Home > Consumer Reviews > Viewsonic Vx900-1 19" LCD Monitor (Silver/Black)

Reviews of the 17" version of this monitor at tomshardware panned Viewsonic for claiming extremely high contrast ratios and an incredible response time of 25ms. Accurate or not, they forgot to mention that overall the VX series of monitors from Viewsonic is great, and if memory serves me correctly, the Viewsonics were some of the least expensive displays. "Streaking" and inaccurate color reproduction have been the main faults of LCD screens, and regardless of what kinds of software tests reviewers may run on this monitor, in everyday use and even gaming, I have found this monitor to be faultless. Admittedly, the speakers were an unneeded addition, but I wasn't expecting much given the quality of other integrated speaker setups as well as the very thin profile of this monitor.

I do recommend you install the included software (I was always a skeptic and never did it with my other monitors, but the difference in color will surprise you), and if you can, take advantage of the DVI connector rather than the analog VGA connector--no substantial difference in image quality, but you won't have to wait as long for the monitor to self adjust whenever you change resolutions if you use the DVI. Also remember that the native resolution of the monitor is 1280x1024--other settings just won't look very crisp.

Edit: The monitor is still sweet after half a year of use. But, after reading one review in which a person stated that they "had to lower the 5 star rating" by giving it only one, I felt I "had to" post my rebuttal since this monitor is extremely crisp UNLESS you use something other than the native resolution. Posting a lower rating than one feels the product in question deserves to lower the overall average defeats the purpose of giving consumers an accurate gauge of how well the product performs. Following the same logic (or lack thereof), I wish I could give the monitor a 6 star rating.

This is an outstanding monitor with fantastic image quality. I've used 19" flat screen Trinitron CRT's exclusively for the past few years, and was skeptical about flat panel displays, but this one changed my mind. Beyond the superior image quality, it's also great to have a viewable image that equates to a 21" CRT but with 1/2 the footprint. I checked out flat panels by Sony, Samsung, HP, Compaq, etc., but this one blew them away. It's a bargain to boot, with a price that compares to competitors' 18" and 17" models. I'd intended to buy a 17" myself, but when I saw the image quality and price of the VX900, I was hooked.

The ViewSonic VX900 and Samsung 191T are the top 2 19" LCD Monitors found in many "Top Picks" lists out there today.

Before purchasing my 2 VX900s, I did my homework and read through many reviews and comparisons. Clearly, these 2 monitors from ViewSonic and Samsung topped the list. Why did I go with the ViewSonic?

Image quality on the ViewSonic is impeccable compared to the Samsung. Although the viewing angle is slightly less on the Viewsonic 159 vs 167 degrees, the contrast ratio on the ViewSonic is much higher... 600:1 vs 500:1 for the Samsung. This higher contrast ratio makes a world of difference. If you place both monitors side by side, you will see a noticeable difference between the two. The Viewsonic displays characters much sharper/vivid. I based my decision to buy the ViewSonic based on this image quality alone. The ViewSonic VX900 soundly outperforms the Samsung 191T in this regard.

The ViewSonic is not perfect, however. The sound quality from the built-in speakers is satisfactory at best. I ended up getting a pair of Altec Lansing speakers and bypassing the inferior built-in speakers.

For those who are setting up a dual monitor configuration should note that the border around the VX900 screen is 1.25". Dual monitors placed side by side would have a 2.5" gap between them.

I am very satisfied with my purchase and would recommend the ViewSonic VX900 to anyone who is looking for a 19" LCD with the highest quality image/picture.

My first was a 12" CRT 256 color Apple monitor that my family bought for me when I went to college. I tried to do some work using it for fun a year ago and it was oh so painful. My next monitor was a Gateway 17" CRT that was a step in the right direction, but still was far from perfect. My, my, how the times have changed.

I've been using the VX900 for a few days now and I'm rather pleased with my purchase. It has the following advantages:

1. Its light. <30lbs.
2. The flat panel is easier to read. And because its so slim, there is a lot more deskspace available.
3. It has analog and digital plugs. I plan on getting a digital video card soon. The quality of the picture should improve dramatically over what is still considered a rather high-quality image.
4. And its 19"! Bigger is always better. Because of this, I now have the luxury of using bigger fonts and I still have extra space on my screen.

My only problem with it is the audio system. The speakers are poor and can be outplayed by any standalone set. (I think they used speakers from a clock radio...) But since I primarily listen to talk radio, its not a big deal. The thing that really annoys me is where they put the headphone plug. Its located near the video inputs behind the monitor under a panel. So if I want to listen to something with my headset, I must turn the monitor around, remove the panel, pop in the plug, install the panel, and then turn the monitor back around. I was hoping that a stereo plug extension would work but it cuts out the speaker output regardless of the headphones being plugged into the extension.

Would it have been better if they did not install any sound system into the VX900? Yes. An expensive monitor with a very cheap sound system is a cruel joke.

But this is a monitor. Its a very good monitor. And I slapped my money down because of it and don't regret it.

Well, I was ready to be disappointed based on my previous experience with an Envision 17" Flat Panel, but thank you Viewsonic. You have restored my faith in LCD's. Using the VX900's digital connection I was pleasantly surprised to find it as sharp, if not sharper than my old 21" CRT and NO dead pixels (yeah!). Text looks very crisp and actually looks great without turning on Microsoft's Cleartype Font Smoothing. Brightness is definitely not a problem. I actually had to turn down the brightness settings because the whites were "snow blinding" me. DVD Playback is also excellent and ghosting is at a minimum primarily due to the fast response time this display has...a true 25 milliseconds. As far as the built-in speakers go, I haven't used them, so I will not comment. Regarding general setup, the VX900 came with all the required cables for hookup using either an Analog or Digital video signal. And for icing on the cake, the VX900's silver and black case is one of the coolest I have ever seen. Very stylish. It will dress-up any desk you place it on.