Hitachi CML181SXW

An LCD monitor with a wide viewing angle and built-in speakers.

Hitachi no longer manufactures cathode ray tube products, and its monitor division now concentrates on liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors.

Unfortunately, it would appear that more development is required before products such as the CML181SXW are chosen above the competition, as the current level of performance leaves a great deal to be desired.

The monitor sits on a standard tilt-and-swivel stand, but it lacks the slim-bezel design or height adjustment of more expensive products. The base can be replaced with a 100mm Video Electronics Standards Association-compliant arm mount if preferred, but space will need to be found for the external power supply.

While this arrangement gives it a slightly bulkier appearance than some displays, the CML181SXW does offer a pair of 1W speakers integrated into the base of the bezel.

These produce audio that's predictably tinny, but offer a space-saving solution for multimedia applications. The panel itself is a standard 18.1in. screen, with a native resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 pixels and a pixel pitch of 0.28mm.

The quoted contrast ratio is 350:1, with a maximum brightness of 235cd/m2, which are both in line with current LCD standards. Hitachi's use of In-Plane Switching (IPS) LCD panels provides a wide viewing angle of 170 degrees in both horizontal and vertical axes.

The control interface is extremely simple, with a four-button panel that sits next to the power button at the base of the screen.

However, using the menu can be a frustrating task, requiring a considerable amount of key presses and patience to access even basic functions. This includes switching between external signals, as there's no source select button.

The CML181SXW supports both digital and analogue signals, but with a basic configuration that only includes one DVI-D and one VGA port. This limits dual connections to one analogue and one digital connection at any time.

No colour profiles (ICM or sRGB) are provided, although red, green and blue channels can be adjusted individually, along with brightness and contrast.

This is just as well, as we found that the default colour temperature of 6,500K produces a significantly blue cast, which requires a small adjustment to the red channel to compensate.

More importantly, the overall image quality of the CML181SXW is below par. Screen uniformity is patchy, with dim areas towards the outside of the panel, and we found that both the colour and greyscale reproduction is bleached out at the top end which is an indication of over-saturation.

Of greater concern is this LCD monitor's tendency towards image persistence, as there were faint images appearing after only a few minutes use, as well as slight streaking on high-contrast images.

Re-scaleing options are limited to five levels of sharpness only - there's no 1:1 pixel ratio option, for instance - and while the screen provides a digital zoom and pan function, the inaccessibility of the menu system makes this feature too difficult to use.

Put simply, there are more capable products available, with better features, more intuitive user interfaces and similar pricing. Therefore, you should consider the alternatives before committing to the CML181SXW.

Price: (ex VAT) £824.99

Contact: Hitachi
www.hitachi.com