ADI MicroScan i610

This month's TFT Labs (see p127) concentrates on the more luxurious end of the market, featuring 17in or larger screens with a generally high specification. However, almost all of these TFTs cost in excess of £1,000, restricting them to the more affluent members of the PC community. But, for value-conscious users, 15in TFTs, such as this ADI MicroScan i610, are still a worthy consideration, retaining the slimline benefits but eschewing the costs. Still, with a price almost double that of most high-end 17in CRTs, the i610 must deliver in the quality stakes if it's to truly replace a CRT as your default PC display.

First impressions of the i610 were good, with a stylish look and neat design, which includes integrated stereo speakers, a built-in microphone and the ability to be wall mounted. I was also impressed by the integrated power supply, which simplifies the task of installation enormously. The captive D-SUB cable was less impressive, although not unexpected in a budget display. However, the inclusion of pivot functionality was surprising given the price, allowing the i610 to be rotated into portrait mode. This is an excellent feature, particularly for a 15in display, as the ability to switch to portrait allows A4 documents to be displayed at almost full size.

The i610 differs to most panels, such as Compaq's TFT5005 (reviewed issue 76, p152) in that it's limited to a maximum of 262,144 colours, making it unsuitable for serious graphics use. Having said this, it's only when you start looking at high colour depth images or multimedia rendered in 32-bit colour that you notice the shortcomings.

Image quality was on a par with 24-bit screens, though, such as the Compaq TFT5005 - an impressive feat given the £100 price difference. Colour fades and greyscales were displayed well, with minimal truncation at the extremes of the scales. Colour registration was also good, although horizontal registration was slightly inaccurate. Focus was excellent, in part thanks to the superb clock and phase configuration, which led to the minimal interlace flicker. Colour ramps also impressed, although the lack of true 24-bit colour support was noticeable. There was also some high contrast streaking, and viewing angles were generally poor.

The OSD is excellent, with options for automatic or manual clock and phase adjustment, plus RGB colour balance, which could even be automatically configured. I was most impressed by the preset patterns in the Clock menu, which allow you to view a number of useful configuration screens, similar to our DisplayMate tests, enabling you to better adjust your screen. The OSD controls are curiously placed on top of the panel, which gave the bezel a clean look, although a more fundamental reason for this placement quickly became apparent. The i610's frame simply isn't strong enough to protect the delicate TFT matrix, and even the slightest depression causes visible effects. This makes adjusting the screen a potentially hazardous task, and is certainly a major flaw to the i610's design.

The ADI MicroScan i610 is still a decent budget TFT, with good image quality and some useful features, especially the built-in configuration patterns. With a street price of around £465, it's also very good value. However, despite the performance, you should expect more rigid build quality, even from a budget TFT, and the i610 appears too easy to damage.

Author: Gareth Ogden