CTX PV411S

The future of PC displays is uncertain at the moment, with TFT technology still lagging slightly behind today's high-quality CRTs. However, the standard appears to be improving all the time and if desk space is an issue, a flat-panel TFT might just be the answer.

Unfortunately, certain CTX flat panels have failed to impress us in the past, and one of the PV411S' larger siblings - the PV510 (see Labs, issue 71, p141) turned in an uninspired performance in our last 15in TFT group test. Two of the main criticisms laid at its door were its unimpressive viewing angles and lack of features, so it will be interesting to see how the 14in PV411S fares.

With only an external power supply and D-SUB needed to get the PV411S up and running, setup should have been simple. However, with the sockets placed underneath the reverse side of the panel, they were unnecessarily difficult to reach, and it took five minutes of struggling before we finally got the panel powered up and connected to the Matrox Millennium G400 in our test machine.

Initial impressions were disappointing, with exceptionally limited viewing angles. CTX quotes 40 degrees horizontally and a meagre 15 degrees up and 25 degrees down, and this was instantly obvious. A slight movement away from the optimal position resulted in a marked loss of contrast and colour purity. The screen also suffered badly from reflections and glare, making it even harder to view from the optimal position.

Thankfully, screen calibration is more straightforward. Each time the PV411S is powered up, an internal calibration routine runs automatically, adjusting the screen for optimum image quality. This routine works very well, matching the pixel tracking and timing lock to produce a solid image with no interference. You can also choose to adjust the image manually by utilising the intuitive OSD. From here you can adjust colour, frequency and pixel tracking settings, although these controls are more useful for fine-tuning, as the automatic setup routine will usually be adequate.

The image quality from the small 14.1in screen was also impressive. At its native resolution of 1,024 x 768, text is clear and sharp, and it even managed to reproduce crisp usable text at the tiny 7.5pt font size. It also coped well with DVD-Video playback, with the fast Active Matrix technology updating quickly enough to avoid any ghosting. Aside from its native resolution, the screen can be operated through interpolation at full-screen resolutions of 640 x 480 and 800 x 600, although dropping to these resolutions results in a drop in quality, with text becoming blurred and bloated, so we'd recommend the native 1,024 x 768 for general use.

The CTX PV411S offers clear and sharp text quality from its notebook-sized 14.1in screen, but sadly the tiny viewing angles and noticeable glare destroy what's commendable about the unit, making it very difficult to use for a long time. At £579 it's also expensive, especially when you consider the 15in Belinea 10 15 30 (see Labs, issue 71, p141), which boasts comparable image quality and larger viewing angles for £565. If you're looking for a small TFT, then the A-Listed Philips Brilliance 150P (see Labs, issue 71, p145) offers superior image quality and an extra 1in diagonal viewable area for just £70 more.

Author: Gareth Ogden