Philips Brilliance 109P40 review

The Brilliance 109P40 is Philips' latest high-end CRT, targeted at DTP users and graphic editors. From the outside, it looks almost identical to its predecessor the 109P20 (see Labs, issue 80, p102), although internal modifications aim to push performance to a new level.

The 109P40's professional billing is given weight by the inclusion of BNC inputs, as well as a standard non-captive D-SUB. BNC is used less often, but can provide greater stability at very high resolutions. No other features are included as standard, although a USB hub is available as an option.

With corner purity, convergence and good colour adjustments, including sRGB support, the OSD controls are clear and detailed. There are no corner-hooking controls though.

This wasn't really an issue - at 1,280 x 1,024 in 32-bit colour, geometry was superb across the screen, with no hooking and good linearity. Power regulation was solid, even when subjected to DisplayMate Multimedia Edition's rigorous tests.

Colour performance was great too, with excellent colour registration - helped by vertical and horizontal OSD adjustments - and smooth, well-extended colour and greyscale fades. The colours were also even, although we had to adjust the purity to get a correct balance.

On a negative note, horizontal resolution was merely average, although the vertical resolution was fine. Focus also wasn't the best - Iiyama's Vision Master Pro 454 (see Reviews, issue 90, p131) is sharper. In addition, we noticed some blooming around fine characters, and the DisplayMate tests highlighted mild streaking. However, the 109P40's focus was quite uniform and sharp enough for comfortable use at the optimal SXGA resolution. Moving up to 1,600 x 1,200 at 85Hz resulted in a drop in focus, although generally the 109P40's performance at this resolution was commendable.

The Philips Brilliance 109P40 may not look that different from its predecessor, but the improvements are noticeable in image quality. At £254, this is a strong competitor to the Vision Master Pro 454 and is particularly suitable for those looking for good geometry and colour.

Author: Gareth Ogden