ViewSonic’s 27 Incher It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, No!….It’s Super TeeVeePeeCee ViewSonic NextVision N2750w 27 in. HDTV Ready LCD TV
cheapest 27inch lcd around ViewSonic NextVision N2750w 27 in. HDTV Ready LCD TV i recently sold my 17inch BenQ monitor for 300 dollars to buy a 27inch lcd monitor/tv for my bedroom. while...
Very good HDTV, excellent value! ViewSonic NextVision N2750w 27 in. HDTV Ready LCD TV I got this set some months ago at my local Costco retailer for 850$ CAD (about 750$ US). The first thing I tried o...
ViewSonic’s N2750w LCD PC 27″ Monitor/Television
(The Review that Won’t End)
FOR THOSE WHO NEED EVERYTHING BUT CANNOT AFFORD IT, here is something that just might be for EVERYONE.
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6th Update on 8/15/2006 - Comments on Audio/Speaker Quality
5th Update on 8/13/2006 - Removed precaution about Pip/Pop
4th Update on 8/6/2006 - Minor corrections.
3rd Update on 7/31/2006 - comment on excessive heat noted in other reviews. I did not encounter this problem.
2nd Update on 7/31/2006 to add precautions regarding both “PIP” & “POP” function potential for screen burn.
Updated 7/30/2006 to explain the PIP/POP features.
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Note: See below for commentary on built-in speakers
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NOTE! The PIP function produces a small picture that the operator can locate in any of NINE different positions. Once Selected, that little picture just sits there in that one spot. Old Phosphor Coated Screens would develop burn-in as the CRT gun kept striking the screen in the same area. The LCD does not involve that process and the function appears to be safe. The screen saver function that kicks in (I think it is generated by the ViewSonic itself) DOES NOT affect the PIP, rather, the Main Screen moves around UNDER the PIP. I have just tested the POP function; it is not affected by the screen saver either.
Thanks to ALEXANDERAKU for the timely information on LCD vs. CRT.
I did notice that, when a PIP or POP is on VGA Feed, the screensaver from VGA actually kicks in inside of the Picture frame. Cute.
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There is an “OSD Timeout” function that does not seem to affect anything on the screen. FINDINGS: “OSD Timeout” had no observable effect on either PIP or POP windows.
Treat these nice ‘extras’ like the novelties they are but don’t run them constantly. We all would welcome input on this problem - the documentation is written in Esperanto (or Desperanto) so don’t expect anything there.
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After all of this, I looked up the User Manual online; where it is produced in *PDF format. Don’t expect anything here either. It is simply a slightly more legible version of the smaller one in the shipping carton. Weird typos and all. I had thought to test my new Flash Drive by carrying a copy of this user manual to Office Depot where they could print it on their $35,000 /- printer. Don’t waste your money because the *pdf copy is identical to that tossed into the carton. This technique eliminates the need for a printer at home! HOORAY - by now, all readers should know how I detest those ‘Consumables’.
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THE REVIEW
For reasons noted elsewhere, I needed both a TV and a PC. From recent experiences, the choice of screen types and sizes and PC peripherals is nearly infinite. It would probably cost about $2,500 to obtain a decent wide screen LCD TV and about $1,000 for a “Loaded PC”. Because of the incredible multi-function capabilities of the ViewSonic N2750w; I was able to obtain what I needed for about $1,250 without too much compromising. This product is a breakthrough that can save the consumer plenty of money.
While at the nearby Office Depot, looking for picture hooks, I was startled to see a Flat Screen PC Monitor on display. It looked just like the 19″ ViewSonic Monitor I have reviewed recently but this one was Huge in comparison. I inquired and found out it was a…
ViewSonic NextVision N2750w 27 inch (diagonal)
LCDTV Display, HDTV-Ready LCD Television
The specifications suggested to me that this could be exactly what I needed because I would have both the TV and PC Monitor in the same package. So I bought it. Known by some as “The Music Man”, I picked up a Sony DVD/VHS combo player (next door at Target) to supply the ‘content’ (i.e. Films & Music) that would keep me entertained; or so I thought.
There was no warning but the Sony thingy failed to measure up. Reason: For 20 years or so, all of my music has been on Compact Disc but these industry leaders forgot that and the player (SLV D370P) would not play my music. Sony is probably on another BetaMax trip so watch out. This is stupid consumerism at its worst, outrageous, at best, and it went right back to Target in disgrace. I replaced it with a product I knew would work; a Sony DVP-NS55P CD/DVD Player that WOULD play CD Music as well as DVD Movies. It did play and I am happy. But I was provoked and would have tried Panasonic or RCA if I had been sure they would work.
Now I had cobbled together a triple play device in the ViewSonic Monitor because it has built-in speakers; adequate for a 497sf one bedroom apartment. I had a 22″ x 48″ chunk of plywood out in the Ford Ranger, which I set on the carton the Viewsonic N2750w came in and I was in business.
THINGS I REALLY LIKE
HOLD THE PRESSES - I JUST TRIED THE PIP/POP FEATURE!
It took some doing but it was well worth it. Firstly, I can de-geek the names of the feature:
PIP is a small picture ON a larger, main picture
POP is an equally sized picture BESIDE the second picture.
Setting up the PIP or POP is a bit tedious when attempted through the menus. The remote makes this chore simple: There they are, plainly marked “PIP”, “POP”, “SWAP”, and “SOUND”. The trick seems to be pressing that “MENU” button often. After a few false starts, I managed to make these interesting features work. Screen savers have no effect on either. The VGA Screen Saver does kick in when VGA Feed is on for both PIP and POP.
I thought I would hate this feature in use but found that it worked very well for me - I happen to like opera and was able to listen to (and glance at) some entertainment while composing some immortal E-Mail. The distraction effect failed to materialize. I enjoyed every moment.
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Sensational Video Resolution
Multiple combinations of inputs available.
Vertical Stability. Others have yelled about the lack of an adjustable horizontal angle. At 35 pounds, the N2750w could generate “x” foot pounds of rotational force; enough to rotate the entire screen right through your keyboard and possibly bark your fingers. I held the screen in a death grip while connecting the cables. Still nearly lost it.
Appearance. Beautiful.
THINGS I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH
“Documentation” Once more, industry tries to skimp and does so, to the detriment of what? The paper? Cost?
ASPECT RATIO Control (or the “w” in the model number) Only two choices: 1. 16.9:1 or, 2. 1:1 as per OSD. (Huh! How’s that again?) Oh, they must have meant 4:3 as per user manual. Or did they?
AUDIO/HEADPHONE JACK LOCATION
It is a mini stereo socket located in the rear panel. It is devilshly hard to locate and to install the plug from the PC. Once achieved, one cannot hear anything because the monitor AUDIO is disabled. So, the user has to undo the plug and shelve the headphones. Why, oh why did the ViewSonic folks not think of that? Quien Sabe? (who knows?) The only saving feature is a set of RCA sockets one may use to send the Audio Feed to external speakers or to an amplifier.
Note: PC audio outputs end this concern.
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DESCRIPTION
I’ll spare you the details; the entire ViewSonic specification list has been copied and added to this review (see end) for our collective convenience. This is a favor to all of us because the documentation in the box is woefully inadequate (i.e. Non-Existent). Some Readers might call this plagiarism, I call it sparing the reader from FINDING the specs.
Here are my impressions:
This is only one of several similar products on the consumer market at this time. Office Depot, where the N2750w Monitor came from, carries a couple of lines but I paid no attention because I was already familiar with ViewSonic Quality from my earlier encounter with a 19″ Version of PC Monitor (see the review in my list). I had already seen a similar model, a Dell 23″ in use at the Alpine County Assessor office. Donald O’Connor the operator, who is very picky about what PC he uses, liked the Dell but I think would like the ViewSonic N2750w more. The ViewSonic is a good looking product and, most importantly it has released several square FEET of desktop space on his desk and on my own plywood improvisation. Overall, I really like the N2750w.
Note: I was feeling pretty smug about the screen size until I saw what a neighbor had found. A TELEVISION, with 36″ Screen, that would double as a PC Monitor. He was paying his bills online with it! What NEXT?
INPUTS The ViewSonic N2750w connects readily but it helps to be a 6 year old child to do it. The spaces for the connectors on the back of the Monitor/TV are inadequate. ViewSonic tossed a Remote into the box but SIX large and shiny buttons across the top of the monitor frame allow an operator to make rapid changes in Menu, Channel Selection and Volume by pressing a button in random order. The remote allows more fundamental selections and adjustments as well. Connections are on the rear of the N2750w; in one of two boxes I will refer to as “Tuners”. Here are the choices:
“VERTICAL TUNER BOX” connections.
TV Referred to as “Antenna” or Cable TV. Must be an RF Coaxial Cable. I used a set of Rabbit Ears (RCA) since I do not (yet) have a subscription to Cable TV nor Satellite TV services.
AV For VCR, DVD, Video Games. Standard RCA Jacks.
S-Video The treacherous “Mouse” connector. Not worth the effort to install due to cost of the cable and a tendency to self-destruct if mis-aligned by only a “Skosh”. Good luck with this strange design choice.
YCbCr Component Video connections. The audio part of Component Video signals is connected to the last RCA Jack/Socket in this Tuner Box.
NOTE:
When playing a DVD, the sharpness is amazing on this screen. Older films, such as “The Music Man”, look great.
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“HORIZONTAL TUNER BOX” connections.
YPbPr PROGRESSIVE Component Video connections. SO! The Geeky terminology use again. Why not “PCV” or something meaningful? Who Knows?
DVI Digital Television Interface. The cable of super high prices and questionable signal quality. Cable not included.
VGA Video Graphics A????? I used to hate people who used this Geekology to enhance their Geekocity. It is simply the old “Video Cable” that connects all PC Boxes to a Monitor.
PC Audio is connected using a mini connection normally used with Earphones. Cable NOT included. This connection is hard to reach, being in the back of the N2750w. Also, when in use, the built-in speaker sound is disabled and no application will deliver sound until the plug is removed. The cable included assumes your PC has RCA Jacks (Red & White Stereo) cables. Mine did not. Here is a job for SUPER RADIO SHACK: $7.00
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Speaker sound is adequate for me; who never sits more than 8 feet away from the screen. It is clear, can be way too loud but still with no distortion.
Stereo sound reproduction and broadcast came into being soon after I left the US Navy. While in the Navy, we electonics technicians bribed a shipyard worker into installing an inocuous (and ILLEGAL) whip antenna on the very edge of the weather deck of USS Cony DDE 508. With it, we could detect any RF Signal, especially FM. We spent many an hour down in the Electronics Shop playing hearts and other evil things while Radio Rome provided our “Muzac”. This made me lust for more and my discharge on November 27, 1957 began my search for the ultimate music system.
Epinionator ALEXANDERAKU asked for more details about the speaker quality. I had no reference point, thus my “Adequate” rating. This morning, I stumbled out to this PC to check E-Mail, never got there. I had just found my Sony MDR CD350 Earphones and wondered how to use them. In a former life, I lived in a detached Single Family Residence that was well insulated for heat and sound. There, at last, I could “Let ‘er Rip - FULL BLAST” And I did. Here, however, my 24 neighbors would storm the stairs and haul me out to the parking lot and destroy me if I did that. Hmm. Hmmm. AHA - another job for Earphone Man. My new Gateway PC has some mysteriously color coded sockets; one of which was marked with a crude ICON that might look like headphones. A Mini Plug Socket, it is. I had bought a Radio Shack adapter and was ready in a trice. I put a CD-Music in the tray and was soon rewarded with sound - In Only One Ear (?). It must be me, these things happen all the time when I approach some Hi-Tech Toy, built-in asourdough4 detectors shut something down. Undiluted rage follows.
Trouble-Shooting was my speciality in the Navy - Show me the trouble and I’ll shoot it. A fix that always cures. I once saved our little Fleet Group from steaming ashore in the Strait of Messina between Italy and Sicily. Neither USS Forrestal nor USS Wisconsin had calibrated LORAN that night. USS Cony did. After a silly bureaucratic argument, USS Waller chimed in and backed me up. “G…D D…N IT” We have sea cliffs in Visual, HARD to STARBOARD - EVERY D…D ONE OF YOU IDIOTS…!” So, Here we are.
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OK already, it was the derned Radio Shack adapter. I was delighted to find that some genius at Sony had designed the HeadPhone Plug to include both types of probe. Music, Maestro. Shattering Silence. NOW WHAT? Software, friends. I thought the Disc Tray made that happen. Baffled, I adjourned to prepare a bachelor breakfast.
Fortified with an “Eggbeaters” Omelette, I returned to battle. Hmm. For years, I have fought Microsoft to the death over whether or not a Media Player could be installed on my PC du Jour. This time, hat in hand, I was begging. Bless the patron saint of all PC Users; I found a “Player”, Installed it, punched the big Arrow - and the world became blessed.
SO, WILL HE EVER GET TO THE POINT?
Maybe, if I can ever escape from the hypnotic sound from a good sound source. In a JOLT, I realized that the built-in speakers are only a smidgeon better than the usual throwaway set manufacturers toss into the shipping container.
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DIFERENT SUBJECT: It may have occurred to some of us that the presence of two tuners is pregnant with meaning; that is, if one even notices that there are two tuners.
MEANING, PLEASE
Now, we are about to enjoy being 70 years old and not DEAD! The ViewSonic N2750w has PIP (Picture In Picture)capability. Find a signal from Tuner 1, display it in a window. Find one from Tuner 2, display in another window.
OUTPUTS
Only one or, rather, two. The Audio signals can be sent to a remote Stereo Player. RCA Jacks.
OTHER INTERESTING THINGS:
The ViewSonic people put a power switch on the back of this monitor. I’m not sure why. If a black screen occurs, it is a good place to start shooting. ViewSonic must be getting bombarded with this problem because they shipped the unit with a large bright red notice plastered across the front that reads: ATTENTION “TURN ON THE MAIN AC POWER SWITCH” In 8 languages. There is a nice illustration that shows the location of that switch; another view shows how to plug in the power cord.
The N2750w features lots of things, the best of which is a big silver button to switch power on and off. (Remember the IBM XT box?)
If you wish (or need), you may control the location on the screen of the menu windows. “OSD” is in your hands. Now, what the devil does OSD mean - oh, On Screen Display. Yeah, I get it.
For those of us who may want to resume sane living modes, there is a RESET Control - labeled “Memory Recall”. This choice restores the Factory Default Settings.
ViewSonic tossed in Parental Control and MPAA Rating limits. I did not go there.
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BECAUSE it is so hard to find this product in the Epinions database and because the Specifications are not to be found in the user manual; here are the Specifications of this remarkable product Edited for legibility and context in English. The translation becomes hilarious at times.):
ViewSonic NextVision N2750w
27 in. HDTV-Ready LCD Television
Key Features
Flat Panel Type LCD Television
Screen Size 27 inch
Contrast Ratio 600:1
Digital TV Standard HDTV-Ready Television
Display Resolution 1280 x 720 pixels
HDCP Support With HDCP Support
Display Capabilities
Digital TV Standard HDTV-Ready -
Requires separate receiver to view HDTV signals.
Broadcast Format Displayed
720p (HDTV) 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Broadcast Format Supported 1080i (HDTV) 720p (HDTV) 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Built-in Tuner NTSC
Native Aspect Ratio 16:9
Interpolated Aspect Ratio 4:3
Image Quality
Comb Filter 3DYC / 3D Digital
Display Resolution 1280 x 720 pixels
Pixel Pitch .4665 mm
Brightness 550 cd/m?
Viewing Angle 130
Adjustable Color Temperature
Remote Control Standard
Audio Features
Audio Type Stereo
MTS Stereo SAP / MTS Stereo
NOTE: Speaker sound is fairly clear with little distortion. My main concern with the Audio was the need to turn the volume down close to minimum. The max volume might peel the paint off the ceiling. The built-in speakers are not much better than the throwaways usually found in a PC Carton.
Technical Features
Picture in Picture With PIP
Parental Control V-Chip
Sleep Timer With Sleep Timer
Connectors
Rear Input Connectors Component x 1 DVI x 1 Audio (RCA) x 1 x D-Sub (RGB PC) Audio (Mini Jack) x 1
Front Input Connectors S-Video x 1 Component x 1 Composite x 1 Audio (RCA) x 2
Front Output Connectors Audio (RCA) x 1
(Nope, Not there)
Headphone Jack
Screen Text
Channel Labels
Closed Captions (Except on Mute)
Speakers
Number of Speakers 2 Speakers (barely adequate)
Speaker Power 2 x 10 Watt
Dimensions
Width 26.8 in. Depth 9.5 in. Height 21.2 in.
Weight 35.2 lb.
Warranty: Overall Warranty 1 Year
Miscellaneous
Cabinet Color Black
Included Accessories Remote Control Batteries
AV (RCA) Cable
Product ID 23528613
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end of review
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At age 70, I am starting over; a stranger in a strange land. Everything I thought I would need has been with me in my equally old Ford Ranger. Having lived like a gypsy for several weeks, it was wonderful to find an apartment where I could set things down - living out of a suitcase is no fun. There was only one problem with my new digs. It was unfurnished. Most of the creature comforts one finds convenient in a normal life were non-existent. The MASLOW heirarchy of needs was about to be tested.
Some of my readers may enjoy this: From my savings came, in rapid fire manner, Queen Bed (S.A.S. [Salvation Army Store]), Futon, Microwave, Coffee Maker, (Wal-Mart), Primitive lounge chair (Trash disposal area behind Apartment), Pole lamp (ibid), 4′ Kitchen Table and chair (S.A.S.), 36″ two shelf bookcase (ibid), Uniden wireless telephone (Home Depot), Queen Mattress (”Sleep Train”), and Bedding, towels, flatware, dishes (Mervyn’s). Total: $1,050
My apartment is two blocks from a Shopping Center with a TARGET, OFFICE DEPOT, RALEY’S Groceries, and HOME Depot. Yes, some call this part of Napa a slum. Maslow Needs 1-4 were handled quickly, now it was time for luxury. A TV and PC in that order. Found prices far too high and did without either for 3 days. Went to Office Depot for picture hooks and found a ViewSonic NextVision N2750w 27 in HDTV-Ready LCD Television
The instant I saw it, I realized that I had both the TV and PC Monitor in the same package so I bought it. Known by some as “The Music Man”, I picked up a Sony DVD/VHS combo player (Target) to supply the ‘content’ that would save my sanity; or so I hoped. The silly Sony thing failed miserably because it would not play CD Compact Discs. This is outrageous, it is, and it went right back to Target in disgrace. Replaced it with a Sony DVD Player that WOULD play CD Music as well as DVD Movies and I was happy. Now I had a triple play device in the ViewSonic Monitor because it has built-in speakers; ample for a 497sf one bedroom apartment where I cannot be more than 8 feet away.
I had a 22″ x 48″ chunk of plywood out in the Ranger, which I set on the carton the Viewsonic N2750w came in and I was in business.
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