Monitors are important. If you don’t believe us, try writing a dissertation with just your CPU, keyboard, and mouse. We did just that, which is why we’re in this line of work. Philips has spent a long time working on displays, and some of our more recent favorites are actually by this brand. Today though, we take a look at the 193V: a simple little 19-inch deal that has very little flash. Curious to see if it delivers where it counts? Read on and find out.
Design: 3.0/5.0
There’s not a lot going on with this particular model from Philips. The reasonably large 19-inch screen is surrounded by an acceptably thin bezel that doesn’t distract the viewer from the image being displayed on-screen. There are hardly any controls to speak of. The only way to interact with the device is through the use of a single button on the lower right corner of the display. This single button serves as the power button, menu button, and the main means to cycle through each of the menus, as well as increase or decrease settings. Inputs on the monitor are equally minimalistic, with a single VGA port, and an HDMI port for good measure. AC power goes straight into the monitor, without the need for an external power brick. While relatively plain, the inclusion of an HDMI port is great, and allows you to use it as an all-purpose display.
Hardware: 3.5/5.0
display, allowing it to be thin, light, and appropriately viewable. The screen has a response time of 5ms, which is par for the course. It also has a resolution of 1366×768 which should be more than sufficient for a screen this size. It has a weight of 2kg, and is just over 6.5 inches deep, thanks to the base. If you choose to wall mount, it’s a mere two inches deep. The screen has a contrast ratio of 700:1, and is capable
of displaying 16.7 million colors.
User Experience: 3.5/5.0
is no exception. Setup was dead easy. Plug in the power, hook up the screen to your source,
and you’re off.
Getting your desired settings, however, is a little more difficult. A single button is all you have to cycle through the menus and settings, so you’re going to have to be a little patient to say the least. Tapping once brings up a list of settings, tapping again cycles through them. To select a particular menu item, you have to cycle through each, stop at the one you want, and wait. This selects it, and allows you to then use that same button to increase the value of that menu option. It’s a good thing you’re likely only going to have to do this once.
Image quality on this thing is great. LED panels have always been fantastic, with bright images that are nice and crisp. Viewing angles on the display are reasonably wide, but since you can’t really adjust the tilt on this model, you might have to get creative to find that sweet spot.
Being one of the more basic models, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from it, but once I fired it up and got around to watching movies and playing games, I was actually quite impressed. Even with some of the more action-oriented games, it had no difficulty keeping up with the pace of the frames. Movie-watching was equally pleasant. While it might not have the same contrast ratio or size of a dedicated TV, it’s nice and bright, the colors are spot-on, and details are wonderfully clear.
One of the other things I was quite pleased with was the size and weight of the device. I don’t have a lot of desk space to spare, so a small footprint and low weight come very appreciated. Wall-mounting is also a great option for those with no space to spare. I can totally see this rigged up with an HDMI pocket PC or some other small form-factor device for a tiny, general use computer that’s barely any larger than just the screen you view. Consider the possibilities of Windows 10 Continuum-enabled devices and maybe you might suddenly have room for a nice little monitor in your collection.
Value: 4.0/5.0
Here’s the best part about the display. For all the trouble a single button might bring, converted to local currency, it comes out at about PHP 6,000. That’s really quite a steal. If you have any need for a second display, or a primary display for a secondary device, or if you need to upgrade your current screen without having to shell out a substantial amount, this is a great answer to your problem.
Bottomline:
The fact that it’s so affordable and is a great performer more than makes up for the few shortcomings it might have.
Also published in November Issue 2015
Reviewed by Ren Alcantara