Shuttle XP17 Preview: A better looking 16ms LCD

Subjective Analysis

DisplayMate/CheckScreen/VESA FPDM 2.0
Test	Monitor	Observations
Intensity range check	XP17 (digital)	4.5
	XP17 (analog)	4.5
	2001FP (digital)	5
	2001FP (analog)	5, Good
Black level adjustment	XP17 (digital)	5, Excellent, but glare becomes more apparent
	XP17 (analog)	5
	2001FP (digital)	4.5
	2001FP (analog)	4.5, Acceptable
Defocusing, blooming and halos check	XP17 (digital)	5, None
	XP17 (analog)	5
	2001FP (digital)	5, None
	2001FP (analog)	5, None
Screen uniformity and color purity	XP17 (digital)	4.5, Uniform, pure, accuracy issues?
	XP17 (analog)	4.5
	2001FP (digital)	4.5+
	2001FP (analog)	4.5+, better than 192T, but still small imperfection on upper right
Dark screen (Glare Test)	XP17 (digital)	2, Distractingly present
	XP17 (analog)	2
	2001FP (digital)	4.5
	2001FP (analog)	4.5, Improvement over 1702FP and 192T
Primary colors	XP17 (digital)	4, Issues but corrected with OptiCal
	XP17 (analog)	4
	2001FP (digital)	4
	2001FP (analog)	4, attempted to fix curves with OptiCal
Color Scales	XP17 (digital)	3.5, Difficult to ascertain correct scales due to glare
	XP17 (analog)	3.5
	2001FP (digital)	4, red errors
	2001FP (analog)	4, red errors
16 intensity levels	XP17 (digital)	4, Extreme darks fade too quickly
	XP17 (analog)	4
	2001FP (digital)	4.5+
	2001FP (analog)	4.5+, Improvement over the 192T
Screen regulation	XP17 (digital)	5
	XP17 (analog)	4
	2001FP (digital)	5
	2001FP (analog)	4.5
Streaking and ghosting	XP17 (digital)	5, None
	XP17 (analog)	4, Present but expected
	2001FP (digital)	5, None
	2001FP (analog)	3.5, Extremely present at 1600x1200. Analog signal is not capable.

Undoubtedly, for all its advances, the Shuttle XP17 has a major glare problem. In many cases, it was difficult to get accurate readings from our instruments because there was too much glare coming off the unit. In a darker environment, glare disappears quickly, but spending too much time in front of an LCD in a dark lit room will assure your eyesight to disappear quickly as well. The monitor sits on a 5 degree slant upwards instead of completely vertical, which contributes to the issues of glare and reflection. Given proper lighting and orientation (or extremely light background applications), glare can be reduced on the monitor; but we almost always noticed a clear reflection in the glass bezel.

As either a result of the glare or perhaps a separate issue itself, playing Max Payne proved very difficult because of the extreme contrasts. Areas that should have been very dark appear to melt all into the same shade of black, which somewhat negates the purpose of a fast response time LCD. That being said, the black level of the LCD is phenomenal; although, part of it may be a trick on the eyes due to the glass bezel. The quicker response time was noticeable on UT2004 and Halo.