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Complete listing of June 1996 reviews
By Deborah Wong
At first glance, the 20-inch Techmedia TCM2000 monitor may appear overwhelming: Standing 18.7 by 20 by 21 inches and tipping the scales at about 65 pounds, this monitor looms large in more ways than one. Its simple design, good color quality and affordable price may suit your needs.
But for all its heft, the TCM2000 is a snap to set up. It produces clear, bright images across its 19-inch, 0.28mm-dot-pitch viewing area. During testing with Sonera Technologies' DisplayMate software, it demonstrated solid color intensity and resolution, and only slight misconvergence, pincushioning and moir... pattern difficulties. Unfortunately, you are only able to control the pincushioning.
Basic button controls (vertical center, vertical size, horizontal phase, horizontal size, D-Sub signal, or BNC signal select and degaussing) are displayed on a panel below the monitor's face with rotation, brightness and contrast thumbwheels. You can implement a second set of functions with the mode key and LED indicator.
You can adjust the tilt-swivel to view the screen at a desired angle of up to 100 degrees horizontally and 21 degrees vertically. It took two hands to adjust, and although I could swivel left to right with relative ease, I was unable to tilt it vertically.
The monitor complies with EPA Energy Star and VESA DPMS standards and has a built-in power-management system. The TCM2000's maximum vertical refresh rate is 74Hz, and it has a maximum resolution of 1600x1280 pixels. BNC and D-Sub connectors in the rear of the monitor protrude, so plan on setting this monitor a few inches away from the wall.
Overall, the TCM2000 is a satisfactory monitor at a bargain price.
Info File
Techmedia TCM2000
Price: $1,400
Pros: Good color quality; price
Cons: No misconvergence control; unusable vertical tilt-swivel
Techmedia Computer Systems Corp.
800-379-0077, 714-379-6677
WinMag Box Score: 3.0
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