AOC LM 720A

Author's product rating:   

Picture quality
Colour sensitivity
Design
Ease of use
Value For Money

Advantages:	Excellent Value, Easy to set up, Looks Smart
Disadvantages:	All the blurb is on the CD

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When my 17” iiyama monitor went to computer heaven leaving me with three assignments to do and no way of completing them, I panicked. I’d been going to purchase an LCD later in the year but now it became an emergency. Since the dead monitor cost me over four hundred and fifty pounds and lasted just about four years I was reluctant to shell out that amount again. So I decided to plump for a cheaper model thereby not getting annoyed if it didn’t last long.

I looked around and found that Dabs.com were about the cheapest. The no frills service is perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea but I’ve had no complaints so far. I can almost hear you asking me if I am writing an op about AOC or Dabs. Well, to explain my bargain you should know that Dabs do a “Dabs Value LCD Monitor”. Much to my surprise it was a named brand; an AOC 17” TFT LCD. (I must point out that I don’t know if all Dabs Value Monitor’s will be this make) I paid for it on Friday evening and it was with me by Monday afternoon. It might have been earlier but the deliveryman had an accident at Team Valley. I shouldn’t be surprised, I am an electrical jinx at the moment. Our plugs went, my CD player took a fit and my widescreen t.v. has been possessed, Oh and the new bathroom suite leaks! (Sorry fixated on this damn bathroom thing).

However my monitor arrived and like a kid with a new Christmas present I opened the box. I loved the fact it was so light I carried it up to the office myself without needing help.

AOC: “monitors are designed with performance and cost-consciousness in mind,” so it says on the blurb of this European company's website. It comes with a three year parts and labor warranty, as do most Monitors of course.

DESCRIPTION:
It was silver with a black stand and looked very smart (I hadn’t cared about the colour when I purchased it, I just desperately needed a monitor). There was a power lead that you inserted into a box about four inches in length. From that box a reasonable length of lead then went into a tiny socket beneath the monitor screen. It was so small and so well hidden it took me some time to find the darn thing. Another lead comes out of the back of the monitor on the other side and fits into your computer. One more lead is provided for the integrated speaker that is housed in the base. Thankfully there is no fixing of the stand you just (not literally) drop the base into it and bobs your monitor.

A CD-ROM accompanies this silver beast and a measly couple of pieces of paper telling you where everything goes. Still if this computer illiterate can put it together anyone can. Back to the CD; it’s auto play and is simple enough to find and download the drivers needed. There is also additional information on it that is worth more than a glance, including a print off warranty form if you need to return it to AOC for some reason.

So with the plug in, I’m wired for power (now that the blown kettle has been found and neutralized). I switch it on and low and behold I have a picture. Mine is of a cute Labrador pup that I hadn’t seen for three days. I changed the setting as they directed for they recommend it to be 1280 x 1024 resolution. That’s it, mission accomplished. I now have a screen and it looks just as good as my previous expensive monitor...actually it looks much better for its coated with an anti glare finish and as the sun changes angle through the day I don’t have to move my chair to see what I’m typing!

BUTTONS ON THE MONITOR:
Like my dead iiyama these are located just below the screen; of a darker gray they do not distract you, nor irritate (at least I don’t find they bother me). There is an Auto switch, which is great for the likes of me I just press this and it automatically switches back to the factory settings so nothing to worry about if small interfering fingers start messing with your picture. There is a menu button with the relevant Contrast, Brightness, Colour, Centering etc. For Quick Change there is two other buttons that deal just with Contrast and Brightness so you don’t have to go through the menu button if you just want to brighten the screen a touch. After you’ve finished doing whatever it is you can then just press the auto and it will reset everything including making sure your desktop is perfectly centered. Finally you have the on/off switch.

This LCD has a TFT active matrix – desktop ??? (that’s what it says).

As for the speakers in the base I am not techno minded but I found them more than adequate for my needs. There is a volume control on the side of said base and headphones socket behind that, so everything is thought of.

I have to say after spending a large amount of money on my previous monitor I find that what I have now for the price I paid, £299.00 including V.A.T and a handling charge of £4.00, I could not have bettered the value.

PERFORMANCE:
I am no expert but I find the dull coating better for my eyes though it takes some getting used to for the colour changes with the tilt of the screen. I have this sitting on my desk, not wall mounted but that might be a perfect option for this screen. They do warn you about pixel criteria, which I have quoted below. The picture is sharp, the colour clear and the space on my desk larger. I really can’t find any fault with this monitor but it’s only two weeks old.

LCD PIXEL CRITERIA:
With LCD Monitors there is a Pixel Criteria this varies with each company.

AOC: state “In order to provide the highest performing products, AOC has set the following limit as to the maximum allowable number of pixel anomalies. 5 Bright Sub-Pixels, 5 Dark Sub-pixels, or a combination of 8 Dark & Bright Sub-pixels. The panel used on our LM720 series monitors has a total of 2,359,296 sub-pixels. So even the maximum allowed of 8 non-performing sub-pixels would only amount to a very small 0.00033% of the total sub-pixels.

This actually means you may see a slightly different coloured minute dot on the screen somewhere. I in fact have none of which I am pleased about but if you had a few of these and more than quoted above you could return the monitor to the manufacturer. I hope this makes it reasonably clear.

WARNING:
I would suggest anyone about to purchase an LCD should check the manufacturer’s website for their Pixel Criteria before buying.

PRICE:
This varies depending on where you buy it.

£295 – 353+ including v.a.t.

Please bear in mind that if buying from mail order you will have P&P

Here comes the Tech Info:

Sleek profile, Compact footprint, Lightweight
3 Years Warranty
Product Description: AOC LM720A Flat Panel display- TFT 17.
VESA, XGA, SVGA, VGA Compatible.
EPA Energy Star.
VESA 75 Hz Preset Refresh Rate.
Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024 Resolution (Recommended)
Plug & Play
Diagonal Size: 17”
Power Consumption: 45 Watt
Colour Support: 24-bit (16.7M colours)
Dot Pitch: 0.26MM
Built in Devices: Stereo Speakers
Audio Output: Speaker(s) - Integrated
Compliant Sandards UL,CSA,CE,TUV/GS,TCO99,DDC-2B,DDC-1,ISO 13406-2, EPA Energy Star ETC.,
Weight: 5Kg

I could go on, there is another page but if your really interested log onto their website and check the specs.