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ADI MICROSCA G710
STANDFIRST
ADI’s latest 17-incher is equipped with a
super flat FD Trinitron. Rick Maybury checks to see whether the MicroScan G710
is on the level…
COPY
We may not like it but we can understand the
logic and economics of manufacturers supplying instruction manuals for software
and peripherals only on CD-ROM. There are several exceptions where it should definitely
never happen; CD-ROM drives are an obvious example, the other, which we’ve just
discovered, is monitors. To be fair the
ADI MicroScan G710 does come with a leaflet that shows where the plugs go on
the back panel, but all of the setup information, and more importantly the
troubleshooting guide are on the CD-ROM, which is really helpful if you’re
faced with a blank screen! To add insult to injury it’s not even a very good CD-ROM,
it takes ages to load, the unavoidable opening sequence is accompanied by a
cheesy tune, a Dalek voice and someone singing the ADI song…
Incidentally, Mac owners will be amused to know
that half of the contents of the CD-ROM are unavailable to them, like the
freebie Treasure Chest album utility, set-up details for the USB option, links
to ADI’s web site and multimedia marketing puff moreover the instructions are
only viewable with a suitable web browser.
Okay, gripe over, the MicroScan G710 is
actually a rather agreeable 17-inch monitor and it is based on one of Sony’s
most excellent FD Triniton tubes. They’re the ones with the super flat screen,
and boy, it is flat! Flat is good, it really cuts down on the reflections, especially
if you’re working with a lot of bright overhead lighting or close to a window. The
G710 is well qualified for demanding applications like CAD/CAM and of course
desktop video production. It has a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200, horizontal
and vertical scanning frequencies that cover all commonly used PC and Mac display
modes and a dot pitch of just 0.24mm. The latter is a good sign for video since
in theory it means sharper, more detailed images and more accurate colour
rendition.
So, we’re off to a pretty good start. It gets
better when you see the price, £280 or thereabouts is not an unreasonable sum
for a 17-inch monitor, especially one with a FD Trinitron tube. There are one
or two other little extras worth mentioning, the G710 has a built in microphone
on the top of the screen surround, and as we mentioned earlier there’s an optional
USB hub with one upstream and 4 downstream, ports.
The standard compliment of sockets includes a
15-pin D-Sub for the video, a 3-pin mains socket, a minijack for the microphone
connection to the PC (a patch cable is supplied) an labelled mini DIN
connector, which we presume is for the USB hub and a hidden connector behind a little
panel, which we presume is for diagnostics or some such. The front is equally
sparse, there’s a pair of thumbwheels for brightness and contrast beneath the
screen surround, and three buttons that call up and make selection on the menu-driven
on-screen display. This is unusually comprehensive, covering all of the usual
things, like image size, and geometry, plus there are manual and preset colour
controls (3 user settings) and some unusual linearly controls for fine-tuning
the picture. It’s good to have so many options but moving around all of the
menus is a slow business, fortunately it’s not something you should have to do
very often.
PERFORMANCE
After the customary 15-minute warm up the
G710 was treated to the full might of our test patterns, video sequences and
stability checks. There were no problems whatsoever with image resolution,
colour fidelity, geometry convergence or focus, in short image quality on
graphics or video is excellent and like all Trinitrons before it images have an
almost 3D quality but… Well, there had to be at least one. The suspension wire shadows
-- common to all Trinitron tubes -- show
up quite clearly on bright desktop displays. They’re supposed to stop the
aperture grille from vibrating, in the case of our sample they didn’t do very
well and a gentle tap on the side of the monitor creates all kinds of
interesting and colourful patterns that take several seconds to subside. Bear that
in mind if you work in an environment where your desk is likely to be knocked
or subject to vibration. There was some slight ballooning on our power
regulation checks, it was just about okay, but it is unusual these days. Lastly,
and this was another surprise; there was some very slight smearing on sharp
black white transitions. Again it wasn’t enough to be concerned about and it
only showed up on test patterns but it’s not something we’re use to seeing very
often.
SUMMARY
Basically a good monitor with one or two
slightly rough edges that we’re prepared to overlook because they’re almost
impossible to see in normal use, the FD Trinitron image quality is so good and
the price is quite reasonable.
Make/model
ADI MICROSCA G710
How Much?
£280 (inc. VAT)
Tube size
17-inch FD Trinitron
Visible display area
326 x 241 mm
Dot Pitch
0.24 mm
Max Resolution
1600 x 1200 pixels
Synch range
Horizontal: 30 to 96KHz
Vertical: 50 to 160Hz
Dimensions
439 x 441 x 441mm
Weight
21kg
ADI UK Systems Ltd, telephone 020 8327 1900 www.adimicroscan.com
CV RATINGS
Features ****
Performance ****
Ease of use ***
Value for money ****
Overall Rating 92%
---end---
ã R. Maybury 2000 2803
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