From CAD User AEC Magazine Vol 18 No 03 - MARCH/APRIL 2005
David Chadwick looks at the latest flat screen displays from Eizo, and decides that they meet all of the criteria that users demand when it comes to Viewing Comfort.
What criteria do you use for selecting a flat screen display for your
workstation? Well, bearing in mind the fact that you are a conscientious and
hardworking soul, and spend a large part of your working day with your eyes
glued to the screen or screens the most important factor has just got to be
comfort!
Unfortunately, viewing comfort is only achieved when a number of factors are in
place. Should a monitor be deficient in any one of a number of different areas,
that particular drawback assumes exaggerated significance, and excessive use of
the equipment becomes a drag, rather than an enjoyable experience.
The demand for comfort does not, either, override the need for superior
performance. Technical competence is merely another of the attributes that add
to the comfort factor. Which is why display manufactures spend as much time and
effort in the ergonomics of their equipment as they do in enhancing the
technical specifications.
Take Eizo, for instance. Launching three new models in their FlexScan range, the
company emphasises the physical characteristics of the LCD monitors as much as
it does in the performance. The ability to position the monitors to suit the
viewer, and to configure the screen to reflect viewing conditions, are accorded
as much attention as the high speed screen refresh rates, and the methods of
controlling colour displays.
The Japanes company Eizo Nanao Corporation is a specialist developer of display
systems. Their state-of-the-art equipment is distributed worldwide by Avnet
Visual + Data Solutions. The three FlexScan monitors in question are the L797
LCD monitor, aimed at the 3D modelling, architecture, document imaging and
similar markets, and the L778 and L578 MultiEdge monitors, that come with
enhanced multimedia capabilities gaming and DVD viewing as well as being
ideal for handling 3D wire framed models.
Viewing Comfort
Switching from CRT displays to flat screen displays gives the user far more
scope to improve viewing comfort than merely saving a lot of desktop space. The
slimmed down screen, mounted on a flexible pillar, enables it to be positioned
more suited to a viewers needs even to be hung on a wall, or rotated on the
pillar for viewing in portrait mode. The tilt and swivel angles for the L797 are
41Ί and 70Ί respectively, and, for the L778 and L578, 65Ί tilt and 172Ί swivel.
In addition to that, the height of the screen can be moved up and down by about
100mm. This means that the latter two displays can even be angled for viewing
like a book, using the ergonomics of its ArcSwing 2 stand if that position is
more comfortable for some applications.
Wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles of 170-178Ί enable all displays to
be accurately read from positions other than directly in front of the monitors.
Image quality depends upon a number of factors, and all aim to improve the
viewing performance. All monitors have a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 (1.3
megapixel display) high levels of brightness 250cd/m2 (L778 and L578) and
280cd/m2 (L797). The L797 has a contrast ratio of 450:1, whilst the former two
displays have very high contrast ratios of 1000:1.
Benefits deriving from a combination of such features, including fast response
times, enable minimal colour shifts to be perceived when viewing from
off-centre, and a proper display of mid-tones. This is especially important when
viewing 3D CAD models that have require constant zooming in and out of models
and image rotation. Ghosted and streaking is eliminated, even in detailed linear
drawings.
The L778 and L578 achieve even higher levels or performance, using technology
developed for LCD TVs and justifying their use in multimedia applications. The
Overdrive Circuit adjusts the voltage input for each frame, based on image data
for the three previous frames, smoothing the flow of the moving images. This
improves mid-tone response times the time required to transit between grey
levels to 12ms, which reduces the blur that occurs in moving images, resulting
in crisp, clear images.
On the same models, the C-Booster monitors the gradation ranges, and boosts the
contrast of the most frequently used colours, so that they stand out in greater
detail.
The 1000:1 contrast ratio provides remarkable results, enabling images on dark
backgrounds to stand out and retain their colours even in brightly lit rooms.
Colour Control
Colour control on all displays is achieved through Gamma Correction, a 10bit
look up table of over 1 billion colours from which 16.7 million can be displayed
to provide smooth colour gradation (No, you dont have to set each one!) where
gamma values can be adjusted from 1.4 to 3 in increments of 0.2. Emulation of
CRT and other LCD Monitors can be set up by inputting co-ordinates for white,
red, green and blue useful for matching output in a multi-screen environment.
Independent 6 colour control allows saturation levels for the primary colours to
be set, allowing single colours to be changed in an image.
All monitors come with a range of imaging modes Text, Picture, Movie, Custom
and sRGB, each of which can be configured separately using image parameters such
as colour temperature, gamma and brightness. Users can switch between these very
simply, after they have been set up, by switching from a button on the front
panel. And they can go even further, by assigning a Fine Contrast mode to any of
the image settings, using ScreenManager Pro a software utility that comes on
the LCD utility software CD.
ScreenManager Pro also enables OSD functions to be controlled using the mouse or
keyboard, rather than the monitors front buttons.
And, for the L778 and L578, there is yet another neat little gimmick to improve
the image quality under all lighting conditions. A sensor on the front bevel can
read the ambient brightness and signal the backlight to adjust the screens
brightness accordingly increasing the brightness in a brightly lit room, and,
in a dim room, decreasing the brightness level to reduce eye fatigue and save
energy. This facility can be disabled if required.
As they are also designed to be used for multimedia applications, the L778 and
L578 come with built-in speakers. These provide true stereo sound and
incorporate SRS WOW technology (used with LCD TVs and car stereo systems). SRS
WOW provides a panoramic 3D sound field, and consists of three separate
technologies SRS which produces fuller and more dimensional sound that may
have been lost in the recording process, TruBass for boosting the bass
performance, and FOCUS for elevating the sound field to produce a higher and
wider listening area with better clarity in higher frequencies. The speakers,
attractively incorporated in the frame, focus the sound at the viewers ears, and
are protected with metal grilles with high aperture ratios to maximise the SRS
WOW effect.
Displays are subject to the most stringent environmental standards, and Eizos
models conform to all of the latest including different TCO standards for
black or grey displays! They also come with an industry leading 5 year warranty,
supported in every country where Eizo has distributors. Various accessories are
also available for wall mounting, dual height adjustable stands, panel
protectors and even client management software.
www.eizo.co.uk
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