Mirai DML-519W100

We expected to see a few sub-£100 17in monitors this month, but seeing a 19in Mirai TFT at this price really did take us by surprise. A 1,440 x 900 widescreen TFT for just £94 is fantastic in itself, but when that TFT comes with both DVI and VGA inputs, plus a set of integrated speakers, it's simply incredible value for money.

But how well does it perform? First impressions weren't good, as we had to physically turn the screen around to see which buttons to press, as they're mounted on the rear. The lack of any labelling on the front is ludicrous.

Once we'd lowered the contrast slightly, the image was more than acceptable. We couldn't eliminate a very slight green tinge, but it didn't affect our experience in the real-world video tests. However, some skin tones were a little off, and we did notice slight banding in the lower end of our greyscale gradient test. The 500:1 contrast ratio also means black levels aren't as deep as we'd hoped, but it's a fairly bright monitor in well-lit scenes, and the backlight in our test monitor was mostly even.

At this price, though, we weren't expecting perfection, and in everyday tasks such as web surfing and office work the Mirai shows no major weaknesses - it's perfectly sharp and comfortable to work with for extended periods of time. It can't match the BenQ or NEC for outright quality, and the fixed-height stand only tilts, but for £94 it's ideal if you're an undemanding user looking for a bargain buy.

Author: David Bayon