Viewsonic VP191 (S = silver, B = black)
19inch, 1280 x 1024 resolution, 8ms P-MVA panel, 800:1 contrast ratio, 250cd/m2
brightness, 170 / 170 viewing angles. Pivot, rotate and height adjustable, DVI
and VGA (x2) connections
The Viewsonic VP191B has now been released with a brand new panel. Viewsonic
have a nasty habit of updating their monitors, but leaving the model numbers the
same. The old version was rated at 25ms, but it should be fairly obvious from
the spec which version you are looking at.
The new panel used is manufactured by AU Optronics, the M190EN03 V0, Premium-MVA panel has allowed Viewsonic to move away from the popular TN film market which is dominating modern 19” monitor releases. Thanks to the use of Overdrive technology, AU Optronics have managed to dramatically improve response time across all grey transitions, especially when you compare this panel to older VA technology panels. This is the first time that a non-TN Film panel can really offer a response rate which is suitable for the “gamers” market.
Along with
AUO’s Overdrive implementation, Viewsonic have added their own
ClearMotiv technology, including most notably the AIT (Amplified Impulse
Technology). This has again helped improve response times of the monitor, making
it truly the first VA panel to rival the TN market. This panel offers a
ground-breaking 8ms response time, (quoted as a grey to grey), a landmark in the
P-MVA market. Tom’s Hardware have done a great comparison of this against a 12ms
TN film panel to determine if the P-MVA panel is truly as fast as the marketing
says (see link below). Don’t always rely on manufacturers specs, especially with
the move to non-ISO standard response times, however response time does remain
consistently below 16ms across all transitions!
The P-MVA panel offers the other advantages of great colour reproduction and
colour depth (a true 16.7 million colours), excellent viewing angles and smooth
movie playback. The main area of improvement where these advantages are going to
be noticeable when compared to modern TN Film panels is with the viewing angles.
See the
panel comparisons section for more information. Now that pixel latency can
rival even the fastest TN panels, it looks like TN technology might be on it’s
way out, with a new breed of fast PVA panels being available now instead.
Official Viewsonic
Spec
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Reviews:
Tom's Hardware
Review (May 2005)
BeHardware
Review (April 2005)
BeHardware
Comparison (June 2005)
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Advanced
Comparison Tests:
Taken from Tom's Hardware Guide
Latency VG912 vs VP191B
Colour Reproduction VG912 vs VP191B
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User Comments:
TOM'S HARDWARE: "The panel of the VP191b did much better and its MVA technology probably has something to do with that, while 97% of the colors were perfect. The VG912s didn't do too badly either for a TN panel, but the Samsung 8 ms panels do much better and the choice of an AU Optronics for this 12 ms TN panel is not the most satisfactory. The black level (of the VP191B) was very good and monitors that can go down this far at the calibration point are rare. It's on a par with, for example, the 0.28 nits the MVA panel of the Q19 scored. The L90D+ seems to do a little better in terms of contrast, but it does so at the price of excessive brightness. Naturally, we can bring the brightness of the L90D+ to 220 nits, but then we lose color fidelity.
(In panel uniformity)...we didn't note any great difference between the two monitors. In both cases, the results were average and the values were all grouped within 15% of the total range. That's more than acceptable, but MVA/Overdrive hasn't made much of a difference here.
(Pixel latency) In short, this panel delivers EXACTLY what an LCD panel should: Latency below 16 ms over the entire use range. The 191b performed extremely well compared to the VG912. But since the VG912s is not the fastest 19" monitor we've seen, we compared it with the L90D+, which is closer to being at the front of the pack for LCD reactivity. The gap was closed, but we still found the VP191b more responsive overall. The L90D+ might possibly have a slight advantage in rapid transitions (black/white), but it's really a slim one. But the VP191b, the L90D+ and the VG912 all offer good, saturated colors in games, which in itself improves the playing experience.
(Movies)The VG912s is not really a good monitor for video - its viewing angles are a little narrow and we noticed a good deal of video noise on color masses. The VP191b does better. First, as we've mentioned, its viewing angles are wider. Then its black level is very deep, which is naturally an advantage when screening DVDs in 16:9 format. Less video noise was visible on color masses, but we did see artifacts in tracking shots against shaded backgrounds. So we're still short of perfection.
(Office work) Finding a comfortable working position was easy. A slight advantage goes to the 191b for its wider viewing angles, which let you work in portrait mode without having to adjust the panel's height and tilt too much. We found text to be a little less clear on the 191b with the VGA input, but that problem cleared up when we used the DVI input. (Viewing angles) It's no contest here - the 191b, based on VA technology, has generous, comfortable viewing angles. TN came up short in this department."
BEHARDWARE: “Like all other VA monitors, the VP191b produces a rather
deep black and accurate colors. Like all VA monitors, this monitor’s viewing
angles are very wide. For horizontal viewing angles, we feel that the image is
perfect up to 100° (50° from the centre of the image) and very good up to 160°.
Beyond this range, exterior lights reduce the visibility of the image displayed
by reflecting on the panel. Vertical viewing angles are comparable. The image
darkens over 100° but is still completely visible and of good quality until
160°.
(Interpolation) This one provides better results than average for games and
under Windows. But it is still a rough resizing without any particular effect on
the image. We can still clearly see scales on the outlines of the objects, and
as soon as we leave the native mode, there is a lack of sharpness and accuracy.
You can play with another mode than the 1280x1024 pixels but we don’t advise you
to do it.
Placed in clone mode with the Belinea 10 17 35, one of the most reactive
monitors on the market, we were really seeking out the tiniest detail to say
that the TN was the most reactive. This P-MVA is excellent. It is possible to
play any FPS, even the fastest ones. We have made so many tests with CRTS and
LCDS that we know this scene by heart and we jump all over the place to see if
there are any smudges or disturbing blur effect. And lo and behold: there is not
a single thing! It isn’t as reactive as a CRT monitor but you really need to
have a good eye and some training to realize it. For any other games: World of
Warcraft, Sims..., not only will you be impressed by the color quality but also
by its contrast (the opposition of colors with the depth of the black).”
MZ6 from [H]ARD
| FORUM:
“I can tell you that the black is a smidget deeper (on the Hyundai L90D+). This
is confirmed by the 0.34 black (Viewsonic) from THG vs the 0.39 black of the
L90D+. The contrast ratio on the Hyundai was a bit better because the panel was
brighter. The Hyundai is very bright. The uniformity on an all black screen the
Hyundai did do a bit better on. With the panel on the black code, with all the
room lights turned off, you can see four faint CCFLs in the four corners of the
screen aiming towards the center. The Hyundai in the same scenario has a bit
brighter horizontal light in the very top and an even brighter bottom bar by the
bezel. In this regard, I think the Hyundai was a bit better.
Response time was better on the Viewsonic (VP191B) no doubt. Every now and then,
you can tell some colors couldn't change as fast as others (like the extreme
black to white to black) because the images didn't "form" at the same time.
Rarely does this happen. On the Hyundai, while very good, had a more "even" blur
to it--all colors changed together relatively the same time. In all the LCD
monitors I have used and owned (Hyundai L90D+, Dell 2001FP, Dell 2005FPW, and
the Viewsonic VP191B), by far the most reactive is the 191B. It's better in all
regards as a gaming monitor. MVA panel gives it more colors, wider viewing
angles and now better reactivity.
The annoying thing about the 191B I found is that when using analog inputs, when the resolution changes, the OSD always flashes the input that it is taking in, even though nothing else is connected to the other DVI or second DB15 sub input. The stupid blue box keeps coming up. That and the ergonomics of Viewsonic, I am not too found of.
I have the Dell 2405FPW and Viewsonic VP191 and I can tell you the VP191 puts the 2405FPW to shame in games. The Viewsonic is much faster. In fact, in my opinion, the 2405FPW is about as slow or a bit slower than the Dell 2001FP and Dell 2005FPW I had. And in my experience of trying "gaming" LCD monitors (Hyundai L90D+, Dell 2001FP/2005FPW/2405FPW, Viewsonic VP191), the 2405FPW exhibits probably the most blurring of the ones I tried."
DieHard83x from [H]ardforum: "Close to CRT response rate. My testing program is Quake 3 Arena, Q3DM17, that has two grey platform sitting in a totally-black space. Carefully watching the response rate against black and grey, it is very fluid and reactive. I did a test, the same one with L90D+, it involves strafing right and left, facing a texture with lines and circles outlined in black, surrounded with grey. The VP191B passed. The colours and viewing angles are amazing.... it is consistent until you reach about 170 degrees: up and down, right and left. The contrast is very good compare to my CRT in DualView. Reading on LCD is way better than CRT, like programming on the LCD is awesome! VP191b has one drawback, the black is not truly black, but it is close. I guess it is common among all LCD's because the use of CCFL Backlight. A good test is getting the plain colour black in full screen. The black with all other colours is very good. Only when majority of the screen is filled plain black, like 3 quarters of it, you will notice it."