Looking at All the Angles

Even the most expensive laptop active-matrix panels show problems with image consistency. No matter how you tilt the panel, the top of the screen is darker or lighter than the bottom, with color variations, too. But the VP140 presents a clear, bright image that's remarkably consistent, from top to bottom and from side to side. ViewSonic achieved this with a backlight that's more diffused and thus less directional. Another factor, important for compatibility with both Mac and Windows platforms, is the unit's analog interface, which, when it converts the signal to digital, also gets rid of some nois e and garbage. Address times under 50 milliseconds let pixels turn on and off cleanly, and a 200:1 contrast-to-brightness ratio also contributes to image quality.