Hitachi CML174 17'' LCD Plus Samsung 172T Revisted

On Screen Display

Over the last few display reviews we stressed the importance of clear easy to understand OSD’s. The CML174 resorts to a very traditional button layout for their menu interaction.  From left to right, the buttons are as follows; “Auto/Left adjust, Right Adjust, Power, Function Left, and Function Right.”  The menu is brought up by hitting one of the directional function keys.

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We concluded that the menu was far from perfect when we noticed that the icons were laid out in a circular, rather than linear fashion.  The buttons should really be considered counterclockwise and clockwise rather than left and right (although the illustrations on the monitor might disagree).  The problem occurs at the bottom of the menu when one has to use the “Left” function key to move to the right. 

Other surprises included the “Graphic/Text” feature in the menu.  The menu option displays a Graphic/Text, Graphic or Text option which we assume allows the user to specify which display preset is currently on the screen.  However, this feature never appears to be selectable. 

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The Auto feature performed on par with other LCD’s we looked at.  The CML174 and Samsung 172T were both able to synchronize their screens in the same amount of time, and neither produced incorrect image adjustments.  Neither of these monitors hides the Auto feature only inside the menu, as it can be accessed as a shortcut from the primary buttons on the monitor.  Unfortunately, switching inputs on the CML174 requires four to five keystrokes. Our other opinions about the OSD may have been aesthetic, but burying the input selection that deep inside the menu hurts our general opinion of the menu on the CML174.

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