ViewSonic Pro Series 20" Flat-Panel LCD Monitor (Black)

Other products by ViewSonic

Product Details

Product Manual [1.22mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 17.6 x 13.6 inches ; 18.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 0.3 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009XFUW
• Item model number: VP201B
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,635 in Computers & PC Hardware (See Bestsellers in Computers & PC Hardware)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 3, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
With a huge screen in a relatively small package, the 20-inch ViewSonic VP201B is only 2.8 inches thick and weighs less than 19 pounds. The TFT active-matrix LCD includes 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, 400:1 contrast ratio, 250 nits of brightness, and 16 ms video response, which all work together to provide exceptional clarity and outstanding text legibility.

ThinEdge design allows multi-display presentations.

The ViewSonic VP201B possesses an extremely well thought-out ergonomic design. With an ultra-thin 0.67-inch bezel, you see more of your screen and less of the casing, which is important if you're considering tiling or stacking multiple panels, or even for single-panel wall mounting. Digital and analog inputs further increase versatility and allow you to switch among graphics cards with ease, while the integrated 2.0 USB hub offers convenient ports for your peripherals.

The thin profile saves space.

The adjustable-height swiveling stand can be removed if you'd rather make use of an optional 100 mm wall mount. You can position the screen horizontally or vertically (landscape or portrait orientation) using the pivot feature, and thanks to wide 176-degree viewing angles, you can place the monitor almost anywhere on your desk or on the wall and still get a clear picture. Plus, the anti-glare coating deflects harsh room light. ViewSonic provides a three-year warranty covering parts, labor, and backlight.

What's in the Box
Display, stand, power cord, signal cable, driver/pivot CD-ROM installation guide, warranty information

Note: Multi-panel displays require either a single video card with multiple video outputs or multiple video cards, along with appropriate multi-panel mounts and stands. For more information, see http://www.viewsonic.com/multipanelsetup/

Product Description
Turn your ideas into breathtaking reality with the 20" VP201b large-screen ThinEdge ultra-slim bezel LCD display. With astounding 176 ultra-wide viewing angles, UXGA 1.92 megapixel resolution, ClearMotiv broadcast-quality video technology and native HDTV high-scan 720p compatibility, the VP201b boosts professional productivity and heightens user enjoyment for video editors, financial traders, CAD/CAM engineers and power gamers. Ideal for multiple-panel configurations with height/pivot adjustments, digital/analog inputs and USB 2.0 high-speed connectivity, the VP201b is the infinitely versatile professional desktop display of choice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome product!, October 2, 2004

By	Ken W. Bendetti "cygnusx1" (PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having used nothing but CRT's in the past (my previous monitor being a sweet NEC 22") I was a little nervous about taking the LCD plunge at this point. Mostly because I do a lot of gaming (Trying to finish up Doom 3 presently) I was always afraid of the "ghosting" effect not seen with CRT's. Earlier and some of the newer (cheaper) LCD's just didn't refresh the screen fast enough for fast paced gaming so I always shied away from them.

But after seeing some other users opinions of this product on gaming boards and, having a friend who was interested in purchasing by NEC, I bit the bullet and ordered this Viewsonic. The main selling point being its 16ms response time (should have minimal to no ghosting hopefully) and a 1600x1200 native resolution. Waiting for the unit to be delivered I was a little nervous that I might have made the wrong decision and would have to go back to a CRT....

Well upon setting things up and firing up XP on this screen for the first time ... I was BLOWN AWAY. Screen shots don't do it justice. Everything is bright and text is razor sharp right out to the corners. Kudo's to Viewsonics quality control. NO dead or stuck pixels that I can see. Unfortunately another reviewer I saw on here had them, maybe just bad luck or Viewsonic improved quality since this products rollout. Colors looked awesome. And NO ghosting playing Doom 3 that I have seen so far, or maybe I just don't notice it. Anyway at this point, using this monitor for a few days now, I am MORE than happy with my purchase.

However I must point out that it does have a different "look" coming from a CRT. It will make bad images stand out more. The screen has a bit of the "looking thru a screendoor" effect I have seen posted in other reviews. Maybe some people can't get used to this over a CRT or it is more pronounced on a bigger screen such as this but I've had absolutely no problem with it bothering me thus far. I was ALWAYS bothered by a CRT's lack of focusing towards the corners, and the lack of brightness being even across the screen, even on my NEC somewhat. Nothing of that I see now.

It is always best to try and see a monitor on display in a store being that it is a subjective purchase (although I didn't find any close by selling this model). Anyway if you can't, are finally in the market for an LCD, are willing to order blind online like me, and can shell out a little extra $$$$ for a quality product, I HIGHLY recommend the VP201B or S (the silver color model).

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Flat-Panel for Screen-Real-Estate-Hungry Users, April 28, 2005

By	Randall R. Schulz (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're willing to put in some time and effort adjusting a plethora of settings, this is a wonderful piece of hardware. It does both the big and important things and the little details well:

- Image quality: Outstanding
- Mechanical design: Outstanding

Installation of the hardware was easy: Just connect the power cord (no power "brick" required) and the video cable supported by your video card (old-style VGA or LCD-specific DVI--both are included with the display). Turn the power on. Be sure to turn on the "hard" power switch adjacent to the power cord connection on the back panel as well as the front-panel power button (the right-most of the five front-panel buttons).

Upon initial connection, I was prepared to be greeted with blank or otherwise non-functioning display requiring troubleshooting to rectify, but the VP201b adapted instantly to the 1280x1024 / 60Hz setting that was in force on my video card. I saw a perfectly legible, if non-ideal display (see below for the details of perfecting the display). There were no "dead" pixels in evidence, the monitor displayed a momentary note of the fact that I was not using it in its optimal mode and indicated which input is active (VGA, in my case) and the precise resolution and timing settings in effect.

New owners might experience an initial period of buyers remorse, especially if they're switching from a lower-resolution setup. When first powered on in such a situation, the display will adapt to such settings, but this produces distinctly sub-optimal results.

The first thing the new owner must do is set their video card parameters to the display's native resolution of 1600x1200.

Following this comes the possibly more arduous task of finding appropriate font settings both system-wide and application-specific. It's likely that font selection and sizes and other text-related settings that worked well for a CRT will produce poor results with the VP201b. Do not despair! Good font display quality is eminently possible, it just takes some experimentation.

Be sure to enable any available LCD-specific font display technology. There are at least two places for many users to do this:

- ClearType (Windows). Search the Windows on-line help for this phrase and you'll find straightforward and easy-to-follow instructions for enabling and fine-tuning this feature.

- CoolType (Adobe products). Adobe software performs its font rendering internally, and thus does not automatically benefit from ClearType being enabled in the operating system. For the current (version 7.0) Adobe Reader, use the Preferences command in the Edit menu, select the "Page Display" settings and check the "Use CoolType" box.

- Users of some Linux systems may have the counterpart to ClearType, too (Adobe Reader 7.0 for Linux includes CoolType, too), under the generic and descriptive, if cryptic, title of "sub-pixel hinting." In SuSE Linux, the KDE Control Center's Font configuration panel (under Appearance and Themes) includes an anti-aliasing enable check-box and a "Configure..." button that brings up the dialog in which you can enable the sub-pixel hinting function. Choose the "RGB" option and "Full" hinting.


Exploring the display's own configurations through its on-screen display is also recommended. At a minimum, users should be familiar with adjusting the brightness and contrast controls, since the VP201b can produce such a bright display that it can be uncomfortable to use in low-light settings.

The "Fine tuning" setting also has a dramatic effect on display quality. Using the on-screen display, enter the "Manual Image Adjust" section and select "Fine Tune." In the default configuration, the setting "thermometer" will be at the left-most position. Place one figer on the up-arrow button and another on the down-arrow button and with fine detail displayed (text works well), watch the screen closely as you hold down the up and down buttons. I won't try to describe the visual effect, but it is plainly visible. Choose a setting that you find optimal.

Users with demanding imaging needs will probably want to know that the displays color temperature can be adjusted, either by selecting one of the built-in values (9300, 6500, 5400, 6000 and sRGB) or in a free-form mode where each of the red, green and blue relative kevels can be adjusted.


Summary
This spacious and elegantly designed flat-panel display produces outstanding results, provided you're willing to exercise control over the various options and parameters that bear on display quality. The investment in time spent doing this fine-tuning is well worth it to get the most from the display.

As a software engineer, I hold to the ideal that the kind of painstaking exploration of options I went through to get the most from this hardware should not be necessary, so while intrinsically I'd give the product five stars, I'm only awarding four, in the hopes that all the relevant parties will take the next step and obviate all the manual adjustments, at least for most users.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A differing view, December 30, 2003

By	William Lander (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I received this monitor as a Christmas present from my brother. My experience was exactly the opposite from the earlier review. The display was brilliant, with a great wide angle view. All of the pixels on the screen were active. In viewing action movies, there was no problem - the screen kept up with the pace of the video with no blurring, and no signs of any artifacts. The pivoting monitor works well, especially with complex drawings. The monitor is much nicer than the Dell LCD's I work with at the office. Everyone who has seen it is very impressed.

I would strongly recommend that people consider this, if they can afford the price.