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CMV CT-720D Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionWhile the CMV CT-720D is the third 17-inch 8ms LCD monitor to hit the market, it is the first we have received with a different panel make. Both BenQ and ViewSonic do not manufactur...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Performance - Movies and Gaming
Video Playback
The CMV CT-720D has a pretty standard 500:1 contrast ratio for a 17-inch LCD but an exceptional brightness of 450cd/m? Coupled with the results from the DisplayMate tests, we expected the monitor to have decent display quality for entertainment purposes. Before we begin, the monitor had been set to 6500K temperature for a better reproduction of warm tones. Our DVD tests are standard, with an array of scenes from Gladiator, The Lost World and U-571.
If you remember our reviews of the BenQ FP71E+ and ViewSonic VP171b, both monitors had trouble with human skin color and tonal range. The BenQ was incredibly reddish while the ViewSonic lacked in blue resulting in yellowish tones. The CMV CT-720D was also unable to reproduce the exact skin tonal range we expected, but excelled in clarity and blending. While the color was correct, it lacked vibrancy and looked pale. Contrast settings did not help in this situation, as it seemed only to increase screen luminance and saturation. We recommend leaving the contrast settings alone. We finally settled for a user RGB setting where red was set higher at 65, while green and blue remain at default level of 50. This helped flesh out human tones and added the needed punch. Overall, picture clarity was excellent with very good color quality. Color banding or dithering usually noticed for shadows or sky scenes were not apparent. CMV's 16.7 million colors claim could well be true.
The monitor also excelled at rendering of dark scenes. In Gladiator, the blend of the forest, men and horses were particularly distinct. The high brightness of the monitor certainly helped out quite a bit. U-571 was our definitive test. With spanning underwater scenes and lots of dark areas, the movie really showed the prowess of the display panel. Visual details in those difficult shadowed areas were well rendered and surprisingly clear.
During our movie tests, special attention was paid to determine if the interlace flickering and beat patterns that plagued the DisplayMate tests manifested itself. From what we have seen, the monitor handled movies with aplomb. Not much as a tear or jitter could be seen from our three DVD tests (and we looked really closely too).
Gaming Performance
Quake III Arena is still the game of choice when testing monitor performance due to the large open area of Q3DM17 and the contrasting colors with a black background. Many a monitor have fallen to this test, with ghosting effects rearing its ugly head. Having seen what the initial batch of 8ms monitors are capable of, CMV brings into the fray an LCD panel from a different manufacturer. The CT-720D with Chi Mei Optoelectronic's 8ms panel does not differ much in gaming performance. Just like the BenQ FP71E+ and ViewSonic VP171b, the CT-720D doesn't break a sweat. Images and movement are sharp and precise. Even when it comes to frantic 180 degree turns, textures do not blur away too evidently and pixel decay is unnoticeable. It is good to see that 8ms monitors are really shaping up to be a strong selling point when it comes to the die hard gamers hell bent on sticking with their Jurassic CRTs.
Picture clarity is again very apparent in games. Just like DVD viewing, we felt that the CT-720D produced richer colors with better gradients than the previously tested 8ms monitors. The flicker effect was also absent in Quake III Arena, even with all the black areas.
DVI Input Performance
Here, we briefly mentioned about the drawbacks of using a DVI connection on the CT-720D. When we ran through the DisplayMate tests with the DVI input, we were certain that the consistent flickering and beat patterns would be eliminated. To our disappointment, the problem was more pronounced and persistent on a digital connection with no way to fix it. Other aspects of the display did not differ much when switching over to the DVI input. This is the first time we have encountered an LCD monitor that performs worse on a DVI input than an analog connection.
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