[Leica]-grade computer monitor (conclusion)

["4Season" <4Season@boulder.net>]

As some of you may recall, my 17" Applevision 1710AV monitor had blown out,
and I was looking into the possibility of a high-fidelity replacement.
Well, Apple does not release service data, and after replacing some
obviously blown parts, still hadn't gotten it working again, suspected some
of the proprietary parts may have blown, and didn't relish the idea of
paying around $500 for authorized Apple service.

Fortunately for me, prices on new monitors just so happen to be very, very
low right now, to the extent that some monitors which I had been buying at
$300+ less than a year ago, are currently selling for $125! I spent a bit
more, and got myself a 19" Sony Multiscan GDM-400PS for $406 on
www.onsale.com. This is an auction site, with actual selling prices seeming
to range from $391-421. These newer models are considerably shallower than
their predecessors, and in fact, the 400PS is shallower than the
Applevision, and the same depth as prior Sony 17-inchers.

Impressions: The space savings is welcome, and the picture is huge! There's
hardly any image distortion at all, and about a million ways to adjust it
away. Convergence too, is more tightly controlled throughout. Online LUG
images never looked better! What's more, I find that I don't need to fuss
with the controls much (not at all, in fact) when switching between Linux
and W98--both use the full screen area and look great. Fill the screen with
a DVD movie, and you can discern the pixels, but at normal viewing distance,
it's great--HDTV on the cheap.

This is the 3rd refurbished Sony monitor that I've purchased: They've
consistently arrived looking like new, and to date, none has given the
slightest problem. Chances are, you will be missing some accessory or
other--a Mac video adaptor, a W95 disk, or maybe will get 2 power cables and
no video cable--annoying, if you happened to need them, but take a deep
breath and realize that you're getting like-new goods with a warranty, at
garage-sale prices. Very pleased so far, and once the Epson Photo 1200 arriv
es on these shores, my digital darkroom will be complete, save for an
inexpensive drum scanner!

Jeff