Iiyama Vision Master Pro 512

Many market analysts, including those at NEC-Mitsubishi, think the CRT is still going to dominate the PC market until at least 2005. While many Victorian inventions sit in museums, the CRT has continued to exist for over 100 years. Why? Because it still has many advantages. You can forget affordable 22in TFTs at the moment, but you can get a 22in CRT like Iiyama's Vision Master Pro 512 for £559.

Well, 22in is a bit optimistic. There may be a 22in diagonal underneath, but we could only measure 19.5in of viewable screen. That aside, with its Diamondtron aperture-grille tube and resolutions up to 2,048 x 1,536 at 85Hz, the Vision Master Pro 512 should be a serious performer, and it didn't disappoint.

The picture is clear and sharp with pure vivid colours across the board, including white. We found the optimal resolution to be 1,280 x 1,024, which it would perform at up to 134Hz using our Matrox Millennium G550 graphics card (see Reviews, issue 84, p146), but was happiest at 100Hz. You can also run the Iiyama at 1,600 x 1,200 at 100Hz, which is easily large enough to retain a sufficient sharp focus for everyday work, although there was a slight amount of ghosting at a closer glance. We were unfortunately unable to test the Iiyama at its maximum resolution and refresh rate, as the Matrox Millennium G550 could only manage 80Hz at 2,048 x 1,536 - this is a monitor ahead of its time, although it lost a lot of focus at 80Hz.

The Iiyama also retained its esteem under the strenuous DisplayMate Multimedia Edition tests. Both the horizontal and vertical convergence tests only came slightly out of alignment at the far edges and, while not perfect, were exceptional for a 22in CRT. The vertical resolution was faultless in both the full-screen line resolution and wedge tests, and the horizontal resolution was only let down by a slight amount of moirÚ. This was the only minor issue with the Iiyama, as there was just one moirÚ correction control in the OSD and it didn't make a lot of difference. We hope Iiyama will do something about its awful-looking pink and blue OSD and clunky control selection, but in the meantime a four-way control pad makes life easier than the two buttons on previous models. It also lacks any advanced geometry controls, but thankfully the geometry was straight and even enough not to need it.

There are just two buttons next to the control pad - one to turn the OSD on and one to select between the two non-captive D-SUB inputs on the back. There's also a four-port USB hub - a useful and often overlooked inclusion - and a pair of integrated stereo speakers on the front. They don't offer room-shaking sound, but they're sufficient for basic use. Even the power regulation is respectable, with only a slight movement in the screen borders when flashing between light and dark screens.

The Iiyama Vision Master Pro 512 isn't perfect, but what do you expect from an analog monitor? It's easily the best in its class, has all the features you could want, exceeds current graphics card capabilities and is reasonably priced. If you're looking for a good-quality large CRT, the Iiyama should be first on your list.

Author: Ben Hardwidge