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MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PRO 1000
STANDFIRST
If computer monitors were sold by the pound,
then the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 1000 would be one of the most expensive models
on the market! Rick Maybury risks a double hernia to bring you the low down on
this 21-inch heavyweight
COPY
Three quarters of the way down the feature
list in the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 1000 instruction book it says, and we quote,
‘Digital chassis design for lighter, more compact enclosure…’. The word ‘lighter’
caught our eye, having spent the best part of ten minutes struggling to get the
beast out of its box and onto a table strong enough to support it’s 35.5 kg
bulk! Normally the weight of a monitor is not something we’re particularly
concerned about, but we’ll make an exception in this case, if only to warn
anyone thinking of buying one to make sure they have a fit friend on hand to
help install it.
It is well worth the effort, though the
suggested selling price of just under £1400, is a tad steep side, even for a
well-qualified 21-incher like this. However, before you make up your mind take
a look at the specification and our performance findings. It is based around
one of Mitsubishi’s 55cm Diamondtron display tubes, they’re very similar to
Sony Trinitron CRTs, which means a near flat faceplate and the promise of a
bright, accurate image. Dot pitch, or rather aperture pitch is an unremarkable
0.28 mm and the actual visible display is 50cm, or just over 19 inches. That
kind of screen acreage puts it firmly into the serious user category, suitable
for CAD/CAM, graphics and not forgetting computer video applications.
The Pro 1000 is capable of a maximum
resolution of 1800 x 1440, though we suspect most applications and video cards
will call for a 1600 x 1200 display. Microprocessor controlled auto-scan
decides which of the ten preset standard resolution and refresh rate settings
are most appropriate, or it can store up to 15 custom settings. It can handle
all PC and MAC graphic schemes and will communicate with machines that support
the VESA DDC1 and DDC2B protocols, enabling automatic set up. It is compliant
with all current power management systems and emission limits, and it comes
with a MAC adaptor.
Around the back there’s a standard 15-pin
D-Sub socket, separate BNC sockets for RGB and synch signals, and a 9-pin mini
DIN socket, for an optional serial connection. A button on the front panel
switches between BNC and D-Sub inputs, so theoretically it could be connected
to two PCs at once.
Apart from the main on/off switch all of the
controls are on a small drop-down panel. Most of the user options are on a
comprehensive on-screen display; it has adjustments for just about every
picture and geometry parameter you can think of, plus a few more besides. If
you don’t fancy fiddling with the controls just press the Auto-Cal button on
the front panel, and the microchip minions inside the box will sort out the
main display settings for you.
PERFORMANCE
Shadows cast by two damping wires are just
about visible on a bright white display; otherwise they’re not intrusive. As
usual, following a 30-minute warm-up we used CheckScreen and N-Test monitor
test programs, some lively game software and moving video on a range of
resolution settings, to ferret out any anomalies, mis-aligment or design flaws.
Focus is a major concern on a large screen, but this one was pin-sharp, right
up to the edges of the display. Colour purity and convergence were both
spot-on, resolution was excellent, the display is rock-solid and it has one of
the most stable power supplies we’ve come across. In fact we couldn’t find a
single thing to grumble about, image quality is simply brilliant.
SUMMARY
It’s big, heavy and expensive but flexibility
and ease of use are superb. Picture performance is outstanding, and if that’s
your main concern then forget what we said about the price.
How Much? £1392 (inc. VAT) (recommended price,
couldn’t find it on sale anywhere…)
Tube size 21-inch Diamondtron
Visible display area 380 x 285mm
Aperture grille pitch 0.28mm
Max Resolution 1800 x 1440 pixels
Max refresh rate auto scan to 152Hz
Dimensions 500 x 490 x 488mm
Weight 35kg
CV RATINGS
Features 9
Performance 10
Ease of use 8
Value for money 7
Overall Rating 85%
Mitsubishi (01707) 278684, www.meuk.mee.com/display
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Ó R. Maybury 1998 1903
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