The ViewSonic VP930 is a high-quality and versatile 19in LCD. The stand is incredibly adjustable, raising the screen by up to 135mm, swivelling widely from side to side and even pivoting to portrait mode. With wide feet, it’s sturdy and easy to manoeuvre into any position, the cable loops on the rear keep things tidy and the 16mm side bezel makes tiling two VP930s more appealing.
The VP930 offers three video inputs — one DVI and two D-SUBs — and both DVI and VGA cables are included in the box. Once connected, we examined the comprehensive OSD before settling on the sRGB mode, which gave by far the most realistic and appealing colours.
In terms of quality, the VP930 sits firmly in the middle of the pack, with perfectly good scores in both real-world and technical tests. With a maximum brightness of 300cd/m2 and a high contrast ratio of 1300:1, it’s no surprise the black level is superb, almost indistinguishable from when switched off. The backlight is even and colour tracking is flawless.
We saw minor banding in our colour ramps and our video clips showed a small amount of grain, which makes the whole scene appear a little soft. We also saw minor motion blur, due to the 8ms response time, but it’s barely noticeable when you’re caught up in the atmosphere of a game.
Overall, the VP930 is a perfectly capable and hugely flexible LCD. The problem is the $700 price: the fantastic Philips costs over $200 less and has a USB hub and SmartManage, while the VP930’s only trump card is its super-thin bezel.
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