ViewSonic VX1945wm 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor with Integrated iPod Dock

List Price: $299.99

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Monitor + iPod Base [Posted on 2007-04-16]
First off, let's establish what this is NOT -- it isn't a monitor with "integrated" iPod dock. The base (which has the dock) is essentially an add-on USB hub to the monitor. The cable connections and even the power supply are separate from the monitor. This is not totally bad (you can charge your iPod or USB device while the monitor and computer are turned off), but it can be confusing if you expect to get an integrated unit.

I had read other reviews about how poor the speakers were, but I didn't worry because I had cheap PC speakers that had to be at least 10 years old. Well, sub-woofer or no, the VX1945wm speakers are of the same audio quality. Maybe not that good. Without the subwoofer (it has a separate volume control, so you can turn it down) the quality is worse than the built-in speaker in my Mac!

If you have a Mac, DO NOT USE INCLUDED DRIVERS. First, the installer is for OS9; second, the installer froze my system; third, they are totally unnecessary (OS X can use the monitor out of the box just fine).

The USB connections (although upside down, as noted in another review) work fine and are handy (unless you have a device that assumes it will be put in right-side up). The base power supply provides power to the USB ports (three in front, one in back) and can be turned on and off separately from the monitor.

The iPod dock works as advertised with my 5th gen 80GB iPod. The VX1945wm also comes with other dock adaptors for the other iPod models.

The memory card sockets are on the side of the base and angled back slightly; this makes them hard to get to, and you may have to work by feel and trial & error. I was able to use my CF and SD cards with no problem.

Screen brightness and clarity is outstanding. I have a ViewSonic Professional Series P95f CRT monitor, which was considered upper tier not long ago; I have both attached to my Mac, so I can literally do a side by side comparison on a daily basis. The VX1945wm blows it away. The screen area is slightly shorter, but wider (16:9 rather than 4:3 ratio), so I run it at 1440x900 vs. 1280x1024 for the CRT. Viewing angle is not as good for the LCD, alas, so if you have something on your monitor you want to show someone they need to be right behind you for the best view.

Five stars for the monitor, minus two stars for the speakers, plus one star for the base.

Alot better than most are saying [Posted on 2007-06-13]
Most of the reviews really go after the sound on this LCD. I just purchased it for my office, and honestly I'm very happy with it. The sound definitely is not the same as the separate box speakers, but with the thinness of LCD's (similar to laptops) they rarely are. The subwoofer addition is a nice touch, and does help remove some of the "flatness" from the sound. The sound is on par with just about any laptop's slim speakers, especially those which are placed on the screen portion which usually are very slim.

The USB ports are POWERED, which is great if you're charging equipment from here (ex. wireless mouse or PDA) without actually having to have your computer on.

I am using with a Dell XPS m1210 laptop, and the resolution is fantastic. Only 1 dead pixel on arrival, which is below average (4-10 dead pixels). Resolution is very good, and works flawlessly with Vista, although a couple of times I've gotten the message that the frequency at which my laptop's nvidia card is sending a signal is out of range (blame NVidia vista drivers, not the LCD).

IPod dock is great and a real clutter saver. I have my 80 Gig IPod with a slim leather cover, and to dock without removing cover I just didn't put in a plastic guide (the little plastic guides you usually get when you buy an Ipod, the screen comes with them as well in silver color to coordinate with the screen) and works great.

Finish is glossy black, which really catches the eye.

Finally, Amazon expected product to be arriving 6 days later (ground non-priority), but actually arrived 3 days earlier, which is always good news!!

All in all, if you're looking for a great low-priced monitor with ADEQUATE sound, this is the one. If you want to blast music or video sound, then buy separate speakers and you're good to go.

Go with the Dell Monitor [Posted on 2007-07-09]
I tried to install the software for the monitor and got an error message that it cannot be installed automatically. I was given instructions to install it manually. The resolution is terrible. The manual says that the monitor setting have to be at 1440x900 to get the optimum resolution. Most of the computers in the market do not support this resolution. Viewsonic claims that you can plug your ipod and it will automatically sync with your computer. I plugged my Ipod and got an error message that my computer cannot recognize the device. I called Viewsonic customer service and they told me that I have to purchase a special video card that can support 1440x900 resolution. They also couldn't help me fix the sync problem with my ipod. I have 4 dell monitors that work perfectly and are user friendly. Go with the Dell monitors.

Fantastic monitor. [Posted on 2007-11-08]
If you are looking for a widescreen monitor, this one is it. The picture quality is amazingly clear, and if you own an Ipod, then the dock will be so much of a convenience. The base has many options, most useful of which is (besides the Ipod Dock)the USB connectors.

Unfortunately, the Ipod Dock does not fit on the Zune, which I had recently purchased. The sound from the speakers are good, and the base can be modified at the base of the monitor. However, if you have surround sound, don't bother using these speakers.

I've had quite a few stuck pixels, but they never last long, so it is not bothersome. If it does bother you, just push at it gently, and it should reset. I have owned this monitor for three+ months (from August), and have had no dead pixels, and no problems in general. If you are the kind of gamer who likes to attend LAN Parties, then this monitor may annoy you, with the amount of wires connecting everything in the back. However, I've solved this issue with the ziptie (aka cable ties). Now I never mind the cables.

Excellent monitor. Not great extras [Posted on 2008-01-30]
The color rendition of this monitor is really great. I'm using it spanned with an older Dell flatpanel, and the colors are so much better on the Viewsonic that it makes me reconsider how much I previously thought of Dell flat panels.

However, everything else about the monitor is less than ideal: The bezel is large, and the reflective black distracting, and the monitor lacks color balance controls (The only two settings are brightness and contrast).

The USB hub and speakers require a bulk wall-wart to function, which I find to be a definite annoyance.

Despite all of this I'd probably buy the monitor again because of the great color reproduction, but it definitely leaves some things to be desired.

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