Philips Designline 150X LCD Monitor

Richard Price
21 August 2001

Flat screen monitors are nothing new, they have been around for some time but still have a long way to go before they are cheap enough for the average consumer.

I was pleased to be able to have a closer look at a flat screen monitor, but quite disappointed to realise that flat screen does not mean something you can just hang on a wall. This monitor comes with such a hefty base it may as well be propped up against an old car tire!

The Philips 150X LCD monitor screen itself is a neat 5cm thick but the base is 20cm wide and there is no way of detaching it.

Connecting the monitor to a PC is easy and consists of plugging in four cables. The 150X supports both analogue (VGA) and video (TV-In) input. There is one cable but DVI-D and D-sub adapters are included. There is also an audio-in cable, a microphone out cable and an AC/DC adapter to provide power to the monitor.

After connecting the cables and switching on the computer, the monitor was recognised by Windows ME and worked.

Controls are easily accessible. An automatic image setup button on the monitor adjusts the horizontal, vertical, phase and clock settings. If this is not suitable, adjustments can be made manually.

I found the picture to be much brighter than I am used to. The controls are easy to use and I had no trouble adjusting the video settings to suit myself. Overall the image quality was impressive.

The accompanying CD contains a more detailed manual in HTML format that should help trouble shoot any problems, although it takes a few multimedia screens before you can access it.

The 150X monitor has a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 and a pixel pitch of 0.3 x 0.3mm. Images and text did not display well at lower resolutions. The height and angle of the monitor can easily be adjusted to suit the user.

Two front speakers are built into the base stand and I don't know why Philips bothered! The sound quality is disappointing and unacceptable for a AU$2500 product.

Lowering the screen to keyboard level positions it directly in front of the speakers which dulls the sound and makes it difficult to access the volume and bass controls on the side of the base.

There is also a microphone built into the front of the base. I found it less then adequate when using Sound Recorder in Windows ME. Basic test audio recordings were faint and included a lot of interference.

Philips has obviously concentrated too much on the aesthetic look. Coloured slide-in cosmetic strips included in the package fit into the side panels of the monitor. Users can choose from Graphite Brown, Copper Green or Champagne Blush to complement their office colour scheme. Perhaps they are trying to position the 150X as a must-have fashion accessory, but these strips are not as easy to change as the instructions imply. If you are not careful you could damage the screen, or worse, break a nail. After fiddling around for some time, I decided the default strips were quite suitable.

Yes, images on the 150X are crisp and clear when displayed at the highest resolution, but I cannot see the point of owning one. It takes up more room than expected, cannot be detached from the base and is pricey.

LCD monitors have a long way to go before they start making economical sense. A cheap 21" CRT monitor will cost half as much and give you twice as much viewing area. The money left over would buy a much better set of speakers than the sort Philips has tacked onto their product.

Price AU$2499
www.philips.com

By Richard Price, Editor, EnergyME.com

For information on getting a product reviewed email richard@energyme.com