NEC-Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 740SB

A good flat-screen monitor at a great price.

A monitor's brightness has never been comparable to that of a standard television set. Philips was the first to address this with its Lightframe technology. Following suit is NEC-Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 740SB (Super Bright) with its Diamondtron M2 tube.

It is a 17in, flat-screen, aperture-grille monitor offering new levels of picture brightness through improved electron gun technology.

The 740SB has a button on the fascia to activate its Super Bright mode. Turning this on improved our DVD movie but did not impact on text quality. That said, when it was turned off the picture looked slightly dull.

The design is typical NEC-Mitsubishi and, although it looks uninspiring, you can both swivel and tilt the monitor. There's no USB hub or BNC connectors, and the D-Sub cable is captive.

Access to the menus is via seven buttons on the front, and there are a few extra options such as top and bottom pin adjustments, independently variable red and blue levels, and the option of moving the OSD to a new position.

A maximum resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 at 76Hz can be reached, although everything looks miniscule and slightly sub-standard. But it does show the NEC-Mitsubishi's increased headroom. The monitor also has a constant 0.25mm grille-pitch across the screen.

Using Displaymate at 1,024 x 768 at 85Hz to assess image quality, this monitor achieved fine geometry scores. However, other areas proved disappointing.

The NEC-Mitsubishi is very stable, even with the SB mode switched on. But is has less than perfect vertical colour convergence at the screen's periphery.

It is well priced, and you can turn the Super Bright mode off. Then again, images tend to look a little too dull with SB mode off and the menu system is a little tricky.

Contact: NEC-Mitsubishi 08701 201 160
www.nec-mitsubishi.com