Customer Reviews

Sony X-Brite SDM-HS94P/S 19" LCD Monitor (Silver)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, let me essentially agree with the majority of reviewers who think that the Sony SDM-HS94P is a great LCD monitor. For an LCD display, this model probably has the best price to performance ratio of any on the market today. For general home/office use or even for having a large lightweight portable monitor for gaming parties, it's pretty tough to beat and will satisfy most needs. It's big, bright, sharp, colorful, and easy on the eyes; it uses less power, it won't heat up the whole room, it won't give you a daily X-Ray, and on top of all that it's very affordable for its class.

Having acknowledged so many accolades, unfortunately I still cannot recommend replacing a good quality CRT with this unit if you are doing any kind of serious graphics work, such as digital photography or CG art, as black just isn't black. I realize that most people do not have this requirement, however, so pick and choose from the following observations to determine how they may influence your purchase decision.

- My biggest problem with this monitor is undoubtedly that black is never black. Depending on what part of the screen area you may be looking at, if you are displaying an all-black image (i.e. RGB 0,0,0), what this LCD actually shows you are puffy clouds of dark blue, dark green, or milky grey. I am using one of the latest colorimeters on the market, the Pantone / Color Vision Spyder2PRO, which gives very good results to adjust color temperature and brightness/contrast. Well, whether you calibrate this monitor or not, there seems to be no way to get black to be black. A good Sony Trinitron CRT dramatically outperforms this LCD in this regard. Even after calibration, viewing the colorimeter's color correction curves shows that the very dark end of the spectrum cannot be represented very well. The closer you get to the desired display of RGB 0,0,0, the more the actual individual displayed colors spike too high to ever really be black. This is hardly surprising considering the relative infancy of LCD technology when compared to CRT's, so hopefully it's only a matter of time until LCD's catch up to CRT's. Others have suggested that the pricier but slower Samsung 19" 193P LCD may show black better, but as I haven't seen it myself in a side-by-side comparison, I can't comment on it.

- Improved fast response time of 12ms is readily apparent in games that have fast action, such as FPS's. UT2K4 is actually quite playable at the monitor's native resolution of 1280x1024. There is some minor choppiness in screen refresh with a lot of motion going on, especially when playing in lower non-native resolutions (which isn't recommended anyway but does perform better than on older LCD's), but the difference over 25ms or 50ms LCD's from a couple of years ago is dramatic. The excessive blurring problem of older displays is just about gone, but the monitor industry needs to keep their R&D focus on getting LCD response time to 3ms or less so that it more closely matches conventional CRT's. I had this Sony LCD setup temporarily as a dual display along with a Sony Trinitron CRT, and comparing the two side-by-side definitely showed a lot more motion blur on the LCD than on the CRT, as one would expect, but by no means is it the show-stopper for gaming that it used to be. So, in terms of response time, the Sony SDM-HS94P is really sweet until the technology advances further. Personally, I still prefer a good CRT over any LCD for gaming performance if you don't need portability, but the difference is more minimal than it used to be. It bothered me more that dark areas of the game (e.g. caves, tunnels, shadows, etc.) were never really very dark because this monitor is incapable of displaying black properly.

- After a couple minutes of exploring the on-screen menu options, I found the controls easy to use. There are independent RGB gain controls for more precise color temperature adjustment, which is a real plus. Sharpness can be easily adjusted, but the default factory setting seems best. I found the default automatic sensor setting of the input selector distracting, as the monitor wasn't always making the right decision for me to switch to the other input, such as when rebooting the then active PC. Being able to turn off the sensor via the OSD menu was thankfully included as a necessary feature. Overall, I was fairly pleased with the OSD menu options and didn't notice any glaringly obvious omissions like on some other manufacturers' models, although notably there is no direct interface connection so that colorimeters with software control can interact directly with the monitor, while leaving you with the ability to adjust settings manually on the front of the display when you need to do so.

- I found essentially no display quality difference between using the HD15 analog VGA input (using either the included Sony VGA cable or a high quality Monster Cable thick VGA signal cable) and the DVI-D digital input (using the included DVI-D signal cable). Sometimes I have seen annoying image / text ghosting when using the analog input on other LCD monitors, but I saw no such problem on this model. Either the analog or digital should serve equally well, although technically the digital input is the better choice.

- The pixel pitch of .294mm may be standard for 19" LCD's, but it takes a bit of getting used to when compared to something much tighter on a good CRT, like .24mm on a high-end Sony Trinitron CRT. I find .294mm to be a bit "blocky", but I guess there isn't much else to say about it until the technology improves. Some people might never notice this, but I guess it depends on what is "normal" for you. For me, I sure hope the manufacturers work to improve this in the future.

- Text or straight lines may blur up when they "fall between the pixels", especially for smaller font sizes. Make the assumption that you will need to zoom in for any detailed graphics work.

- The unit I bought had only two minor pixel defects on the upper left side, within 1cm from the edge, as evidenced when looking at full-screen displays of red, green, blue, black, and white. It wasn't worth returning or exchanging the monitor for them. One was apparently a dead pixel, but it wasn't always viewable, depending on a slight difference in angle from how you're viewing the screen, given this more recent type of LCD screen technology. The second problem was a hot white "speck" but was only visible on a black screen, and was so small that it looked more like a light bleed from in between a couple of pixels than an actual hot pixel itself; it was actually less noticeable than the dead pixel, so not really a problem either, thankfully. The center of the screen looked essentially perfect, which is the most important area of concern.

- The very edges of the screen were excessively bright with lots of light leakage evident on a dark image being displayed. Sony definitely needs to get a handle on this "light pollution" problem as it's really obvious.

- Despite the specs, I still found the viewing angles to be quite limiting in terms of seeing consistent color and brightness/contrast. If you move your head just a little bit from side to side, the colors change significantly. Moving your head or the monitor up or down changes the amount of light hitting your eyes, which prompts you to find a sweet spot somewhere in the middle by adjusting the monitor's tilt. Hopefully a consistent viewing angle will be a future spec for LCD's, as currently CRT's are much better at this.

- There are no standard mounting supports in the back to place this monitor on an extension arm. In fact, the back is covered by a large removable piece of plastic that gently sits in some peg holes. Whatever you do, do NOT lift the monitor by this plastic back cover, as you will surely smash your monitor to the floor. There is even a bright warning sheet greeting you to this effect when you open the box. Hopefully Sony will figure out a better design than this going forward. Or, you could just leave the cover off altogether.

- For a dual monitor setup, the two-inch bezel is ridiculous. That equates to four huge inches of plastic nothingness in the middle of each pair of LCD screens. For a single monitor setup, it's not a problem.

- The base could use at least a couple of pounds of additional weight, as this model is quite top-heavy. You have to be consciously aware not to smack it by accident as you're turning around or moving near it, as you might knock it over. My unit had an August manufacturing date. Some people have reported that recent assembly line changes have added some weight to the base, but I don't know if my particular unit qualified for this or not; I just know that what I received is still too top-heavy for its own good. However, don't let this issue deter you too much from purchasing an otherwise capable display.

- At first glance when removing the unit from the box, you're taken aback by how ridiculously shiny the surface of the screen is, almost like a mirror. My Sony Trinitron 21" CRT screens are far less reflective, so I'm not sure why this LCD display is so different. However, once the power is on and you're doing regular work, I'm happy to report it's not a problem as long as you have no light sources behind you. If you don't have control over creating a light-friendly ergonomic environment, such as in many workplaces with overhead fluorescent lighting or huge glass pane windows, perhaps your mileage will vary.

So, after all this investigation, it should come as no surprise that this Sony LCD is on my wife's desk and not mine. She loves it for doing e-mail, spreadsheets, or perusing the Internet. It's "pretty".

This is my first review at amazon.com, but this is also the first product that I have ever purchased which I feel strongly about. These are quite simply, the best monitors that I have ever purchased. I work in the IT Industry, so I see a lot of monitors. I purchased 2 of these monitors from Best Buy for $799 a piece - $100 mail-in rebate ($699 a piece after rebate) for my home computer to replace a pair of Sony SDM-X82/Bs. While my not-so-old previous monitors were great and all, the difference with these monitors is night and day. The picture is brighter (I had to turn the brightness DOWN on these), the colors have more depth, and the 12ms delay is remarkable. I can play all of my favorite First Person Shooters with no ghosting what-so-ever.

In my opinion, gamers who have insisted on CRT monitors over the years would be quite pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Sony SDM-HS94P. The only monitors that I have seen of comparable quality are the Apple Cinema Displays, which retail for significantly more money, and don't have half of the features that these Sony monitors feature.

I purchased two monitors. There is 1 stuck pixel on one of them, and the other is completely free from defects. This is perfectly acceptable in my opinion--I barely even notice the single stuck pixel. Overall (in case you can't tell already) I believe that these monitors represent one of the best purchasing decisions that I have ever made.

I am a big fan of X-Brite on notebook screens, so I was really excited when I purchased this Sony. I have a graphics card with two plugs, so I was able to compare this monitor side-by-side with a 19" f1903 LCD from HP (one monitor used DVI, the other analog, but I switched back and forth and it didn't seem to make any difference which one was on which for my observations).

The Sony was bright and brilliant, and made the HP look positively dull by comparison. Also, colors on the Sony were truer (though with a slightly bluish cast). However, there is noticeable "bleed" from the backlights that are visible along the right and left edges of the screen. While the HP can show a true black screen, the Sony's blacks are marred by the light "leaking" in from the side. This is usually not a problem for every day tasks, but it is especially noticeable when doing things where the color black is prominent on the screen (e.g. Doom 3, editing the shadows of photos, playing movies in black letterbox).

This monitor has a lot going for it. Too bad the backlight problem ruins an otherwise great purchase.

I was a little skeptical about this monitor after reading a few certain reviews. I got it home, turned it on and was amazed. I switched from an old 17" CRT so it was quite a difference. I also use 17" LCDs from Samsung and Viewsonic all day everyday at work. This Sony puts them to shame easily. I wanted to compare the HS94P to the Samsung 193P but no stores had any of the Samsungs. The brightness on this monitor is just to much. But thats easily adjustable without even going into the OSD. One button switches it between high, mid, low and user. With the lights off in the room I have to use it on low and with lights on I use mid. If I was in a work environment that was very lit up I might have to use high. Just some things I've noticed that discouraged me when reading reviews...

The appearance is NOT mirror like at all. It actually looks quite a bit different than the 17" versions which seem to have a glossy bezel.

The monitor does pivot side to side but it doesn't look like it does. The bottom has a ring that rotates.

I've noticed at least a few people saying the blacks are not true enough. For me they are just fine, doesn't bother me one bit. You can tell a difference between a Samsung and a Sony with blacks if they are side by side, otherwise I would never notice.

Certainly NOT worthy of all the hype written here.

I have tested the Sony SDM HS-94P and the Samsung 193P together on the same custom machine using a DVI splitter. This way it was easy to do side-by-side comparisons.
Both displays run in their native resolution of 1280 x 1024, 60Hz. Both monitors were color calibrated using their bundled software's. Gamma is set at standard (2.2).


To keep it brief (sorry, maybe this won't be) here are my conclusions:

Both displays produce a very nice basic picture and both are quality products.
However, the Samsung 193P displayed consistently better text, much sharper and easier to read. It is as easy to read as a high quality CRT.
The Sony SDM HS-94P's was slightly out of focus and produced eyestrain after long periods of viewing. I've read some reviews touting its text reproduction as excellent.
I doubt whether those reviewers had other LCD's side-by- side to compare it with or possibly they just moved up from an aging CRT that had been slowly degrading in focus and anything was an improvement. This was the most disappointing aspect of the Sony's performance.

The Sony does have more of a CRT like picture all around though, especially when viewing DVD's but the effect is spoiled in that the Sony's blacks are not true. When viewing a DVD with dark backgrounds in letterbox it is hard to tell where the masking ends and the picture begins. The backlight also permeates the blacks and to top it off is extremely uneven around the entire perimeter of the screen. I tried compensating thru Sony's control settings but nothing seemed to offer much improvement. The effect is far less noticeable when viewing pictures and simple graphics.

Color accuracy and intensity are superb on both displays but the Samsung's is still superior.
Pictures as well as DVD's seem to take on added depth. Flesh tones were close to perfect. Adobe Photoshop Gamma loader's adjustments didn't even cause a perceptible difference between a picture edited with or without it. That is pretty amazing.
3D applications and games look incredible.

Image ghosting is imperceptible on either display.
The Sony touts a 12ms rate as opposed to Samsungs 20ms, but there is no visible difference watching DVD's or playing games like Far Cry and Doom 3.

The Sony has onboard adjustments while the Samsung's is all done via software.
Both produce the same results but personally I like having controls on the monitor itself.

The Samsung is QUALITY. Beautifully crafted, simple and elegant. Cable management is excellent in that the connections simply attaché at the back of the base and the unit looks really clean and nice on the desktop.
The Sony has more of the typical Sony "Moderne" look. Like a mini WEGA monitor. It's styling is a little more contrived but still pleasing. The base is a little under weighted though (our cat knocked it over just by brushing by it). A back plate covers the cables but they still show running down the back of the unit.

Sony's Extra Bright technology uses a special screen that is highly light reflective. When on, reflections aren't so bad unless there is a fairly bright source of light behind the user. Still, it bothered me more than I thought it would.

To sum up, both displays produce really nice pictures.
The Samsung though, produced superior text, colors, and nice true blacks. It is a little more expensive, running about $740 at best on the Internet but it is far worth it.
Those that are mostly into gaming might prefer the Sony for it's more CRT like characteristics, but it's rather poor text reproduction would make it fatiguing for most graphics and business applications. The Sony can be had for about $650.

I just got this monitor direct from Sony as nobody seems to carry it local. I was lucky enough to see one on display at CompUSA. Everyone else seems to have the old HS93 model. The HS94 is a HUGE leap forward. The response time on this LCD is 12ms. I can't find any other 19" LCD that comes close to this. The fastest monitor I've seen anywhere else is the Samsung 17" that does 12ms but Sony has both a 17" and 19" that manage to pull this off (12ms) and the execution is amazing. No ghosting at all on Unreal 2003/2004. No matter how fast the action gets it looks identical to a CRT as far as how solid and responsive the image is. The monitor has Xbrite technology which is basically Sony's way of making the monitor viewable and bright even in a sunlit room. It works as stated. The monitor is extremely bright and crisp. I actually turned down the brightness to the "medium" setting because it was just overpowering. Colors look as good as a CRT, just brighter and more vivid than the Trinitron I had prior. The native resolution of the monitor is 1280x1024. It does a decent job of scaling at lower resolutions but I'm picky and won't work in Windows outside the native. For games it seemed less noticeable but if you have a card that pushes 1280x1024 at a decent speed with all the eye candy on then I'd run everything as native. It's just an overall excellent product. I tried other 19" LCD's and I just couldn't deal with the ghosting wasn't about to spend $800 for a monitor that looks like you're on an LSD trip when you play games. This Sony has exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it. I'm sure as online reviews pop up, such as TomsHardware and CNET you'll see plenty of good things regarding the performance of this panel.

WOW. That is all i can say. I was in the hunt for a replacement monitor after my 17" CRT died one evening. I already am using a Viewsonic VP181b LCD monitor at my office and would have like to get one but could not find one locally where i live. I went to all the common outlets in town including CompUSA & CircuitCity. Nothing of quality or was too high priced. They had inferior brands and older inventory on sale and nothing i preferred which was the Samsung 190T, viewsonic VP181B or VP191B, or lastly a BenQ FP951. Nobody appears to stock them so i was ready to order through Zipzoomfly or Newegg.

I went back to CompUSA and noticed this monitor on display and the sales guy told me it is Sony's recent technology with theXBrite screen. It's kind of shiny and reflective but don't let that fool you unless you work out in a bright sunlight room. He said you will be surprised at how bright and extremely clear the screen is and he was RIGHT! This XBrite is used on Sony's newer laptops and that has gotten rave reivews on the clarity and colors. I totally agree now.
It has analog and DVI-D connections. Great cause i picked up a new video card thinking it was the cause of my problems and couldn't return it after opening the box. So with the DVI-D connections, i think i made a wise buy. This monitor does not have a thin bezel like the viewsonic. Can't rotate either. But i found that the slightly wider bezel is not a issue now since the clarity makes up tens of times for that feature. Then again, i have not really used the rotation feature on my work monitor. The built in power supply is also a plus since there is no clunky supply unit on the desktop. The unit comes with quality analog and DVI-D cables. The menu takes getting use to but nothing too difficult after a few tries.

(...)

My 5 Stars are the real deal.

Sony support is unresponsive, and it's been declared an unavoidable issue with manufacturing, apparently. "This is just the way the technology is.". Well, I have purchased dozens of LCDs from other vendors at my company. Only one had this problem, a Dell, and it was immediately replaced by the vendor. They sent me a new one and I sent the old one back in return packaging they provided. Sony will not do this. They will at most let you fill out an RMA, where you will pay for the shipping, and they "may or may not return it with the same issue.".

What? That's not acceptable.

I found the reviews so useful I'm compelled to write one too. I first purchased the HS94P. I noticed that brightness varied across the screen - lighter at the bottom, darker at the top. I found this distracting. The text resolution seemed OK, but there was something about the screen image that created eyestrain. Then I read some reviews I had missed. The reviews mirrored my experience. I returned the Sony and the support department confirmed the problems by observation. Additionally, the Sony has limited screen position adjustability compared to others. Also, the viewing angle is vary narrow. Moving your head very slightly to one side or the other causes a significant shift in brightness and color of the screen image. Rather than try another of the same model (this based on reading further reviews) I bought the Samsung 193P. I can now say I'm very satisfied - so far. Beware: there are a few variables that affect apparent performance of display models. It can be impossible to make fair comparisons and assessments of display models in the stores. Always check settings and talk to salespeople. For some reason, they often know about the problems even though nobody fixes them.

I'm an avid gamer. Gaming is my hobby and my passion. I saw this at Best Buy while in the process of purchasing a BFG Tech nvidia 6800 GT video card, which makes games fly at high resolutions. This monitor's sweet spot is 1280x1024. A marriage made in heaven. The 12ms response time for a LCD of this size is what I've been waiting for.

Text is crisp and clear. Colors are vibrant. Plenty of brightness with a friendly, adjustable user interface to adjust it to your liking. 19 wide inches of immersive clarity. I'm gushing, I know, but buying electronics is a big decision when a lot of money is involved, and I want to make it clear you will not regret the purchase.

The only caveat I have to give is what someone else posted. This monitor is great for movies and text and web browsing/business tasks, but if you want to play games on this baby you'll need a card that can handle high resolutions, because lower resolutions won't jive too well with this monitor's native preference. This is an enthusiast-level gamer's monitor.

Try to get it with the rebate while you still can. The offer ends in about a month.

If you meet these requirements and needs, pull the trigger now. You won't regret it.