NEC-Mitsubishi 1560

Quality images and good value for money from this 15in monitor.

The two-tone silver and mushroom NEC-Mitsubishi 1560 sits on a square base with an extendable arm that allows you to adjust the height of the tiltable display area.

There are no speakers or USB ports and the overall design is unexciting, with a thin bezel and eight function keys integrated in the outer edge of the fascia.

From left to right, the range of buttons on offer include exit, left, right, minus, plus, select, reset and standby with the left/right buttons and minus/plus button pairs giving fast access to the brightness and contrast settings respectively.

Rather perversely, the exit button calls up the on-screen menu, which is far from intuitive. At the top of the on-screen menu window, six tabs allow you to switch between various settings using the exit, cursor and select keys.

There is a choice of preset colour settings numbered from one to five, based on colour temperature, which can also be programmed with your own preferences, and a default 'native' colour setting.

The 1560 neither excelled nor disappointed in terms of image quality, which was fair across the board.

Grey and colour-scale gradations were generally well-handled, although some banding was discernible, and on screens of solid colour a slightly lighter band at the bottom and top of the screen was noticeable.

Skin tones tended to be slightly orange and some colours looked a little under-saturated and lacked vibrancy. We were impressed, however, that this model differentiated well between tones at the highlight end of the colour scale.

This monitor won't set the world alight, but with decent image quality and an attractive £235 price tag, it offers good value for money.

Contact: NEC Mitsubishi 08701 201 160
www.nec-mitsubishi.com

Specifications:

• 15in viewable diagonal
• 1,024 x 768 pixel native res
• LCD TFT
• DVI-D and D-Sub 15pin inputs
• 4.5kg
• 344.8 x 181 x 305.3mm (w x d x h)
• 250cd/sq m
• 350:1 contrast ratio
• Horizontal/ vertical viewing angles: 120/90degrees
• 3yr on-site warranty