Superb Sony (Sony CPD-G200)

Member Name: mark-r

Product:	Sony CPD-G200
Date:	28/06/01 (750 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb picture quality

Disadvantages: fiddly OSD

The CPD G200 is an excellent 17 inch monitor; I have been using one on my computer at work for several months now and I am very pleased with its performance.

Specification.

The monitor has an almost 16 inch diagonal visible area and a 0.24mm dot pitch. It is perfectly capable of operating at 1280x1024 85Hz, or should your eyes be up to it, 1600x1200 75Hz. For the technically minded the sync range is 30-96kHz horizontal and 48-120Hz vertical. It has two inputs, one on a D-SUB cable and the other on a D-SUB connector; switching between the two inputs is accomplished using a slider discreetly tucked away (but clearly labelled) under the front panel.

Having 2 inputs is useful in many circumstances, but I'd have preferred to see a choice of connector too - in an ideal world the second input would be on BNC connectors for maximum flexibility (BNC connectors are especially useful if you need a long cable for your monitor because long D-SUB cables tend to degrade the signal). Even some budget Iiyama monitors manage BNCs so a black mark there for Sony.

The rest of the spec is fairly standard; the device meets all the relevant power consumption and emissions standards (TCO99, MPR-II, etc). Standby power consumption is a modest 3W, while in operation it consumes 120W.

The CRT is a Trinitron type, which means it is extremely flat and vibrant but does have the support wires that some people find annoying. They are visible, but no more so than on other Trinitron monitors, and you learn to live with them.

On Screen Controls.

Like most modern monitors, the G200 is set up using on-screen controls. They are accessed using a sort of joystick arrangement underneath the main bezel. Pressing the centre of the toggle activates the menu and makes selections while navigation is accomplished by rocking it in one of four directions. It is quite fiddly to use, although better than some (Belinea comes to mind!), but apart from s
etting the size and position to suit your graphics card it shouldn't need much messing with.

The menu allows an impressive range of adjustments, though, if you're into tweaking these things. There are the usual size and position controls, a good range of geometry controls (incuding rotation), convergence, moire pattern removal, colour temperature and degaussing. There are some nice touches too, like a control lock to prevent accidental operation. There's also a little help section that attempts to recommend solutions to common display problems, for example if you select "Discolouration" you are recommended to check your cable and degauss the monitor (with a one-click link to the degauss menu). Interestingly, one of the problems is "Thin Horizontal Line", for which you're told "This is not a fault"!

Overall.

As I said at the start, this is a superb monitor. The image is rock solid and crystal clear at my usual resolution of 1024x768 85Hz (it's just as good at 1280x1024 85Hz, but my eyes can't cope) and the display shows no loss of regulation when opening white windows on a previously dark background. The contrast range is excellent - white is extremely pure and black is very deep (remember a monitor can't show anything darker than the screen looks when switched off - the G200 is very good in this respect).

I also regularly use a Belinea 17 inch monitor, and the difference between this and the Sony is staggering. You really do get what you pay for when buying a monitor, and the Sony is worth every penny.

Summary: