Customer Reviews

ViewSonic Pro Series 20" LCD Monitor (Silver)

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

 

 

Fortunately my CTX monitor of 9 years bit the dust a week ago Wednesday. I then scanned for LCD Monitor reviews for a monitor that would excel in both my home, software development, and gaming needs. The results had me looking for an LCD with 25ms or better refresh time w/UXGA (1600x1200) support. Positive customer reviews had me looking at ViewSonic, Planar, NEC, and Samsung. Looking for a good 17 inch I went to our local Fryes and found several good deals. The VP201(B/S) actually stood out so I purchased it with a 30 day money back guarantee. I have actually been quite impressed with it to date.

====
Pros
====

*. Almost instant assembly. Did take a minute to sort out the provided wires.
*. The 20in size in UXGA is fantastic Can watch a movie in reasonable size and still have reasonable space left order for other things.
*. Pivot software is provided for when the monitor is rotated. However, software pivot screen first, then physically rotate it. Moving the mouse on a rotated screen takes some getting used to.
*. The USB Hub is great. Helps keep the clutter on my desk minimized.
*. Using the native resolution 1600x1200 (from 800x600) takes some getting used to. After a couple of days I actually like it considerably.
*. The provided base seems very stable. I wish there was a means to actually LOCK-IN the height so rotating the screen could not change it.
*. Customer service was helpful and friendly even for the stupid question I called on. The screen was fuzzy to me and between my stigmatism and resolution size being new I needed to make sure it was not the monitor. Actually looks great now.
*. All pixels were working and accounted for.
*. Gaming experience is awesome. Unreal, Quake, Half-Life, and others on my desktop game out sharp and clear with no lag issues.
*. The front controls are very easy to use.

====
Cons
====

*. Need to look into why my Nero movie software won't play a video when the screen is pivotted. Screen goes black. Wanted movie on top and browser on bottom.
*. Cables were not long enough to go behind the desk to my pc. Had to move the pc closer to the back of the desk.
*. All the wires attach to the monitor which also move every time the monitor is rotated. With the cable length issue this can result to tugging on the connectors when the screen is rotated.
*. The wire guide down the back of the monitor is not very durable. Some wires keep popping out during screen rotations. Need to also tie them I guess.
*. Two on/off. A switch and a button. At first I thought the monitor was broken since it would not turn on when I pressed the on button. This is really a "PRO" but it wasn't in the manual.
*. Documentation is SPARSE. They want you to use the installed pdf file. I personally prefer a hardcopy user manual.

All in all I am very satisfied and would recommend this product to anyone. The price is steep but the extra size is definitely worth it.

I bought the ViewSonic VP201S as a replacement for my failed NEC XP21 CRT monitor. Since I was replacing a 21" CRT that I ran at 1260x1024, I was used to (ie insisted upon) a fairly large screen with high resolution. I'm not into gaming but do watch videos and, therefore, was very concerned about pixel refresh rates and resulting smeared video images. For that reason, I selected this monitor with a 16 msec pixel refresh rate but with slightly higher cost and reduced contrast ("only" 400:1 as opposed to 600:1). I read the previous reviewer's comments and the comments from reviewers of the ViewSonic VP201b (black bezel) before I ordered. My comments follow:

1. No stuck or otherwise abnormal pixels
2. The 400:1 "reduced" contrast is superb and is MUCH better than my CRT monitors. (I briefly ran a 14" NEC CRT monitor next to the ViewSonic and must say that the difference is DRAMATIC).
3. I run the monitor with the DVI interface but it looks just fine connected to analog VGA.
4. Videos look fantastic on the monitor. I can detect no smearing
5. The 68" digital video cable is too short for my fairly standard setup (monitor on a desk and computer on the floor) I ran out to CompUSA to pick up a 10' cable and was stung for $80.00! The cables are much cheaper from Amazon (I should have ordered one when I ordered the monitor)
6. There is no video noise at the top of the screen as was reported by a reviewer of the VP201b.

In summary, I am extremely happy with this monitor and recommend it most enthusiastically! (just think about the video cable when you order yours)

I own two of these monitors. When I purchased them, they seemed wonderful. I agree with other reviewers on the charms of this model. However, if my experience is a guide, there are serious quality control issues at the factory. My vp201s units both died within a month of each other, after 7 months and 8 months of use, respectively. I'm sending the second casualty in for warranted repairs now, even before getting the first unit back.

[...]

I have been using this monitor for a week now and have nothing but good things to say about it. The picture is sharp and clear and there is no visible shake or lost pixels.

I migrated from an 18" IBM flat panel monitor that was 5 years old which I enjoyed it but the widescreen ViewSonic is just amazing and a generation or two beyond the IBM.

I considered the Samsung 21" monitor but it was over $600 more for the extra inch which is just unacceptable in a competitive market but maybe there is a production cost premium for monitors over 20".

As this is my principal monitor I am very aware of any strain and to date the only adjustment I have had to make is to tone down the brightness. Simply an excellent product and it makes me look forward to coming into work.

I would highly recommend it.

pros:

- the stand is the best part. It can swivel side to side easily and the monitor can rotate into portrait mode. Very few other monitors can do this.
- excellent image
- very thin bezel

cons:
- the first one I got went black 5 months after I bought it.
- two faint splotches, about the size of the hole from a hole punch, in the top left and bottom right corner of the screen. It looks like artifacts from the construction, not dead pixels

I've just read all the reviews and want to confirm what a couple of others have mentioned. This is a great LCD screen. The catches are that you have to tolerate a dead pixel or two and handle do a manufacturer replacement every 6 months when it dies.

I've had 2 VP201S die on me now and I don't think I'll be buying Viewsonic again anytime soon. The first 2 LCDs each when out after about 6-7 months of usage. The screen began jumping, at first just for an instant, but within 2 weeks of the first jump the jumping became incessant, even with no input plugged into the monitor and just looking at the display where it says its scanning for inputs.

When replacing my first VP201s, Viewsonic's customer service demanded to receive my dead monitor before shipping me a new one (they even made it sound like they would repair and then ship it back, which might take up to an extra month!). After a bit of arguing, it only took about 2-3 weeks to get a replacement each time. They never offered to put a hold on my credit card or anything like that in order to get me a new one faster.

I'm about to find out if I still have any warranty for this second LCD and repeat the whole thing, although now I know to ask for the credit card hold...


** Update: I've had another one of these die on me. I finally figured out a DIY fix for the sync issues they have - simply lift the monitor to its maximum height on its base, then lower it all the way, quickly. When it hits the bottom, the jarring seems to be just right for fixing it for a couple more weeks. I've managed to keep my current Viewsonic working for an extra six months by simply abusing it this way.

I am a developer and spend 50+ hours a week in front of my computer, so a good monitor is required. I moved across country and decided not to haul my old 21" crt with me, and just buy a new monitor once I arrived. I spent several days online and in the store comparing specs, prices, and doing store comparisons. I was hesitant to spend so much on a monitor at first, but after so much comparison I decided it was worth it, and I'm glad I did. I run SuSE Linux, so that can sometimes cause problems with gear since most of the world still pretends no one uses linux on the desktop, but I had no problems running this display in its native resolution. I have had it for over a year and still have no real complaints. Sometimes if the machine comes out of suspend the image can be a little fuzzy, which requires running the auto-image adjust to bring it back inline. (this is easy, two button presses on the front of the monitor.)

Not sure about the other reports of hardware failure, maybe they were earlier models? I have had no problems and the unit seems very well engineered to me.

I purchased my Viewsonic a month ago, and last week I noticed a white pixel in the lower left hand corner of the screen. I wasn't looking for it, but noticed it while playing Diablo II. I had purchased a replacement plan, so the next day, I took it to the retailer and had them replace it. The replacement had a purple pixel in the lower right corner of the screen. I took that one back the same day, and during the day, went through 5 Viewsonics, all of which had a dead pixel somewhere in the display.

The technician I spoke with said that he normally recommends Viewsonic, and couldn't explain why all the monitors were defective.

I eventually started shopping around, and looked at a recommended Samsung, but it had a dead pixel as well. Finally I looked at an Apple Cinema Display, and I couldn't find a single dead pixel on the screen under any color combination.

I also couldn't get the USB 2.0 hub portion of this monitor to work. Further, the rotating screen feature is nice, but is NOT supported by any video card Apple ships with their computers. To get this feature to work, you will need to buy a separate ATI video card that has "VersaVision."

The footprint is also a little on the large size for an LCD.

So if you don't mind playing the "Dead Pixel Lottery," this is a fantastic monitor at a great price. This monitor would be perfect for Windows PC gaming.

My VP201s had flickering pixels and instability only with DVI. The vendor would not allow a return but sent me to Viewsonic -- this was my second day of ownership. Viewsonic help insisted the problem was my computer/graphics card. After testing with different graphics cards, cables, and computers, Viewsonic finally sent one of their replacement "retreads" i.e., scuffed and beat up. I had to pay to ship the first one back. The retread would not power down and it was replaced by yet again another defective retread. Finally the third one they sent -- they took a full 4 weeks to send it -- was "new" but its manufacturing date was already one year old (probably "remanufactured new" in accordance to their policy). During my first nine months of ownership two months of time was consumed shipping these defective products back to the US distributor. I had to buy another monitor. So I've paid for a 36 month warranty but only receive 34 months. The only way to speed up this shipping process is to allow them to put a hold on your credit card (and possibly charge your account without notifying you) the full retail value of a new VP201s. (YOU PAY for their mistake!) If you buy any of their products I recommend that you buy from a dealer that will allow you to immediately return a defective product for refund or replacement. Otherwise, do business with a company that puts the customer first.

this is my second Viewsonic monitor (but my first LCD) and i have also had Sony and others. I am sold on Viewsonic. Wonderful, clear sharp resolution. I bought this model 5 months ago, and there were no dead pixels, which i was concerned about. But the unit is perfect and im very happy with it. It does have a slightly larger footprint, but only by a few inches. And for a 20 incher, i think it may be appropriate for balancing. I strongly recommend it. wonderful monitor.