CRT's was. This graininess can be mitigated by loading Microsoft's Clear Type in Windows XP and using the tuning utility. Also, make sure you adjust the Contrast and Brightness (turn the Contrast all the way up and then turn the Brightness down until blacks actually appear black (with Contrast at 100, my Brightness is at 25)). The display area of this monitor is actually somewhat bigger than what was displayed on my old 19" CRT (though the rated 18.1" is theoretically the same). So, if you want, you could also increase your font size for better viewing.

One other thing. The monitor is back-lit and comes set to 100% illumination. Unless you're looking at this thing in a highly lit room, you can probably turn this off entirely (use the "ECO" button on the bottom of the column of control buttons). At a minimum, you can definitely turn the backlighting down to, say, 70% (probably more).

One thing I do wish the monitor had is some type of swivel feature. You can tilt the angle of the display to your heart's content. But, there's no way to turn it from landscape to portrait mode. Also, and I should have thought of this before I bought it, there's no place to put the center speaker in a 5.1 speaker setup. With my old CRT, I just rested the speaker on top. Since there's essentially no depth to this monitor, that's impossible. On the bright side, there's plenty of room behind the monitor for that same speaker. :)

One final note: The "Utility" CD that comes with the monitor is totally useless. All it has on it is a DOS, Windows, and Mac version of a test screen. It doesn't even come with a monitor INF file. When I plugged the monitor in via the DVI port under XP, Windows changed over to a standard LCD screen driver (everything worked fine, it's just not fully accurate). You'll definitely need to go to Sony's web site and download the proper INF file.

Have had this monitor for about a month. Nothing to the setup, except not real clear on which output cable to use for your particular system(standard or DVI ouput). Very clear and precise images for text and graphics. For what we use it for, the built- in speakers are more than adequate. Had no problem recognizing volume and mute inputs from a Logitech cordless keyboard. The size footprint for this monitor vs our previous 17" CRT is awesome. The overall appearance is outstanding. No complaints whatsoever!

We bought the monitor for our office manager and she absolutely loves it. The size, clarity, and color are perfect for someone who spends all day in front of a computer monitor.

According to Sony's spec for the LCD. The max resolution is only 1280x1024. Not sure where these guys got their numbers from. Office Depot doesn't even list this on their site.