The Sony SDM-S73/B is NICE

Author's Rating:

Pros: Handsome design, excellent display color and contrast, great resolution, anti-glare

Cons: View angle is limited--LCD nature? (read text below)

The Bottom Line: 
Space efficiency, excellent resolution and accurate color display makes this monitor an excellent buy. If you're ready to move from CRT to LCD monitor, this one is worth considering.

Author's Review
The Sony STYLEPRO SDM-S73/B 17-inch LCD flat screen monitor is a member of a trio model series that includes SDM-S53 (15-inch) and SDM-S93 (19-inch). It comes in two versions: Black and Silver. The “/B” attached behind the model number indicates the black version.

We ordered this monitor online from newegg.com for $424 (with a $50 instant rebate from $459 plus $15 for shipping). The monitor is not for my own use (though I wished I had one), but for my uncle whom I just built a new computer for him. He wanted a Sony for his computer monitor.

For this type of LCD monitor, Sony offers two series: S and X. The S-series does not have audio inputs/outputs, but the X-series does. Since his computer has a separate sound system with two speakers and a base module, getting a monitor that has built-in speakers seems to be a waste of the extra money. So I suggested the SDM-S73/B model, because it seemed right for the quality, features and the price, compared to the SDM-S53 or SDM-S93.

Features / Specifications

The Sony SDM-S73/B is a TFT Active Matix LCD color monitor that features an anti-glare coating on the display screen. The built is quite solid with excellent design, a modern look. As I mentioned previously, unlike most other monitors, the SDM-S73/B does not come with any optional audio input or output, just the display screen.

There are 6 buttons on the lower-right corner on the front panel: 1) Standby, 2) Menu, 3) Up Arrow Key, 4) Down Arrow Key, 5) Selection Key (OK) and 6) ECO. These buttons can be used to make any adjustments on the display screen, such as phase, pitch (pixel), color, temperature, horizontal or vertical, etc.

Specifications: Sony STYLEPRO SDM-S73/B TFT Flat Panel

Image Display: 15-pin Analog RGB video signal
Image Resolution: 1280x1024 (SXGA)
Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Image/Picture size: 17 inches
Contrast Ratio: 400:1 (typical), 500:1 (maximum)
Dot Pitch/Pixel: 0.264 mm
Bit-Depth color: 24-bit
Response Time: 16 ms
View Angle (H/V): 140/120 degrees
Input Signal Format: RGB Operating Frequency 28-80 kHz X 48-75 kHz
Power Requirement: 100-240 V, 50-60 Hz
Power Consumption: 45 Watts
Weight: 11 pound with the stand.
Dimension (HXWXD): 16.25 X 14.5 X 8.5 inches (with the stand).

System Compatibility

According to the manual, this unit operates on the following Operating System (OS):

Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP
Apple Macintosh

I have tested it on Windows 2000 and XP professional, and everything was fully compatible.

Installation / Setup

The shipment includes:

1. LCD display monitor unit
2. Power cord
3. HD15-HD15 video signal cable
4. CD-ROM (utility software for Windows/Macintosh, Operating Instructions, etc.)
5. Warranty Card
6. Instruction manual (quick setup guide)

Hardware: For the hardware installation, there is nothing to it; since the monitor was shipped to us with its base attached, all in one piece. I simply unpack the monitor and place it on the desktop. With its Ergo-Stand design, the base with its slim bezel and footprint sets firmly on the desk, as if it were “glued” onto the desktop, making it easy to tilt the screen to adjust viewing angle. The 15-pin video-signal cable connector port is located at the rear (and to the left). To access it we need to raise the back cover. The power cable connector port is next to the video port. The main power switch is also at the rear, but on the right side of the back panel.

The secondary power switch or standby switch is on the front panel (lower-right corner, on the top row among other operation buttons). Once the 15-pin cable (the other end) is connected to the computer (the video card) and the main power switch of the monitor is turned on, the monitor can be turned on by lightly pressing this secondary switch button. The switch can be turned on before or after the computer is on. If it is turned on before the computer, it will display “no signal” on the screen.

Video Card: For this monitor, we use an NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX440 64MB 8X AGP DDR video card running on an ASUS P4P800 motherboard with Intel Pentium 4 2.6GHz processor and 256 MB RAM.

Space Efficiency: If you have previously used a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor, you will be surprised at how much and little space this Sony LCD monitor occupies your desktop area. The whole desktop literally transforms; the area now appears quite spacious!

The removable tilt base provides an option for mounting the monitor using arm or wall bracket, an excellent choice for business or office environment.

Software: There isn’t really any software installation required. But we need to run the CD-ROM to perform video display adjustment on the monitor. The software will automatically detect the current status of the display signal—its resolution, color, temperature, pitch, etc. The software includes all three S models: SDM-S53, SDM-S73 and SDM-S93 and the X models. You need to select the one corresponding to your model. For us, we select the SDM-S73.

The first procedure in the display adjustment is resolution. Here the software detects the current resolution set on the computer. It displays this information and suggests the appropriate resolution for optimum performance. In our case, it displays 1024X768 as the current resolution and suggests a setting to 1280 dots X 1024 lines (its maximum Horizontal X Vertical resolution). But we leave the setting at 1024X768, because it is easier to read text. The maximum resolution should be perfect for graphical display, such as DVD movies or 3D games.

The next step is to adjust the pitch. This monitor displays vertical bars with the black one at the center of the screen. If none of these are displayed or any lines broken, we need to use the buttons on the front panel to make adjustment until these lines appear. It seems that the monitor was pre-calibrated or pre-adjusted before it was packaged. We did not have to do anything, and just clicked “Next” to move on to the next step.

The next step is the phase adjustment. Here we need to check for image blurring or non-uniform display. Again if it requires adjustment, we need to use the front panel buttons to make necessary correction. We did not do anything since the display screen seemed perfect already.

The next step involves checking the center display. Here the monitor displays green bars encircling the edge of the screen. If the bar appears off centered, we can use the buttons to perform the adjustment. Again, as with everything else, the display is perfectly centered.

Now the monitor is ready for use.

Performance

To determine its performance, I first search for any bad pixels displayed on the screen, but no such things are found, a positive sign that we have bought a perfect working monitor. This is a vital issue, because newegg.com (where we ordered this monitor from) has its specific policy, that it only provides an exchange or refund if the defective monitor has 8 or more dead pixels.

The response time for the display is quite impressive, at 16 millisecond (ms). The recommended horizontal and vertical timing condition are 0.8 microsecond (u-sec). Horizontal blanking width should be about 2.5 u-sec and vertical about 450 u-sec. Since the computer is mostly used for web surfing, educational game playing, text writing and DVD movies, such response time is quite good.

To test its color accuracy, I loaded up my scanned slide images and made comparison between the displayed images and those on my lightbox for the original slides. I am happy to report that this monitor is almost a first rate for displaying faithful color. Watching DVD movies is probably the best thing that this monitor offers. Accurate color, brightness and contrast are excellent. With the anti-glare coating on the screen, this is quite a special treat.

However, there seems to be a down side for viewing the display screen; perhaps this has to do with the screen itself being LCD. Contrast appears to shift greatly if you view the screen at an angle roughly more than 50-60 degrees from the normal viewing angle (off to either side), contrary to the claim made by Sony for a 140-degree viewing angle. Of course, you can view the display screen from such angle, but the quality will decline. The color seems to shift a bit. Contrast is lower. For best picture quality, you must view at normal angle, that is, in front of the monitor or within 40-45 degrees to the left or to the right. Just for comparison, with my CRT monitor (Hitachi SuperScan Pro 15), I can view the screen from almost any angle without experiencing any shift in picture quality.

Comment / Recommendation

Sony, at least in the enclosed document, did not list any specific support of video cards. Besides using it on my uncle's computer (information listed above), I also have tested this monitor on my computer that uses ASUS Radeon 9200SE/TD 128MB DDR 64-bit 8X AGP video card with perfect video display, resolution, contrast and color. Therefore, this monitor should be compatible with any video card capable of displaying high image resolution. The retail package includes a 3-year warranty.

For the top-performing monitor with 1280x1024 as its native resolution and with perfect color accuracy, the Sony STYLEPRO SDM-S73/B represents an excellent buy for a flat LCD panel. Its 17-inch viewing screen seems perfect, not too small (compared to 15-inch) and not too large (compared to the 19-inch one, but, of course, the larger the screen the better the viewing experience).

If you are looking to replace your old CRT monitor and make room on your desktop, this monitor is more than a perfect candidate for that, that is, if you have $400-$500 to spend.