Nagga What Now?

NOTE: to better help you follow/understand everything in this review, at the end there are detailed descriptions of resolution, contrast, and different types of inputs, display types, and display formats.

I purchased my Sceptre X20G-Naga II 20.1 inch LCD Monitor from Costco for $300 ($230 after mail in rebates) 13 months ago. At that time I was running a Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop with an external LCD monitor that wasn’t working as well as I wanted. Thus I purchased the Sceptre X20G as an external monitor to replace my old one. I have now been using it for 13 months and will try my best to give a critical and helpful review based on my experiences with it.




CONSTRUCTION

The Sceptre X20G-Naga II is a very simply designed 20.1” viewable, widescreen LCD computer monitor. The viewable area is slightly recessed in a ¾” black rim. On the top right of the monitor the Item number is printed on it “X20,” in a font that could be considered fashionable – thus it doesn’t detract from this monitors simple yet good looks. At the middle of the base of the monitor “Sceptre” is written in clear plastic with a light behind it. When the monitor is on and receiving a video signal, “Sceptre” softly glows blue and when it is turning on and/or searching for a video signal it softly glows red.




CONNECTIVITY & SPEAKERS

On the back of the monitor, there is a recessed area with all of the connections. This Sceptre model supports inputs from DVI, D-Sub Analog RGB and VGA connectors.

It also has an audio input for its built-in stereo speakers with amplifier. The 2watt/2channel, built-in, in-line stereo speakers do an adequate job providing sound but they are not very high quality and when the volume is beyond half way the sound is noticeably distorted and filled with static. That is not to say they are worthless, they would come in very handy for someone who prefers soft music played from their computer or just the normal sounds a computer produces, but are not recommended for music enthusiasts or for providing the audio for movies.

I personally do not use the built in speakers because I prefer a higher quality alternative (the speakers built into my laptop are higher quality and I use those).




IMAGE QUALITY

This scepter model sports an impressive 1000:1 contrast ratio and 300-nit brightness. It also has a 160 degree viewing angle which is very useful you ever move around while using this monitor. The monitor supports resolution up to 1680x1050. At this maximum resolution setting video is exceedingly clear and colors are very bright and vibrant. Additionally with this setting it is possible to have two full size word documents open right next to each other which comes in extremely handy when doing any type of research or writing. The 20.1” viewable area allows numerous combinations of programs to be open and displayed side by side, which has limitless useful applications (having two word documents open at the same time is just one of many).

This is the second LCD monitor I have had for my laptop. I can say from 13 months experience that it works wonderfully and better than my previous Sony LCD monitor. Additionally the image quality has in no way decreased in that time period. I have my computer hooked up to both my Sceptre LCD monitor and my Niko 26” LCD TV for watching movies. While I mainly watch the movies on my television because of its greater size, there is a noticeable quality difference in the picture between my Sceptre monitor and my Niko 26” LCD TV, with my Sceptre monitor providing an undeniably better picture.




FUNCTIONALITY

Right underneath “Sceptre” there are seven buttons, for power, video source (VGA or DVI), menu, volume up/down and two buttons to navigate the menu. The built in menu for the monitor is very easy to use and most of the items accessed through the menu are self explanatory, not requiring any information from the users’ manual. The scope of user controls is listed below;

-Power on/off,
-OSD (On Screen Display),
-Contrast,
-Brightness,
-Clock,
-Phase,
-H-Position/size
-V-Position/size
-Graph/Text Mode Selection
-Auto-adjust
-Color Temperature
-Audio Volume
-OSD H-Position/V-Position
-Display Mode Detection
-Show Firmware Version
-Reset: Basic Setting
-Position

This monitor has a response time of 8ms which makes it very responsive and you never get any lag time (due to the monitor) between your actions and seeing them carried out. Additionally the maximum resolution is 1680x1050 (16:10) which makes it HDTV ready, supporting 1080i and 1080p. I have never used this monitor for any HD applications so I will not venture to go any further on the topic of HD on this monitor.




OVERALL

I have had my Scepter X20G-Naga III 20.1” LCD Monitor for 13 months and it has worked wonderfully for me. The picture is crisp, clear and has in no way degraded over time. I have had a wonderful experience with my Sceptre X20G-Naga III and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good LCD monitor.




TECHNICAL STUFF

Display Type: TFT LCD
Viewable Screen Size: 20.1 inches
Display Area: 433.4x270.9mm
Display Colors: 16.2 million
Maximum Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Input Video Signal: DVI, VGA (15-Pin D-Sub)
Speakers: Integrated
Contrast Ration: 1000:1
Brightnes: 300nit
Response Time: 5ms
Horizontal Viewing Angle: 160 degrees
Vertical Viewing Angles: 160 degrees
Maximum Resolution 1680 x 1050
Cabinet Color: Gloss Black
Unit Dimensions: (WxHxD): 18.7” x 15.3” x 7.1”
Unit Weight: 25.1 lbs
Power Consumption 80W




BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Display Format
Standard Definition TV (SDTV) is rapidly being replaced by higher quality televisions. While SDTV does provide an adequate picture which most people are accustomed to, it is the bare minimum. With 480i, the picture has 480 horizontal lines, with each frame of video displayed in two different halves (called an interlaced picture, abbreviated “i”). All SDTV sets give an image of 480i. In the USA, analog TV signals are formatted in 480i resolution.

Enhanced Definition Television (EDTV) sets are 480p. Since EDTV shows more simultaneous lines than SDTV, it provides a sharper, more realistic picture. Progressive Scan DVD players and most digital TV signals are 480p, which is the same resolution as 480i, but each frame is displayed at the same time (called progressive picture, abbreviated “p”).

High Definition Television (HDTV) signals provide either 720 progressive (720p) or at the minimum 1080 lines (1080i/1080p). Thus HDTV’s have a 720 and/or 1080 resolution. Intuitively the greater the resolution number, the clearer, more detailed and realistic the picture. Thus 1080i would provide the most like-like picture but depending on the media being watched a different resolution may be better; such as media with lots of movement such as sports, in these situations 720p (although it has a lower resolution than 1080i), would be best because it displays motion better.

Inputs
S-video and A/V inputs transmit standard analog signals. A/V inputs use three sockets, one for video (yellow) and two for audio (red and white corresponding to right and left). S-Video uses one input combining both audio and video in the same socket. While they both provide almost identical picture, with S-Video negligibly better than A/V, the larger the screen, the greater the difference in quality between the two.
Component inputs look similar to A/V, with the main difference being that component inputs use three sockets for video instead of A/V’s one. Component also provides superior quality images to both S-Video and A/V
--Component, S-video and A/V (listed in order of decreasing picture quality) can all transmit standard progressive scan (typical in most DVD players), or HD signals.
HD Component Video Input: while the aforementioned inputs can transmit HD signals, only HD component video inputs are guaranteed to transmit HD signals. Specific HD inputs HDMI and DVI can digitally carry any type of video signal. Of HDMI and DVI , HDMI transmits audio as well as video, making it often more convenient than the visually equal DVI which does not carry audio.

Display Type
LCD: A type of display technology that uses liquid crystals that are forced into an excited state by electrons in order to produce colors that together form an image
Plasma: A type of display technology that uses gaseous phosphorous forced into an excited state by electrons in order to produce colors that together form an image
Compare/Contrast: LCD’s use less power and have a longer lifespan while not affected by the same image “burn in” problems of plasma screens. On the other hand plasma screens have superior contrast ratios, wider viewing angles and are better for viewing fast moving images

Resolution
The pixel resolution of a TV is given as; Horizontal Pixels x Vertical Pixels. Intuitively, the greater the resolution, the better the image quality

Contrast Ratio
Contrast: the ratio of darkest area to lightest area in an image. The greater the contrast ratio, the darker the darks and lighter the lights translating into richer color overall. Typically contrast rations range from 300:1 to 3000:1

Additional:
nit: An nit is a non-SI unit of measurement. It is used to measure brightness, mainly for computer monitors. One nit is equal to one candle per square meter, or cd/m2. A typical computer monitor has a luminescence of 200-300 nit’s