Twin of a beast (Iiyama Vision Master 503)

Member Name: sit2020

Product:	Iiyama Vision Master 503
Date:	09/03/05 (831 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and reliable

Disadvantages: Heavy

Starting these reviews is becomingly increasingly hard, I am trying to avoid repetition, Having so many monitors poses a problem of repeating myself, on the other side of the coin, I have to treat each monitor as an individual for the sake of creating a genuine users guide to the monitor I am writing about at the time. So for those who have read more than one of my monitor reviews and have been bored with similarities I do apologise, This will be even more similar than most as this is identical in its look and size to the 502. For the prospective purchaser I hope these are of use, now on to yet another review.

As I have said in a few reviews now, at work we have in excess of 20 computers working. Yet again that of course means we also have in excess of 20 monitors (in fact more monitors than computers as some are dedicated to other tasks). I am also in quite a privileged position in that I get the opportunity to operate/use quite a varied selection of equipment.

They all work 24hrs a day 7 days a week and are used continuously. So with that in mind it is a good test of how robust the equipment we use is. When you consider that most of the ones we are using have been in situation since 2000 then they really do have a good life span. I would hazard a guess and say that because of how long they have been in use, they have probably had the equivalent of 15 years of use that they might expect in an average Monday to Friday office.

We have a varied selection of monitors and the Liyama Vision Master 503 is one model where we have one attached to a computer and another one that is used as Visual Display Unit. Neither of these have failed since we have had them. The continuously used VDU shows no sign of having any burnt on screen image, this is also true of the one attached to the PC.


OK when you look at the thin LCD type monitors that are becoming more and more common, you might ask why are we still using these, and why will we probably continue to use these for a long time to come.
Although my employers have probably not given this consideration in a previous review it was pointed out to me “that Its interesting to note that in fact the majority of CRT's actually have better picture quality then LCD's”.

We use them with a variety of programs, some of which are used solely by our company. These can be on for hours at a time and they may have the same image on the screen yet there is not a hint of anything being burnt onto the screen (in fact none of the monitors we are using at present have suffered this). So the result is we have always enjoyed a crisp and clear display. The colour output of this monitor is great, it really does not matter whether it is word processing, email, internet, presentation packages, moving or still images, the end result is always the same; a well focused and balanced display.

Those of you thinking of all nice modern thin, light monitors. Be prepared for a shock, this is a monster as monitors go. Yes it has it does have a flat square display. It is nearly as deep as it is wide. Although I am not one to give you a review stuffed full of technical bits, to get a better idea of the actual size I have included the following the following, the screen is 19.6” (corner to corner). The dimensions are approx 19 1/2” wide, 19” high and 19” deep. The weight is in excess of 74lbs. As you can see from the size and weight it is identical to the 502, I would surmise that this is nothing more than an updated version of the 502, probably some circuitry type updates inside from the manufacturer, as the end user of both models, I can honestly say there is no difference to the two with regards to looks or performance

The monitor sits on a sturdy oblong foot, this allows the monitor to be tilted and swivelled to the desired position with little effort. Despite the size and weight, it never groans when moved to a new position and holds that position without any fuss.

When you look at this monitor you see it is the usual buff/creamy colour of most computers.

Looking from the front, just below the screen and set back a little are the buttons, to the right is the power on and off button and beside that is the LED indicator. To the left are three more buttons, from left to right these are Menu along with the plus and minus menu navigation buttons. These are used to change the settings when working through the menu. Contrast, brightness, colour, degauss etc. I have to say they are very simple to operate, the navigation system is picked up in minutes.

At the back of the monitor is the usual power socket, along with one socket to connect it to the PC, in between these are 5 pins (like the ones you get on the front of some televisions for connecting your games machine to) from left to right they are marked “V”, “H/hv”, “B”, “G/sync” and “R”. I have not go the foggiest idea what they are for, as we neither use them on the PC’s or on the monitors we use as Visual Display Units.

Overall although old and heavy, it is reliable. Now these can be picked up second hand at a very cheap price, so for the office working on a budget these might just be a good solution. I really do think that monitors of the CRT type do seem to have a long life.

Summary: