Subject: REVIEW: Sony Trinitron Multiscan 17sf monitor
From: [email-masked] (Christopher Naas)
Date: 7 Aug 1995 20:53:00 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Sony Trinitron Multiscan 17sf monitor

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	A 17" Trinitron Multiscan monitor for the 31.5 to 64kHz range.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Sony Deutschland GmbH
	Address:	Hugo Eckener Str. 20 50829 Kvln
			Deutschland

	[Sony also has branches in many other countries.]

LIST PRICE

	I bought mine here in Norway for around $1600.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		A 23-pin to 15-pin RGB adaptor (like the one included with
		Amiga 4000, or a graphics-card with a 15-pin out-connector.

	SOFTWARE

		AmigaDOS 3+ monitor drivers that push the display frequency
		up to the range the monitor can handle, or graphics card
		drivers that do the same.

COPY PROTECTION

	None.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 4000T with 25MHz 68040 CPU
	2MB Chip, 12 MB Fast RAM
	Kickstart 40.68 (3.1) Workbench 40.42 (3.1)
	Standard Commodore-supplied RGB adaptor.
	CyberVision 64bit graphics card with 4MB onboard memory.

INSTALLATION

	Select the appropriate monitordriver in ScreenModePrefs and save.
Power off and plug in the monitor, power on, and you're in business.  The
power lead is a standard 3-pin thing as found on most computer appliances
these days (including the A4000). If you have a cable with such plugs in
both ends, you can plug it directly into the main pass-through on the back
of the A4000. If not, you will have to use the supplied standard power cable.

REVIEW

	I picked up my monitor at a dealer 60 kilometers from my house. The
first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the box was "Wow, this thing
is *huge*!". And the box it came in really is huge. So big, in fact, that I
couldn't get it into the taxi on my way home. Anyway, when I finally got the
thing home and unpacked it, I found that the box also contained quite a bit
of padding.  ;)

	But still, upgrading to a 17" monitor, even from my old 15" IDEK was
shock. The display is really a lot bigger than it used to be, which is nice,
of course.

	The 17sf is a beautiful looking beast. In comparison, my old IDEK
truly was the Beast whilst my new Sony is definitely Beauty. It is difficult
to describe the appearance, but I'll give it a shot. It has a very flat
screen. Flatter than my old IDEK 15" Multiflat, in fact. :) There's about 4-5
cm. gray plastic around the edges of the screen. On the bottom, there is a
"sunken" control panel with buttons for Color, Geometry, Size and Center,
and a "raised" control panel with up-down-left-right buttons, a power LED, a
power save LED and the On/Off button.

	The 17sf has digital control, thus the buttons. No "wheels" to turn
around; you just hold in the buttons. I will explain the controls in detail
later.

	After unpacking it and breaking my back lifting it onto my desk, I
plugged it into the Commodore RGB adaptor on the back of my A4000T, and
turned on the power. I was greeted by a rather bulky looking 720x564 DBLPAL
screen. The 17sf has a .25 dotpitch, and thus lower resolutions and
few-color gradients look like crap. It is excellent for higher resolutions
and lots of color, though, and chances are you have that if you're investing
in a 17" monitor.

	As I mentioned earlier, it scans from 31.5 to 64kHz, and from 50 to
120Hz. You would think this excludes most Amiga resolutions, but luckily it
manages to scan below these ranges, so you can use the following AGA
resolutions:

	DBLPAL
	DBLNTSC
	Euro36
	MultiScan
	Euro72

Super72, Pal, NTSC and A2024 are not displayable.

	Using the Size and Center settings, I managed to eliminate the "black
borders" you normally get with most monitors in the above resolutions, and
get the picture to fill the entire screen. Big plus.

	I guess if you fiddle enough with MonEd, you could push Super72 up
to a working kHz as well. I never tried.

	I used DBLPAL for about a month before I got my CyberVision. Screen
switching is as fast as you could possibly want, both with AGA and CyberGFX
displays.

	I now use a 1120x832 Workbench screen. That is the biggest resolution
I can display while keeping above the 72Hz mark. I am also able to display
800x600 in 100Hz, 1280x1024 in 52Hz and 1600x1200 in 50Hz, all flicker free,
of course. Making new resolutions with CyberMode is easy, and the 17sf
happily displays them as long as they keep within the scan area.

	In a monitor test in PCWorld, the Sony Trinitron Multiscan 15sf came
out on top. The 15sf is essentially the same monitor as the 17sf, only with
a smaller screen, so the same goes for the 17sf, I guess. It was stated as
having a better dot pitch than all the other monitors, better color and
better screen control.

	Here's a rundown of the available controls:

	The "lowered" panel acts as a switchboard for what you want to set.
The "raised" panel with the up, down, left, right buttons increases or
decreases the values of the currently selected "control mode".

	If you press the "Color" button. "Left" and "Right" switch between
the maximum and minimum values, while "Up" and "Down" are gradual.

	If you press the "Geom" button, you can rotate the display slightly
to the left or to the right with the "Up" and "Down" buttons, while "Left"
and "Right" gives/removes the "barrel" effect.

	If you press the "Size" button, "Up" and "Down" size the display
vertically, while "Left" and "Right" size it horizontally.

	If you press the "Center" button, you center the picture on the
screen ;)

	If you haven't selected a "control mode", "Left" and "Right" control
contrast, and "Up" and "Down" control brightness.

	When you have reached the maximum values, the PowerSave led blinks to
let you know there's no point in holding down the button any longer.  You
can leave a "control mode" by pressing the button again, and there's also a
timer, which switches it of automatically after a few seconds of inactivity.

	All values are saved for the current screen. The 17sf can store 10
user defined modes, and has preset values for the 6 most popular modes in
the PC world. If you have filled up the memory with 10 modes and set a new
one, the first one is replaced with the new one.

Here are the specifications:

Picture tube:           0.25mm aperture grille pitch, 17 inches measured
	                     diagonally (16" maximum viewing image) 90-degree
	                     deflection
Video image area:       Approx. 328 x 242 mm (w/h)
	                     (13 x 9 5/8 inches)
Logical resolution:     Horizontal: Max 1280 dots
	                     Vertical:    Max 1024 lines
Physical resolution:    Horizontal: Max 1280 dots
	                     Vertical:    Max 1024 lines
Standard image area:    Approx 300 x 225 mm (w/h)
	                     (11 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Deflection frequency:   Horizontal: 31.5 to 64kHz
	                     Vertical:   50 to 120Hz
AC input voltage/current
	                     100 to 120V, 50/60 Hz, 1.8A
	                     220 to 240V, 50 - 60Hz, 1A
Dimensions:             406 x 426.5 x 451 mm (w/h/d)
	                     (16 x 16 7/8 x 17 7/8 inches)
Mass:                   Approx. 19.0kg (41lb 14oz)

	It comes with a tilt swivel, which is extremely easy-floating. This
is a good thing, since the monitor is quite heavy. My old IDEK had a rather
hard swivel. I can't imagine lifting the 17sf every time I want to move the
swivel like I had to do with the IDEK.

DOCUMENTATION

	An A4 size stapled booklet with good instructions in English, French,
German, Spanish and Italian.

LIKES

	I like the sharp and clear picture quality. The best I have seen on
any monitor to date. I also like the fact that I can display 1600x1200
flicker-free even though the documentation states that 1280x1024 is the
maximum resolution. The controls are extremely easy to operate, and I have
found that the displaymode memory has proven to be invaluable. I wouldn't
like to have to fiddle with the controls every time I used a different
display mode.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	I have no dislikes. This is an excellent product.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	It leaves all other monitors I've seen way behind. The easy controls,
extremely crisp and clear display and high dotpitch are excellent compared
to my old IDEK.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	I have had no reason to contact the vendor.

WARRANTY

	There is a one year dealer warranty (as required by Norwegian law).
The manual does not mention a factory warranty, but I think my dealer said
something about 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS

	This is the best monitor I've ever seen. It came out on top of both
the Brilliance and Nec monitors in the PCWorld test, and I can understand
why.  It might not be the cheapest monitor available, but if you want a big
display and the best colors money can buy, it is a safe bet. Coupled with my
CyberVision, it is excellent for both graphics and DTP.

	I give it 4.8 stars out of 5. Mo product is perfect, and there are
always others that are better (although at a much higher cost).

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1995 Christopher Naas.  All rights reserved.  This review
is freely distributable.  You can contact me by mailing me at:
[email-masked]

  __ __   Christopher Landmark Naas < EML: [email-masked]
 /_ /_ /\ Reg. Amiga Developer      > WWW: http://www.powertech.no/~christon/
__/__//_/ Fusing the clear threat!  < IRC: KarmaComa

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