NEC Brings LCD Monitors Down to a Manageable Price.
Pamela Pfiffner
Color Monitors
IN FUTURISTIC FILMS, computer monitors are always flat. High-quality liquid-crystal-display (LCD) monitors exist today, but their exorbitant prices have prevented widespread adoption (except by those like Bill Gates, who can afford to decorate his house with LCDs). Now NEC is releasing two LCD multifrequency monitors that won't send corporate financial officers into sticker shock.
The NEC MultiSync LCD200 ($3,999) and LCD300 ($5,999), both slated for release in late January, are high-resolution active-matrix monitors that cost about half as much as current comparably configured LCD monitors. These new LCD monitors also occupy half the desktop space and consume about half the power of their CRT-based cousins. The LCD300, for instance, requires about 45 watts or less. Each NEC model is only 6.7 inches deep. The LCD200 weighs 16.1 pounds, and the LCD300 is just 15 pounds.
Unlike other LCD monitors, the NEC models output analog signals directly from the graphics cards instead of converting the video signals to digital. As a result, analog LCD monitors offer more-consistent color than the dithered spectrum offered by digital LCD monitors. The displays require no special graphics cards.
Unlike CRT monitors, in which the size of the tube and the viewing area don't always match up, the 12-inch LCD200 and the 13-inch LCD300 take advantage of the whole display area. Both models offer several resolutions, but thanks to NEC's FIT technology, even images displayed at lower resolutions fit the entire screen, enlarging the viewing area and eliminating the borders that occur when lower-resolution images appear on digital monitors.
The LCD200 boasts an optical resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels and a dot pitch of .24 mm. Besides 1,024 x 768 pixels, the monitor supports resolutions of 640 x 480 and 800 x 600 pixels. The LCD200 comes with NEC's On-Screen Manager, which lets you adjust the monitor's image with front-panel controls.
The LCD300 offers higher resolution than the LCD200. It has an optical resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 pixels and a dot pitch of .20 mm. Besides 1,280 x 1,024 pixels, it supports a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. 800-632-4636 or 708-860-9500.
