BERLINEA 10 80 15, 21-inch Monitor

STANDFIRST

If you’re still putting together video movies on a titchy 14-inch monitor, it’s time you took a look at the big picture. This 21-incher from Berlinea might be a good place to start

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Larger colour monitors, 17 inches and above, can be a bit of a mixed blessing for desktop video applications. The desktop bit is okay; the look and legibility of most PC software improves immeasurably, writ large, at higher screen resolutions. The downside is moving video. Sitting close to a sharply resolved picture on a large screen magnifies every minor imperfection in the original recording and any subsequent processing. Fortunately the impact is lessened by the time footage has been back through the digital mill, copied back to VHS tape, and shown on a ordinary TV at normal viewing distance...

The snappily named Berlinea 10 80 15 digital multiscan monitor is particularly good at showing up mistakes. The big, bright 21-inch FST display has a viewable screen area of 400 x 305mm, which equates to a 20 inch picture (measured diagonally) in old money. That’s a lot of screen, for a fair amount of money; the street price is hovering around the eleven hundred pound mark. Despite its size the cosmetics and compact cabinet help to keep it in proportion, the actual footprint isn’t that much larger than a typical 17-inch display.

For such a sophisticated design there’s surprisingly few controls, just four buttons which operate the comprehensive on-screen display, that between them adjust all picture parameters, as well as geometry, moiré pattern reduction, colour temperature, input selection, degauss and display language. Changes to factory defaults are registered as a user setting, up to 13 ‘modes’ as they are called, are permanently stored by the monitor’s main processor.

Scanning frequency and display mode selection is automatic, it can handle all the usual permutations of display frequencies (horizontal 30 to 115kHz, vertical frequency 50 - 160Hz), and modes conforming to VGA, SVGA and VESA standards, up to 1600 x 1200 pixels. It supports the most widely used energy-saving protocols (VESA DPMS and DCC1/2B), and it can be used with both PCs and MACs, though the latter will require a cable adaptor.

Around the back there’s two separate input connections; Port A uses a standard 15-pin D-Sub socket, Port B is via a set of five BNC sockets.  There’s also a mysterious RJ11, US style telephone socket. It’s not mentioned in the instruction manual, and we’re still not sure what it’s for.

PERFORMANCE

We put the 10 80 15 through our standard monitor test routine. Following a 30 minute warm-up, it was subjected to CheckScreen and Ntest monitor test programs, using all standard display settings. Between them the programs highlight any abberations in focus, colour purity, picture linearity, geometry and power regulation. In practice the shape and size of the picture are of relatively little concern as they can be adjusted, though it’s always encouraging to see a correctly set up display, straight out of the box, as was the case with this model. Focus is vitally important, particularly on a large display, moreover it’s not a user adjustment. We’re pleased to report the image on the 10 80 15 was pin-sharp, right up to the edges of the display. Convergence -- the accuracy with which the red, green and blue images are overlaid -- was spot on, and the power supply handled the regulation tests without any difficulty. In short the 10 80 15 came through with flying colours -- and very clean colours they were too. 

SUMMARY

There’s nothing to add. To sum up, on-screen performance is very good indeed, it’s easy to set up and use, it looks the part and the price is fair. Definitely worth considering. 

How Much?                  

£1115  (inc. VAT)

Tube size                     

21-inch FST

Visible display area     

400 x 305 mm

Dot Pitch                      

0.25mm

Max Resolution 

1600 x 1200 pixels

Max refresh rate

auto scan to 160Hz

Dimensions                  

505 x 487 x 508mm

Weight             

28.5kg

Maxdata (01189) 362900

CV RATINGS

Features                       8

Performance                  9

Ease of use                   9

Value for money            8

Overall Rating  88%

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Ó R. Maybury 1998 1901