I've only had this monitor/TV for about 2 months, but from the beginning it has given me spotty performance. I only paid in the mid-two-hundred range for this at Staples, but I agree with the reviewer who said you get what you pay for (at least where this thing is concerned).
My usage for the TV is in my living room. I don't connect it to a PC at all, but wanted the ability to do so when I moved up to a much larger and more expensive digital TV set. The color is good when I am on Hi-Def channels, but I think digital is digital so that's probably to be expected. The color on analog looks washed out on most channels.
I am comparing this coloration to my Acer 22" LCD monitor which I use to watch TV channels on my Media Center PC. Either the PC tuners are better (I have 2 installed in my PC) or the way color is displayed is better on the PC monitor. Either way, it's kind of strange that a regular computer monitor looks better than a TV set. I once had a 19" ViewSonic CRT monitor and it seemed fine at the time.
Another problem I have is the way I lose my digital signals randomly. I sometimes have to turn off and back on this TV just to get them back. It happens even on the strongest of stations--when one digital channel goes, they ALL go. On top of that, I have had this TV get stuck on the channel 1008. There never has been a channel 1008 where I have lived! Once I am stuck on that number, I can change channels, but the number always says "1008". Another sign of bad reliability in my opinion.
But the worst thing I had happen was when my remote control stopped working after only 6 weeks. I originally thought it was the remote, but pushing remote buttons caused my Windows MCE PC infrared receiver to blink red as if it was receiving the signal (this is actually a good test since it blinks even when the remote is not compatible with Windows). I had even bought a universal remote to make sure and that did not work either.
I called ViewSonic (who asked for my address before even giving me any idea they could help--that's got to be some kind of telemarketing thing and I asked not to be put on any lists, but I bet I will be) on a Sunday. It's great that they answer the phones quickly even on weekends, but after waiting for the phone rep to go look up what my problem could be for over 2 minutes, I was told I'd have to pay to mail this TV back and that it was probably the IR receiver in the TV, which I knew anyway. It's heavy and would cost me more than I think it's worth at this point so I declined.
What I did next I only recommend to people who don't mind voiding the warranty. I have a background in electronics so I figured I'd open this thing up and see if I could buy a replacement IR module or receiving LED. Turns out there's this little board right behind the little IR window under the power button. I disconnected it and pushed the power button a bunch of times. I plugged it back into the set, closed everything back up, and turned the TV on. Guess what? It started working!!! And to think they wanted me to mail it in so they could do that.
All of the remote buttons work perfectly from a good distance away so I think maybe the connection was jammed electronically and just need to be disconnected for a second. This repair did take me about an hour, but that's because this TV is nearly impossible to breach. You'll need heavy duty screwdrivers for prying it open and there are quite a few screws, some hidden. After this experience, however, I would not buy another ViewSonic unless it was a plain monitor. They don't know TVs at all, in my opinion.
Reviewed By : airfirehorse : April 20, 2008
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