Best 19" monitor

[ltk007]

What is the best flat screen 19" monitor? Money is no object.

edit: But what is the price

 

[Zucchini]

I would think the f400,i think thats the model above the sony g400. Higher refresh rates, and it should be around $800.

 

[bluezebra1098]

All you're gonna hear is Sony...so before you get "Sonyfied" I'm using the KDS Av-195TF 19inch flat trinitron. I could have gotten a Sony (money is no object) but I'm not good enough to see the difference between the two so I saved a couple of hundred dollars or so.. no problem! Visit: http://www.kdsusa.com for more info.

 

[Zucchini]

I don't know much about kds, but i know its lower end. I doubt it will be able to match the f400's high refresh rates at 1600x1200. I use my g400 at 1600x1200@85hz. I couldn't afford the f400

 

[Lore]

KDS's AV-195TF is definitely not "lower-end". It's the same tube as the G series. Even the tube's behavior is the same. I noticed that with Viewsonic and Mitsubishi AG monitors when you tap the sides, you can see the wires much more clearly than with the Sony trinitron tubes. Sometimes you can see vertical lines caused by the wires getting too close to the screen and causing a shadow. The Sony's don't really do that. (BTW, I'm not talking about the horizontal damper wires here)

Well, the KDS is identical to the Sony in that sense, tapping the sides don't reveal any wires at all.

You might as well get the KDS AV-21TF for the same price as the Sony F400, and you'd end up saving $$ at the same time. Or, get two AV-195TF monitors (19&quot for the same price as one F400.

The benefit of the F400 is the .22 Aperture Grille Pitch, but you're really splitting hairs there. Ask yourself if it's worth a grand for a 19" monitor...

There will always be the Sony advocates here, but after trying three Sony G500s and then jumping ship to the KDS, I am not disappointed at all.

Don't be fooled by the price; the KDS monitors are very well made and well supported. If you get a F400 and it breaks down or causes problems, GOOD LUCK getting a quality repair on it.

 

[Awesome]

sony definately. i just bought a view sonic flat screen 19" and it was sh!tless. i returned it and put in another twenty bucks and picked up the e400 sony 19" flat screen. its a beauty!

 

[LXi]

I think Sony discontinued F400 in favor of G400. The F400 is no longer found on their web site. In my opinion the best 19" monitors are Sony G400 and Mitsubishi DiamondPro 900u.

 

[Henry Kuo]

Sony G400, refresh rate not as high as F400, but with a much cheaper price at about 600.

 

[sov05]

I think people are confused about KDS

There are 2 CRT Lines.

1)
Visual Sensations - not flat, medium quality but good for the price,

2)
Avitron - PERFECTLY FLAT, FD-Trinitron, High Refresh, Good Quality

I agree the VS is low-end but the Avitron is not at all low end. It is a Sony FD-Trinitron tube, 85HZ refresh at 1600x1200, .24 DPI.

A KDS Avitron is basicly 95% of a Sony

Basicly you are spending $200 to $300 more for the the Sony namesake and for about 5% increase in quality.

If that is worth it, get the sony.
If not KDS Avitron(not VS) is a GREAT choice.

Just wanted to clear the confusion surrounding KDS

 

[LXi]

KDS is cheap for a reason, Im not sure what but most likely they're FD Trinitron rejects. The ones that are poorly made and doesnt meet Sony's requirement goes to KDS, at the beginning you wont see much of a difference but KDS's life maybe a lot shorter, after a period of use the image quality loses and eventually dies. This is just a speculation, but there's gotta be a reason why KDS is so cheap, why are they still in business if they're selling something that's suppose to be 20-30% more expensive?

 

[T2T III]

Just because a Sony is more expensive does not mean it's better. Sony is a very large company - what better way to cover their expenses than to charge premium prices for their products? Other companies charging less for their products, does not necessarily make the product less superior. It could be that the company is more efficient and can be more profitable ... even though their product sells for a lesser price.

Product price DOES NOT always equal product quality.

 

[LXi]

Well that is true. But how can you explain the lower prices? Is it just so generous of KDS selling the same FD Trinitron monitors that Sony is sell for 30%+ less? How is KDS capable of doing that and Sony is not? Granted Sony is a big name and they do charge more, but I just cannot believe the difference can be this huge(G400 cost $1100 and KDS counterpart cost less than $700?). That is a $400 difference? Do you seriously expect them to the the same thing? Same quality, same lifetime, same everything? I don't. It's like, Celeron2s being P3 rejects because Intel can just disable 128k of the cache that didnt meet their requirement.

 

[Dexion]

Believe it or not, thats brand pricing. Its called, charge more so that the consumers think they are buying a much better monitor. Its universal in all markets, IBM does the same thing charging $1,000,000 minimum for a E-Commerce website when Dell charges 1/4 of that, or Bentley charging $500,000 to your bill for their luxury car when a Mercedes S-Class is 1/5 the cost. The difference is that it makes you think your buying the best of its class. Of course you'll probably get the nice silver buttons on the monitor, but everything else is basically the same as the KDS counter part. Triniton Avitron technology has been around for awhile since the Sony's TVs, their 5 year patent has long expired. Don't be fooled by the brand name, get familiar with the technology.

It is NOT like a Celeron or P3 at all. The difference is that is a different BRAND. Compare a P3-700 with an Athlon 700 or a Celeron 2 vs a Duron. Price/performance difference ratio is almost the same.

 

[sov05]

<<
It's like, Celeron2s being P3 rejects because Intel can just disable 128k of the cache that didnt meet their requirement.

>>

false

the Celeron 2 core is not a PIII core with 128kb cache deactivated

 

[sov05]

<<
KDS is cheap for a reason, Im not sure what but most likely they're FD Trinitron rejects. The ones that are poorly made and doesnt meet Sony's requirement goes to KDS, at the beginning you wont see much of a difference but KDS's life maybe a lot shorter, after a period of use the image quality loses and eventually dies. This is just a speculation, but there's gotta be a reason why KDS is so cheap, why are they still in business if they're selling something that's suppose to be 20-30% more expensive? >>


You have some evidence? Please don't say things when you have no idea what your talking about is even remotely true

 

[Raincity]

Kds does use Trinitron reject tubes and rate of return for defective units are really high. I think Sony's are priced a little on the high side for quality but from what everybody told me in the Crt repair business, Kds units are poorly made with tubes going bad within the warranty period.

Rain

 

[Dexion]

Rain: I don't know where your getting your info from but Sony and KDS do not share CRT tubes at all. They produce their own. About them failing, I have yet to see significant proof. In fact, I will go purchase a KDS monitor to disprove of your claims.

 

[Raincity]

1 I was told this by three seperate repair people, two of them own repair facilties that are authorized service repair for both brands.
2 They are the same tubes manufactured by a parent Company of Sony In South Korea and are pretested. Sony holds the patents for both Appature grill and the Trinitron technology and License out the appature technology patents for others to be manufactured.
3 The hight rate of return was stated by all three service repair people who work on these units.
4 I really dont care if you by a Kds unit or not and buying one and having it run fine doesnt disprove the Hight return rate.
5 I have recomended kds many times not for there quality but for if the tube goes within the three years in covered under a warranty issue any way and after three you probaaly would want to the dump the current monitor anyway since prices are falling everyday and would most likely get a 21&quot; or 23&quot; as prices fall in line.

Rain

 

[LXi]

Dexion: I was just using Celeron2 as an example. That they could be P3 rejects with 128k disabled. Just as if the KDS tubes are Sony rejects and sold to KDS for a cheaper price. And no, the KDS Trinitron series do use tubes produced by Sony, KDS is not able to produce Trinitron tubes themselves.

sov05: I have no evidence on what I said. But if you read my statements carefully again, you'll find this statement:

&quot;This is just a speculation&quot;

And, why do you think this is not true? Do you work for KDS? How do you even come to conclusion that the KDS tubes are NOT Sony rejects??

 

[Raincity]

Taken from Kds own support page Attention Valued KDS Customers!:
RE: I see two very fine horizontal lines across my display.

The horizontal lines that you describe are not a defect; they are simply a characteristic feature of this type of picture tube, or 'CRT'.

All models under the Avitron brand are based on Trinitron CRTs manufactured by Sony. This type of CRT uses aperture grille technology, rather than the standard shadow-mask technology, to distribute and focus electron beams to the screen

http://www.kdsusa.com/Alert.htm



<< All models under the Avitron brand are based on Trinitron CRTs manufactured by Sony >>



Rain

 

[Olorin]

Both the KDS Avitron and CTX PR line use Sony FD Trinitron tubes. But the tube isn't the only part of a monitor, I think the electronics that drive the tube are separate so monitors using the same tube might have different display qualities.

As far as the the price difference between the KDS and the Sony the KDS has one rather than two inputs, but has the same resolution/refresh rates. I feel Sony products are often a little better but a lot overpriced. I just got a Sony G400 late last week and am not impressed with the flimsy plastic housing or the build quality; the screen is also out of focus and there is no focus control. It was also damaged in shipping, partly because Sony packages the monitors half as well as Samsung - even UPS would have had difficulty damaging the 900NF I recieved.

Don't get me wrong; a Sony G400 without the focus problem would be a impressive monitor. I'll see how the next one fares

 

[Raincity]

Orlin The convergence setting is the focus control. I have to agree that Sony's are overpriced and they do a piss poor packing job. I had to send back the first three after recieving them damaged from shipping via UPS. The fourth came perect via Fedexe 2day air. Onvia paid the shipping bill for fedexe after having to rma the first three. You may want to disuss this option with your vendor if the shipping problem persist on the replacements.

Rain

 

[mschell]

The tube is not the only important part of the monitor. The electronics that control the tubes output can degrade the image of even the best tube, with that said, Sony electronics are some of the best and it doesn't hurt that they get the pick of the very best tubes(like CPU's, every one is slightly different).
It used to be that aperture grill tube monitors displayed better images than Shadow mask tubes but the later have come a long way and many now rival or better even the best Trinitron?s output. I've recently acquired a Samsung Sync Master 900IFT and it in my opinion displays a better image than a friends Sony F400. When I say better, I mean sharper text and a somewhat brighter image. The Sony does a little better in some of the Display Mate test but for $200 less I'm not complaining. Everyone has differing needs in a display, sharp text reproduction was one of mine and the Samsung delivers that to a T. - M.

 

[LXi]

Granted the Samsung DynaFlat(IFT) is one of the best, if not the best shadow mask monitors I've seen. But this depend totally on your personal preference when it comes to aperture grille vs shadow mask. No bias intended, I like Samsungs a lot, they're great and they're very reasonably priced.

 

[marcomarco]

What about the CTX line? Any opinions? I was going to pick up a 17&quot; CTX. And aren't Dell monitors also Sonys?