Amiga MA Magazine 1998 #6/amigamamagazinepolishissue1998.iso/www/cucug/amiga/amiinfo/reviews/toshibamm20e45.txt

Internet Message Format | 1997-11-07 | 16KB

Path: kernighan.cs.umass.edu!barrett
From: [e-mail] (David K Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Subject: REVIEW: Toshiba Integrated Multimedia Monitor MM20E45
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Date: 4 Jun 1996 03:58:52 GMT
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett
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Keywords: hardware, monitor, commercial
X-Review-Number: Volume 1996 Number 15
Originator: [e-mail]


PRODUCT NAME

    Toshiba Integrated Multimedia Monitor (timm) MM20E45


BRIEF DESCRIPTION

    An Amiga compatible 20 inch (500mm) combination multisync
monitor and television set.  The horizontal scan rates for the RGB
monitor are from 15kHz to 40kHz with vertical scan rates of 50-90Hz.
15kHz NTSC composite and SVHS video inputs along with built in stereo
sound complete the feature set.


AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

    Name:        Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc.
    Address:    Corporate Office/ 82 Totowa Road,
            Wayne, NJ 07470

    Telephone:    [phone]


LIST PRICE

    I do not know the list price but the retail prices I've seen
have ranged between $600 and $900 US dollars.


DEMO VERSION

    None, unless you count the store display.


SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

    HARDWARE

        The Commodore 23 pin to 15 pin video adapter and a 15
        pin male to male VGA video cable are required to
        connect the monitor to an Amiga.  Also a pair of audio
        cables with RCA plugs is recommended.  A3000 owners do
        not need the video adapter.

    SOFTWARE

        None.


COPY PROTECTION

    None.


MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

    Amiga 4000 with AmigaDOS 3.1.

    Vortex 486SLC board installed in 4000 with
    Diamond SpeedStar 24x SVGA card,
    Vortex Monitor Master video switch,
    MS-DOS 6.2 and Microsoft Windows 3.1.

    Amiga 2000 with Workbench 3.1,
    Commodore A2320 display enhancer,
    Picasso-II display card.

    Amiga 500 with AmigaDOS 2.1.

    Amiga 600 with AmigaDOS 2.1.

    Amiga 1000 with AmigaDOS 1.3.


INSTALLATION

    This is truly a plug-and-play operation.  Plug the video and
audio cables into their proper ports on the computer and the monitor and
you're ready to go.  No software installation is required although some
Workbench settings may need to be changed to compensate for a large
screen monitor.


DESCRIPTION

    A 20 inch Amiga compatible multisync monitor for $600 sound too
good to be true?  It is true but like most good things, there is a
catch.  In this case, the catch is what many would consider to be an
unacceptably coarse dot pitch of .58mm.  On a smaller monitor that would
be unusable but a 20 inch screen has a lot of video area and it
compensates somewhat for the coarse dot pitch.

    I'll put some more detailed specifications at the end of this
review, this part is a general description of what Toshiba calls the
Toshiba Integrated Multimedia Monitor or timm.  First off, this is a
huge monitor, it makes my 14 inch Commodore 1960 monitor look tiny.  The
display screen is flanked on both sides by deceptively small forward
spacing grills for the speakers.  Under the screen are two large buttons
for power and video mode.  Six smaller buttons perform double duty to
adjust volume and channel selection and access the setup menus.  A small
power light and sensor for the remote control are also on the front
panel.   Pressing the large mode button on the monitor cycles it between
RGB, TV and Video modes with the monitor powering up in the last used
mode.  There are no adjustment buttons or knobs on the back of the
monitor.  The back panel doesn't get left out though, it sports the
polarized but non-grounded power cord, eight input and two output
connectors.  For inputs there are the F-type connector for cable or TV
antenna input, a high density DB-15 female connector for RGB video
input, a S-Video DIN jack, and one RCA style jack for composite video.
Two pairs of RCA jacks for stereo input and one set of RCA audio output
jacks complete the set.  Included with the monitor is a handheld
infrared remote control.  The remote has the ability to control all
features of the monitor including video modes and positioning.  A pair
of AAA batteries for the remote were included along with an owner's
manual.  No connecting cables of any kind were packed with the timm.


ON SCREEN MENUS

    The timm has easy to use on screen menus for video adjustments.
The feature that sold me on the monitor was the very wide range of
adjustments available with the the positioning controls.  In RGB mode,
the Horizontal Size, Horizontal Position, Vertical Size and Vertical
Position are all independently adjustable.  It is possible to extend the
height and width of the display to completely eliminate the black
borders that are common with Amiga displays.  These are a single global
setting however, the monitor does not automatically adjust in response
to various video modes from the computer.  Since the menus are so easy
to use, a quick adjustment is not a problem.  Other menus allow changing
of the Brightness and Contrast, Bass, Treble, Stereo Balance and more.
When in Television or Composite video modes the positioning controls are
not available but are replaced with Sharpness, Color and Tint menus.
Menus are also available for setting up Television/Cable modes,
Secondary Audio Programming and more.


USING THE MONITOR

    The timm was purchased to replace the dying Commodore 1960
monitor on my 4000 so that is where I tried it first.  Using the Screen
Mode Preferences program, I changed Workbench to all available video
modes but the timm synced up to every video signal that the 4000
presented to it.  This included all of the high and low res NTSC, PAL,
DBLNTSC, DBLPAL, EURO 36, EURO 72, MULTISCAN and SUPER 72 modes.  On
fine lines or very small fonts the coarse dot pitch of the timm is
apparent as a moderately fuzzy image.  Normal Amiga screen sizes and
fonts are displayed fine though.  In RGB mode, the image on my monitor
is tilted very slightly,  just enough to notice but not to worry about
fixing.  Otherwise, the colors are bright and the color convergence
appears to be reasonably good.  The tilt is probably an alignment
problem on my particular monitor or it may be caused by all the metal
cases I have stacked up around the monitor.  There are no user
accessible controls to correct tilt or convergence.

    When switching between video modes the monitor can sometimes
take up to two seconds to sync up to the new frequency if changing from
a 31kHz mode to a 15kHz for example.  If the frequencies are fairly
close then switching can be almost instantaneous.  The really annoying
part of switching video modes is that the sound drops out while the
monitor is sorting out the new scan rates.  This is somewhat disturbing
if you like to have a mod playing while doing work that requires
switching between modes frequently.

    Since I primarily use the 4000 for LightWave, I tried that next.
Wow, no more zooming in to see where lines and points are.  The coarse
dot pitch is more than offset by the large screen size.  There is no
comparison between working on a 20 inch screen instead of a 14 inch
screen.  HAM8 images on timm can look incredible, even images with lots
of fine detail.  One strange effect I noticed with the timm is some JPEG
images exhibit false colors and blurring on fine lines but converting
the image to HAM8 removes all artifacts and makes the monitor appear to
have a much finer dot pitch.

    With the Amiga video modes tested, I then tried the timm with
MS-DOS and Windows 3.1.  The SVGA card I use with the Vortex 486 board
can generate a wide range of displays but I only tested the three that I
normally use.  Although the documentation implies that 640x480 is the
maximum display resolution, the timm easily displayed up to 1024x768
(interlaced).  In Windows, I tried the three most common display modes.
640x400 was not bad, 800x600 was useable but the borders of menus
windows and fonts were starting to get blurry.  1024x768 displayed OK
but the blurring on vertical lines and fonts was quite apparent.  Images
with no sharp vertical or horizontal lines looked quite good in each of
the three resolutions.  For some reason, programs with fine lines or
fonts on the PC board did not look good in any resolution, much worse
than simular programs on the Amiga.  On the other hand, low resolution
games looked great on the timm.

    For the next set of tests the timm was connected to a Picasso-II
video card in an Amiga 2000.  Again I then used the Screen Mode program
to display the Workbench screen in various Picasso modes ranging from
320x240 up to 1280x1024.  The timm appeared to have no trouble
displaying any mode.  The 640x480 mode looked quite nice and 800x600 was
not too bad.  Even the 1280x1024 mode looked good but the Topaz 11
screen font was small and hard to read due to the coarse dot pitch.

    Because they were available, I also tested an Amiga 500, Amiga
600 and Amiga 1000 with the timm.  Using a Commodore video adapter to
mate the 15 pin RGB input of the timm to the DB-23 video port of the
500, the NTSC video modes displayed as expected.  With the Amiga 600 and
1000, I connected both the RGB port and also connected the color
composite video port to the composite video input of the timm.  While
the RGB displays were fine, the composite display was blurry with
noticeable ghosting and chroma crawl on the pixels.  Using the menus to
adjust Sharpness, Color and Tint helped to a limited degree.  While it
may be suitable for low resolution games or occasional use, the
composite video of the timm is not nearly as sharp as composite on a
Commodore 1084 monitor.

    Since I do not have anything to generate a S-VIDEO signal, I did
not test that port of the timm.  The S-VIDEO and composite ports display
on the same video mode screen.  Presumably you can use one or the other
but not both at the same time.


SOUND

    The timm has built in stereo sound with five watts per channel.
Although the openings behind the speaker grills seem small, the speakers
are 3.1 x 4.7 inches (80 x 120mm).  There are on screen menus to adjust
the Bass, Treble, Balance, activate the Bass Boost and to turn the
speakers on or off.  The audio inputs for the RGB and composite video
inputs switch along with the video when the video mode is changed.
Output jacks are provided to send the audio to an external audio
amplifier.  When using this feature, all of the volume, balance and tone
controls remain active to adjust the signal fed to the output jacks.  I
think the sound from the timm is quite good but then I do have an Omega
Products Sound Enhancer connected between the 4000 and the timm which
substantially improves the Amiga sound quality.  (If you ever see one
for sale, buy it!)


DOCUMENTATION

    The timm comes with a 31 page owners manual that briefly but
adequately covers set up and use as a television and a monitor.  Simple
illustrations show how to connect the various inputs to cable TV
systems, VCRs, IBM PC and Apple Macintosh II computers.  Operation of
the remote control and the setup menus is also covered in a easy to
understand manner.  Warranty information and a specifications page are
also in the manual.  Tables showing the RGB input pin assignments and
sync rates with polarities are nice touches.  Strangely, the dimension
and weight information in the manual is different than what is printed
in a product brochure that I picked up separately.  The information in
the brochure is correct, the manual is wrong.


SPECIFICATIONS

    These are the highlights, I don't want to reproduce the entire
set of specifications here.

    Television System    : NTSC standard
    Power Source         : 120V AC, 60Hz
    Power Consumption    : 102W
    Audio Power          : 5W + 5W
    Video/Audio Terminals
        S-Video Input: Y 1V (p-p), 75-ohm, negative sync
                   C 0.286V (p-p), burst signal, 75-ohm
        Video Input  : 1V(p-p), 75-ohm, negative sync
        RGB Video Input
            Analog 0.7V (p-p) Red, Green, Blue
            Signal sync: Separate TTL or Sync on Green
            Horizontal scanning frequency: 15 kHz to 40 kHz
            Vertical scanning frequency  : 50 Hz to 90 Hz
            Compatibility: VGA (640x350/400/480),
                       Macintosh II
        Audio input(s) : 150mV
        Variable Audio Output: 0-350mV (rms)
    Dimensions:
        Width : 22 3/64 inches  (560mm)
        Height: 18-1/32 inches  (458mm)
        Depth : 19-11/32 inches (491mm)
        Mass  : 54.5 pounds (24.7 kg)


LIKES

    For my needs, the timm has almost everything I could want in an
Amiga monitor.  It has a large screen size, works perfectly with the
4000 without requiring a video card and I consider the purchase price to
be reasonable.  The large screen makes all aspects of graphics work much
easier, no more squinting at a small monitor.  The easy to adjust
positioning controls make it a snap to adjust for changing video modes.
The sound and composite inputs are useful features that the 1960 monitor
did not have.  As a bonus, I also get a full featured television set for
the times I'm not using the computer.


DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

    Obviously, the dot pitch could stand to be improved.  If Toshiba
had made the dot pitch .39 or even .42mm, then the timm would be an
incredible monitor, being perfect not only for the Amiga but also
attracting the attention of the masses of PC and Mac users.  As it is,
the timm cannot be considered to have the high resolution that many users
demand.  The sound dropping out when syncing up to new video modes is
annoying but not a serious problem.


COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

    This is the largest RGB monitor that I've seen on an Amiga (I'm
not counting large screen televisions connected with composite or RF
video).  While equivalent sized monitors are available with much finer
dot pitches, their prices are much higher and virtually none will sync to
the 15kHz mode of the Amiga.  Some of the earlier generations of large
screen monitors will work with the Amiga, but few offer the wide range
of video positioning that the timm offers and finding a used one in
decent shape can be a hard task.  Compared to the smaller, high
resolution monitors the image sharpness suffers but the large screen
area of the timm compensates quite a bit.


BUGS

    Other than the slight display tilt mentioned above, no bugs or
problems have been noticed in the two months I've owned the monitor.


VENDOR SUPPORT

    So far I have not had to contact Toshiba about any problems with
the timm.  Hopefully I should never have to.


WARRANTY

    The timm comes with a one year warranty against defects in
materials and workmanship.  During this time, Toshiba will repair a
defective product or part at no charge.  The picture tube has a two year
warranty.  Toshiba will replace a defective picture tube but the owner
must pay labor charges for the replacement.  The warranties are only for
the original purchaser or if received as a gift from the original
purchaser.  The warranties are not transferrable.


CONCLUSIONS

    If you haven't noticed by now, I like the timm.  This review was
typed entirely while using the timm.  Will everyone be happy with a
timm?  Probably not.  The coarse dot pitch is a serious drawback.
However, given the large screen size and other features of the timm it
may be just what you are looking for.  I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.
Only the dot pitch prevents it from receiving a 5.  Even so, I consider
the timm to be a worthy successor to my 1960 monitor.


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

    Copyright 1996 David K. Martin.

    Permission is granted to reproduce this review provided that it
remains complete and I retain the credit for writing it.  If anyone
wishes to reprint this review in their club newsletter, I would
appreciate an email to [e-mail].

---

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