ViewSonic PF77 review

At £249, the PF77 is good value for money when you consider the quality of the image displayed. But there's a distinct lack of additional features, such as USB functionality. To take advantage of the improved image quality, a DVI graphics adaptor and subsequent connecting cable will be required. But ViewSonic only supplies the connecting cable with the PF77 monitor, not the DVI graphics adaptor. If, however, DVI connection isn't of major importance, the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 720 (reviewed p174) offers a lower quality D-SUB picture - also without USB and for a current street price of £249. The PF77 comes in at roughly the same price as the Iiyama Vision Master Pro 410 (see Labs Winner, issue 65, p128), with its BNC inputs, for which the DVI on the ViewSonic makes a worthwhile replacement, making this monitor another alternative.

Overall the superb picture generated by the DVI input is enough to silence the cynics, and at such a modest price the ViewSonic PF77 is well worth considering. Excellent quality DVI graphics cards are currently thin on the ground, so for our testing purposes we used Guillemot's GeForce 3D Prophet DDR-DVI. However, with monitor inputs for both D-SUB and DVI you can use it with any graphics card and upgrade to DVI later. The 17in screen is currently the best showcase for the new technology, unhindered by its limitations and presenting good mid-ground between the TFT and CRT, without pushing up the price. The ViewSonic PF77 is a welcome gateway into the new world of the digital CRT.

Author: Ben Hardwidge