ViewSonic VX1962wm - 19in Premium LCD

Product: ViewSonic VX1962wm 19" LCD
Provided By: ViewSonic
Related Product:

Introduction:

When I first heard about the ViewSonic VX1962wm LCD I was pretty interested as most 19" widescreen LCD monitors have a nasty resolution of 1440x900.  At this resolution a 19" widescreen LCD has shorter vertical resolution than a 17" LCD and if you're concerned about desktop real-estate then you'll appreciate my sentiments.  There are several things that set the VX1962wm apart from other LCDs in its size range.  First, the resolution of 1680x1050 is not very common in 19" widescreen units and I'm pretty happy about that, but there are also extras like the premium panel, integrated speakers and 6000:1 contrast ratio as well as the 2ms response time.  This unit comes spec'd pretty high and we're going to see if it holds up or falls flat on its Opti Sync enabled back.

Well Used Box

The box has been around the block a few times by the look of it and hopefully the LCD is not as rough looking as the package.

First Look:

Upon unpacking the box I found that ViewSonic has included a DVI cable as well as a standard VGA cable.  Also in the box is a quick install guide, a software CD, an audio cable and of course the power cable and actual LCD itself.  The LCD is covered almost entirely in a glossy finish and while that looks great if you're the first user, this unit has been reviewed a few times before and handled more than football at the Super Bowl.  The surface was covered with finger prints, small scratches and swirl marks that simply could not be cleaned.

ViewSonic Front

Goodies

ViewSonic Rear

The front holds four buttons used for switch video source and accessing and selecting menu options.  Because of the shiny, yet scratched nature of the finish it wasn't very photogenic and we've excluded a close-up.  The buttons are conveniently located, but are hard to see and must be felt to be used effectively.  The rear of this unit holds a small cable clip that helps manage the power, video and sound cables and keeps then all tight and tidy.  On the back you can also see the covered holes that are located for mounting this unit to a bracket.

Fujitsu was on hand when I unboxed the VX1962wm LCD and we each had different feelings about the design of the product.  I thought it was quite attractive overall, but he was less than impressed.  I admit that the stand looks a little flimsy and the football shape of the base doesn't exactly fit with the rest of the image, but I thought the black and silver finish of the unit was quite classy.  A view front the side shows how streamlined this unit is and even the hinge for the base doesn't stick out awkwardly from the back.  It's slick and ready for some business.

I can't over rule personal preference, and if you don't have good taste you may not like the design and appearance of this LCD, but I'm a fan of the styling and when it's sitting on a desk it looks quite attractive and very professional.  That being said it also looks ridiculously small when placed next to a 24" or 30" LCD.

The VX1962wm supports both DVI and D-Sub connections and if you've got a couple of computers and only one monitor, you can use this LCD as sort of an "V" (think KVM without the keyboard or the mouse) by switching between the two inputs.

Connectors

On the next page we'll look at the specs and features of this unit before we jump into testing.