Iiyama Vision Master Pro 451

Think Iiyama, and the image of a basic looking monitor pops up - nothing fancy, but built for the professional. However, things have changed, with the Vision Master Pro 451. It looks familiar from the front, but avoids the box-like appearance with its curvaceous back. The biggest change is the base, where Iiyama has moved the OSD controls, now featuring a four-way joypad. This is also where you'll find stereo integrated speakers, and all the ins and outs - two D-SUB inputs and a USB hub, comprising one upstream and two downstream ports. The speaker volume can be adjusted from the OSD, and although the quality lacks bass and presence, they act as a great desk space saver, along with its insubstantial 24kg weight and short 447mm cabinet depth.

The Iiyama produced a pleasing picture, with deep vibrant colours and sharp clarity. The screen regulation was also superb, with little movement between bright and dark screens.

The vertical resolution was perfect across the screen, but horizontally it lost focus at the far edges, and overall focus was lost at the far right in all the DisplayMate Multimedia Edition tests. The quoted optimal resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 at 85Hz is easily usable, maintaining the sharp picture and colours of lower resolutions, and the 451 even supports a maximum resolution of 1,920 x 1,440 at 75Hz. As with resolution, the horizontal colour registration was flawless, without a single colour out of place, but it proved difficult to get the vertical convergence correct at the top and bottom simultaneously.

The new OSD control system proved less time consuming than the previous two-button affair and is a worthwhile improvement, although Iiyama has done nothing with the purple and blue colour scheme. You also need to be careful where you put your fingers, as it's easy to slip direction and alter your settings elsewhere. The geometry was by and large straight and faultless, but the top of the screen hooked slightly in or out depending on the refresh rate. With no advanced hooking options there was no way to correct it. The moirÚ correction was also limited, with only one control that couldn't resolve it entirely.

As with the Vision Master Pro 411 (reviewed issue 73, p176), the transient response tests showed greys that should have been black. There was also streaking in high contrast modes, although this wasn't apparent in the mid-range tests. It's also worth bearing in mind that if you're using the Windows Desktop make sure you select the Text picture mode in the OSD, as the Movie and Picture modes produce unacceptable levels of streaking and ghosting.

At £379, the Pro 451 isn't a budget solution, but bearing in mind the superb image quality, high resolutions and features on offer, it's a reasonable price. As with many CRTs there are a few complaints, but they're minor in everyday use. So if you're looking for a high-quality 19in display, the Pro 451 should be on your list.

Author: Ben Hardwidge