Benchmark

For comparison purposes, we ran a combination of CheckScreen and DisplayMate on the Daewoo L700C 17” LCD and the Daewoo L520B 15” LCD against the previously reviewed Samsung 191T LCD. Below is a table with the tests performed and notes we made during testing.  Our test machine is composed of an Inno3D GeForce4 4200 using the VGA 15 Pin D-sub, remember there is no DVI on these models. 

We ran all of the tests at 1280x1024 pixels with a refresh rate of 60Hz for the L700C, and 1024x768 pixels with a refresh rate of 75Hz on the L520B.  Before the final benchmark, we calibrated the monitor as per the instructions included with DisplayMate; any changes to the LCD during the initial calibration run are noted in the observations.

DisplayMate

Test

Monitor

Observations

Intensity range check

L700C

Pure, crisp

L520B

Reds corrected with OSD

191T

Looks good

Black level adjustment

L700C

Not excessively bright, easy to adjust for black

L520B

Very good for an LCD, dark

191T

Blacks appear slightly lighter than on CRT

Defocusing, blooming and halos check

L700C

Minor distortion

L520B

Minor distortion

191T

None

Screen uniformity and color purity

L700C

Great

L520B

Uniform, no bright/dark spots

191T

Sharp, crisp, pure

Dark screen

L700C

Only a small amount of glare

L520B

Less glare than the L700C

191T

Very little glare.  Anti-reflective screen

Primary colors

L700C

Red a little dull, common for LCD

L520B

Same slightly dull red, even after correction

191T

Looks good

Color Scales

L700C

Red corrected with controls

L520B

Same problems with red

191T

Reds darken a little too fast

16 intensity levels

L700C

Corrected with controls

L520B

Fairly accurate after first correction

191T

Looks good

Pincushion/barrel distortion

L700C

Sharp

L520B

Very accurate

191T

Completely straight, no distortion

Geometric Linearity

L700C

No warping, perfect grid

L520B

No warping

191T

Razor sharp grid, no curvature

Horizontal color registration

L700C

Fairly straight

L520B

Very straight

191T

Slightly off on each color, expected due to RGB sub pixels

Vertical color registration

L700C

Perfect

L520B

Perfect

191T

Completely level

Fine line moiré pattern

L700C

Small amount of Moiré, might be streaking.

L520B

Small amount of distortion, might also be due to streaking

191T

Vertical Moiré, corrected slightly by controls

Screen regulation

L700C

No problems

L520B

No problems

191T

No problems

Streaking and ghosting

L700C

Ghosting apparent, but not excessive.

L520B


Minor ghosting

191T

Intense streaking over grey (analog cable)

For the most part, the quality of the LCD screen appeared to be very good, especially for value oriented monitors.  A common trait we have begun to notice in LCD’s is the difficulties accurately replicating red.  To most users, this is very hard to distinguish.  However, graphic designers may have a particularly tough time getting the color settings to correctly generate perfect hues.

Generally, streaking on the L700C and the L520B was minimal.  We mentioned before how we had a very difficult time with the streaking of the Samsung 191T over an analog connection.  Both the L700C and the L520B generated much less streaking than the 191T.  On the other hand, the 191T provided a DVI connection, so such streaking affects very few users.  Even though the L700C and the L520B are value oriented monitors, DVI connections would have gone a very long way for these LCD’s.

As important as it is to see certain things in monitor construction, it is more important to not see others.   We noticed light areas on the sides and dark areas along the top and bottom of the Albatron LCD we reviewed last month.  This is typically due to the backlight of the LCD screen; a higher quality LCD has a uniform brightness over the entire screen.  On the contrary, a lower quality LCD will have the backlight pitched on such and angle that the sides of the screen receive an unproportional amount of light.  We were very pleased to see both Daewoo LCD’s had completely uniform brightness.

On Screen Display Final Words
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