Subject: REVIEW: Amiga Technologies M1438 monitor (Microvitec M1438)
From: [email-masked] (Martin Leslie Baker)
Date: 1 Jan 1996 16:48:37 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Amiga Technologies M1438S monitor

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	A 14-inch, .28 pitch, multisync monitor with internal stereo
speakers.

	Vertical Scan Rates:	15-40 KHz
	Horizontal Scan Rates:	45-100 Hz
	MPR-II Compliant

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Amiga Technologies GmbH
	Address:	Berliner Ring 89
			D-64625 Bensheim
			Germany

LIST PRICE

	299 GBP

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		An Amiga Computer :)  Not CD32 :(

	SOFTWARE
	
		The Monitor will work on any Amiga but you really need to
		be using AGA to get the most out of it.

		You'll also find the following software invaluable in
		getting the best from the monitor.  All of it can be
		found on Aminet.

		gfx/aga/1942PatchAGA.lha	Patch monitor drivers
		gfx/aga/MonEd3a.lha		Edit monitor drivers
		utils/boot/Monitor3.0Patch.lha	Patch monitor drivers

COPY PROTECTION

	None.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 1200 68EC030/40, 4 MB Fast RAM, 2 MB Chip RAM
	Seagate 120 MB hard drive, Archos CD-ROM.
	AmigaDOS 3.0.

INSTALLATION

	With the power off, plug the lead from the back of the monitor
into the Amiga RGB port.  Plug the supplied audio leads into the phono
sockets on the back of your Amiga, or the outputs on the back of your
CD-ROM drive as in my case, and the other end into the sockets on the
back of the monitor.

	Then plug in the monitor power lead, either to the pass-thru
on the back of your A4000, or like me, to the supplied mains lead.

	Switch on.

REVIEW

	The M1438S is basically Microvitec's M1438 but with the Amiga
Tech logo and built in stereo speakers.  The build quality is as good
if not generally better than most VGA monitors.  Amiga Tech have
solved the old problem of banding that used to be experienced when
using the Commodore VGA-Amiga adapter.  The M1438S comes with a 23 pin
connector as standard, wired straight into the back of the monitor.  A
power lead comes out the back and can be plugged into the monitor
supply on the back of your A4000, or A1200T.  Or if you're not that
lucky you use the supplied "kettle" lead to connect to the mains.  I
was a little disappointed that there are no other inputs on the back
of the monitor, composite, SVHS etc.  This means you can't use the
monitor with a CD32, although I suppose a multisync is a bit overkill
for that.  There are just two sockets on the back, for the left and
right audio.

	Before buying the M1438S I was using a 14-inch colour TV and
an amber 12-inch monitor so my Amiga booted a standard 640 * 256
display.  When I fired up the M1438S it reminded me of the C64 days,
the text just looked so big.

	The first thing I did was to go into the Screen Mode
preferences and select a DblPal HiRes No-Flicker screen.  Wow.  This
is how the Amiga should look.  I then turned on Mode Promotion in the
IControl preferences, and then loaded some software.  All my usual
applications started up in beautiful HiRes Flicker free screens.
Wordworth AGA, PageStream, CygnysEd are all so much better.

	When I'd gotten over the initial joy of being able to clearly
see what my Amiga was up to, I became horrified at the really ugly
black borders down either side.  So at this point I applied the two
sets of patches mentioned above and then got to work with MonEd.  I
have to say using MonEd isn't the most relaxing past time I can think
of, but in no time at all I got rid of those black borders, although
unfortunately I couldn't find any way to stretch the Amiga screen to
fill the monitor horizontally.

	At this point I thought I'd try a few games.  Ah those
colours.  The colours on the M1438S are really impressive, and the
picture is very sharp; unfortunately this sharpness also tends to make
some games look very ugly.  Lego city.  Some games just look too
blocky.  For example during the intro to Cannon Fodder, the text that
is used has been slightly anti-aliased - on a TV this works in that the
text looks really smooth  On the M1438S you can see every single
pixel.  Its not all bad though.  I tried a few flight sims and found
the monitor makes them a lot better, it's really neat to be able to
see what's going on with the Threat Warning Display on Gunship 2000!

	So being a little disappointed with games that run in normal
15 KHz Amiga modes, I'd thought I'd try SimCity 2000 which really
requires the 31 KHz modes.  The graphics are very impressive, but they
are seriously let down by slow screen updates.  After playing games
for a while I chanced to find NewIcons on Aminet.  I've since
installed this and I have to say they look really impressive on the
M1438S.

DOCUMENTATION

	There is one multi-lingual manual with instructions in
English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and Norwegian.  Being English
I only read the English instructions which are largely taken up with
safety information.  The installation instructions are very
straightforward, no problems here.

	One thing that did grab my attention was the following
paragraph that was printed under the heading "Guidelines for Safe
Operation".

	"This Product is not intended for use as a critical component
	in life support devices or any system in which failure could
	be expected to result in personal injury".

	You have been warned. :)

LIKES

	I like the bright colours and sharp display.

	I like the stereo sound.

	I really like using my applications in a HiRes Flicker free
environment.

	I also really like the way my Workbench looks using NewIcons.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	There really should have been a horizontal size control and
this omission is a major flaw in my opinion.

	Amiga Technologies really should have included updated monitor
drivers to stop users having to patch the drivers and then use MonEd.

	Personally I would rather the monitor had a VGA connector so
that I could use it on my portable PC.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	I've never used a real monitor on my Amiga before.  I tried a
VGA display once, this is better and it displays all the modes.  It
looks a tad better than the Microvitec 1438, it sounds a lot better.

BUGS

	None, unless you can count no horizontal size control as a
bug.  It certainly bugged me.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	I have had no reason to contact Amiga Technologies.

WARRANTY

	This is a bit vague.  For the UK the manual states that the
legal responsibility for the guarantee rests with the supplier, it
then points you to the guarantee card supplied with the product.  I
didn't get one.

	I'd advise any potential purchaser to clarify the warranty
situation before handing over their cash.

CONCLUSIONS

	It displays all AGA resolutions sharply with great colours.
The stereo sound is a bonus when you compare it to the Microvitec
M1438.  I'm over the moon with mine and I wouldn't be without it, the
Amiga just looks so much better in High Resolution screens.  This is
really a no frills solution.  It does what it's supposed to do and
does it generally rather well, especially considering it's about 100
GBP cheaper than better equipped multi-syncs.

	Amiga Technologies have definitely made a good move here,
Commodore's 1940 was the same price and had a lower resolution.

	I rate this product 4.5 stars out of 5.  It loses .5 of a star
because of the lack of a horizontal size control.

	All we need now is some good HiRes games and perhaps a much
more powerful Amiga to run them.  68060, PowerPC anyone?

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	   Copyright 1995 Martin Leslie Baker.  All rights reserved.
 +--------+-------------------------------------+------------------------+
 | Martin |  Amiga 1200 030 6MB 120MB HD CD-ROM | [email-masked]  |
 | Leslie |              AT M1438S Supra V32bis |   +44 (0)1724 873718   |
 | Baker  |  Motorola Motivated...   Amiga CD32 |       Scunthorpe       |
 +--------+-------------------------------------+------------------------+

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