Introduction
Size definitely matters
I recently took a look at Hercules' ProphetView 920 PRO, a 17" LCD monitor with a 20ms pixel response and 1280x1024 resolution in attractive presentation. And while my poor camera skills didn't really show it off at the time, I declared "The Hercules ProphetView 920 PRO is the best monitor I have ever seen in isolation. Bearing in mind that I regularly visited John Lewis earlier this year to drool on an LG 295LM, a store which now has Apple's 23" Cinema on display too (under a wipe down sheet when I go and look), that's a fairly hefty recommendation if you know what both those monitors are like.". Strong stuff indeed, especially when I don't say such things off-hand. It was well deserved praise, backed up by a similar set of conclusions by other sites who tested it.
So with appetite sufficiently whetted, I looked forward to testing some more LCD screens, the Hercules being my first panel review for HEXUS. While most monitor reviews are inherently opinion piece reviews; the high cost of DisplayMate means that the preferred industry standard for display evaluation elludes us a little longer, you can still glean qualitative assessment from them, especially when the mantra of try before you buy especially applies to purchasing a computer display.
LG were next to step up to the plate, via the handy conduit of long term partners of ours, Scan. A quick scan down their list of available displays (pun definitely intended) showed their L1810B display to be worth a look. So boxes checked and request sent off, it duly arrived a few days later.
My focus with the LG? To see if the jump in screen size from 17" on the Hercules to 18.1" on the LG would provide any tangible benefits or downsides. Basically, is 1.1" worth nearly £150? Both share the same native resolution and similar operating specifications, so a comparison would be easy to make, despite not having the Hercules on hand for a side by side comparison. I was also keen to see if DVI connection quality was a fallacy. A huge admirer of the analogue quality I was able to obtain with the Hercules, I'm a sceptic when it comes to DVI. While I can understand the benefits on paper, in the real world I wasn't so sure. Tarinder swears blind it's a reality, I was keen to see if his assertions could be vindicated.
So armed with a pair of scissors and a careful hand, I opened the box.
