Cornea CT1904 review

Prices as low as this mean large TFTs are no longer purely the realm of stockbrokers and graphic designers. The Cornea CT1904 even costs less than some higher-end 17in screens and could provide a far more comfortable experience.

Despite the low cost, there are DVI and D-SUB inputs, both of which are non-captive. Definition is excellent across DVI, but the D-SUB input was less encouraging. We found the auto-setup not only needs running on each power-up, but also takes around ten seconds and often fails to fully lock onto the signal.

In general use, colours have a pleasing depth, but we have reservations about both the strength and uniformity of the backlight. Whites are muddy at even the highest colour temperature, and strong colours tend to show up the unevenness around the edges of the screen.

Our DisplayMate tests revealed good performance on colour and greyscale ramps, although extremities were truncated, indicating a less than comprehensive colour range.

This won't be top choice for games or DVD playback, though, with a noticeable lag that seemed more than the quoted 25ms response time. There were also blocky DVD artefacts over DVI, although this was less pronounced through the D-SUB input. Brightness needed pushing to maximum to retain visibility in films too. This was a shame, as horizontal and vertical viewing angles are good.

The low cost begins to show in the housing. The bezel looks smart from a distance, but the silver looks shoddy on closer inspection. The screen tilts easily, although there's no swivel in the stand. The lack of height adjustment leaves it a touch low too, but it does at least mean that cables are hidden, which, along with the integrated power supply, keeps things tidy. You'll also find an ample pair of stereo speakers in the back of the bezel, along with a headphone socket. Finally, the OSD isn't the most intuitive, requiring gratuitous button poking to achieve basic tasks.

There are few 19in panels running at 1,600 x 1,200, and there's a hefty price jump to a 20in+ panel like the £925 ViewSonic VP211b (see issue 108, p70). In its favour, the CT1904 is affordable, has a three-year, on-site warranty and reasonable performance, but Sharp's LL-T19D1B performs better and costs less.

Author: Ross Burridge