Subject: REVIEW: Microvitec 1438 multisync monitor
From: [email-masked] (C.J.COULSON)
Date: 20 Sep 1995 03:07:57 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Microvitec 1438 multiscan monitor

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	A 14 inch multiscan monitor suitable for all Amiga screen modes, from
OCS through to AGA, with the exception of A2024 modes.  Display only: does
not include speakers.  0.28 dot pitch, 15-40KHz scan rates with 45-100Hz
refresh rates.  MPR-2 compliant.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Microvitec PLC
	Address:	Bolling Road
			Bradford
			West Yorkshire
			BD4 7TU
			England

	Telephone:	(0)1274 390011
	FAX:		(0)1274 734944

LIST PRICE

	299.99 UK Pounds

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		A 23-15 pin converter.  A simple cable was supplied with my
		monitor, but I found it unsatisfactory and use the "Silver
		Blob" converter supplied with my A4000 instead.

	SOFTWARE

		None

COPY PROTECTION

	Have you tried photocopying a monitor recently? :-)

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 4000/030
	Kickstart 3.0, Workbench 3.0

INSTALLATION

	Plug the power cable into the back of the A4000 (or any appropriate
socket), plug the video cable into the 23-15 pin converter and plug the
converter into the RGB port.  Switch on and enjoy a crisp, clear image!

	Depending on your particular Workbench version, you'll have to play
around with the monitor settings in Prefs and Devs, depending on which
screen modes you're interested in.  This is as simple or as complex as you
make it.

REVIEW

	NOTE:	This review is based in the hardware and associated
documentation supplied in July 1994.  Since then there may have been
changes, particularly to the documentation (I hope!)

	General thoughts on the monitor are favourable.  It looks quite
smart sitting on my desk, with a nice tilt/swivel stand built in.  Unlike a
lot of new monitors, the screen doesn't appear surrounded by acres of
casing, although the screen frame is thicker than some monitors I've used
(around 4cm wide all round).  The case colour goes well with the Amiga
casing.

	With the power off, the screen has a dull appearance.  Reflections
seem grainy and blurred, and the glass is subtly rough to the touch.
Switching the power on results in NO static forming on the glass, which is
no bad thing given the trouble it can cause.  It takes approximately 4
seconds for the picture to appear if the tube is warm, slightly longer from
cold.  Although there is some reflection from the screen, it is minimal.
Compared to some so-called low-reflectance screens, the Microvitec screen
truly is low-reflectance.

	Looking down at the controls reveals the Microvitecs only real bad
point.  There are pitifully few picture controls compared to other monitors
around today, and all the controls are analogue dials, no digital control
here.  From left to right we have:

	Vertical Height
	Horizontal Position
	Brightness
	Contrast

	Power On/Off

	What is annoying is the choice of vertical height and horizontal
position.  Every screenmode the AGA chipset can produce is easily tall
enough to fill the vertical height of the screen with only small borders top
and bottom.  Therefore the Vertical Height control is permanently set to its
minimum position.  However, the lack of a Horizontal Width control is an
oversight, as we shall now see...

	Horizontal Border Widths (no overscan)

	Mode                    Border Width    Horizontal Frequency

	PAL                     10mm            15.60KHz
	NTSC                    10mm            15.72KHz
	Super72                 25mm            23.21KHz
	DBLPAL                  32mm            27.53KHz
	DBLNTSC                 32mm            27.66KHz
	Multiscan               30mm            29.29KHz
	Euro72                  28mm            29.32KHz

	As the horizontal frequency increases, we can see a corresponding
increase in the border widths, and thus a decrease in the visible screen
width.  Given that people buy multiscan monitors in order to view high
frequency modes, this border width problem is somewhat annoying.

	Brightness and Contrast work as expected, although the range of
brightness available seems constrained relative to other monitors.  What I
mean is that the minimum brightness is still easily bright enough provided
the contrast setting is at or above the half-way notch, and the maximum
brightness setting is not going to replace your desk lamp as a source of
lighting, even with contrast at full.  On the other hand, the contrast
control does have a large range, with minimum contrast producing a very
"washed out" image, visible only with the brightness at around a third or
more, and even then barely usable.

	Finally the power switch, which is actually a rocker switch as
opposed to a push switch.  This has a soft feel, with no obvious click
action.  Not only does it make switching on and off a smooth operation, but
it also makes the likelihood of contact arcing next to zero, unlike the
power switch on my old but trusty Philips 8833 !

	So, we've discussed the physical look of the monitor, we've
dissected its ability to display AGA screenmodes.  What is it like to use
day in, day out?

	I've been using the monitor now for over a year, and I've accepted
the wide borders in >15KHz modes, although occasionally they do still cause
problems when doing anything requiring a correct aspect ratio (drawing
circles for instance - I have to trust that the circle drawing tools in art
packages really are creating circles, because in most screenmodes they look
like tall ellipses :).

	As far as picture quality goes, I have no complaints.  The pixels
are crisp and clear, even in high resolutions, and there is no visible
colour spreading.  The image seems to be aligned well with the
vertical/horizontal and there is little pin-cushioning or trapezoidal
distortion.  In short, the lack of controls to alter such picture parameters
is not a problem, because the built-in presets are adjusted well.  Claimed
dot pitch is 0.28, and compared to other monitors with the same dot pitch, I
see no reason to doubt the claim.  In fact, compared to most monitors I've
had the misfortune to use, the Microvitec provides a superb display.  Only
the Viglen Envy monitor produces a better quality image.

	Switching between modes takes around 0.2s, sometimes accompanied by
a relay clicking.  The clicking is something else you get used to after a
while, though if you're in the habit of repeatedly switching from one mode
to another, you may find it an annoyance.

DOCUMENTATION

	A small, 27-page manual is provided, with instructions in English,
French, German, Italian, Dutch and Norwegian.  In other words, the manual is
effectively 4 pages long, unless you're reading the English section, where
you get an extra page detailing some UK, Australia and New Zealand specific
things.  There is one page given to a diagram of the connecting cables, and
one more detailing the pin-out of the video connector.

	To be honest, the manual is a pile of rubbish.  The single most
important item of information, the scan rates, is contained within a
sentence that is easily overlooked when reading the manual.  This is the
sort of thing that should be clearly laid out, with big arrows pointing to
it if necessary, not tucked away in the middle of an ordinary looking
sentence.  I wonder if many people have damaged their Microvitecs by
supplying out of range scan rates simply because this information isn't
instantly clear?

	The documentation gets a dismal 0.5 out of 5.  It would have been
zero except for the inclusion of the connector pin-out information.

LIKES

	It's a reasonably priced, well built multiscan monitor that supports
ALL standard Amiga screenmodes.  Picture quality is excellent, as is the low
reflectance/zero static screen.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	The documentation is good only for the recycling plant, and the lack
of a horizontal sizing control is annoying, and may be very off-putting for
some users.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	I've used the following monitors extensively:

	Viglen Envy - 15 inch screen
	Mitac (no model info) - 14 inch screen
	Apple colour - 12 (?) inch Trinitron screen
	HP colour - 17 inch

	Only the Viglen Envy screen betters the Microvitec in terms of
picture quality, although all better it when it comes to supplying control
over the picture size/position.  Of course, none of the above screens
support scan rates down to 15KHz.

BUGS

	The hardware is well put together, and in 14 months of use has not
shown any signs of problems.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	Unknown

WARRANTY

	Unknown

CONCLUSIONS

	I personally like the monitor.  I like the picture quality and the
fact I can use all the screenmodes my A4000 can generate.  It definitely
ISN'T a monitor for everyone though.  Serious graphics users would probably
prefer a dedicated monitor for high-res work, with a second medium-res
monitor for system screens.  Games players and people with OCS Amigas aren't
likely to need the abilities of the monitor to scan above 15KHz.  In short,
if you want to display screenmodes that fall within the scan rates of the
monitor, and if you only want one monitor on your desk, this may suit you
nicely.

	As for a rating, I'll give it several...

	Picture Quality : 5
	Styling         : 4
	Documentation   : 0.5
	Controls        : 2
	Price           : 4

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1995 Chris Coulson.

	This review has been hacked out of granite using only a small
plastic tooth-pick found down the back of a sofa one evening in May.  Given
the hard work that went into it, I'll be really p****d off if someone passes
it off as their own work.  Please don't do it.  If you want to use it for
any reason, do so, but remember who wrote it.  An e-mail telling me about it
would be appreciated as well.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Coulson                   | A4000/EC030/882 - 18MB/530MB
Robotics Postgraduate           | (Not for much longer though :-)
				| Pentium60 - 16MB/1.4GB/CDROM
E-Mail:                         |
[email-masked]           |     The Best of Both Worlds
----------------------------------------------------------------------

---

   Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews
   Send reviews to:	[email-masked]
   Request information:	[email-masked]
   Moderator mail:	[email-masked]
   Anonymous ftp site:  math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews