ADI has been in the UK for a long time, and have been manufacturing CRT based monitors for as long as time began. ADI is renowned for manufacturing award-winning monitors, and is a choice for many PC Manufacturers normally as re-badged monitors (OEM). The model ADI sent us was the Microscan 610, a 15" LCD monitor with USB as optional and weighing a meagre 5kg's. In ADI's favour was the packaging - double strength carton reducing possible transit damage and any grief attacks on discovering your monitor arriving in bad shape. The users manual was adequate and provided all the information one would require to get up and running, and no more. Connecting the 15pin plug was a bit of a chore, the plastic clip covering the 15pin interface was rather awkward, once removed you can just about get the cable into the recess.

The Microscan 610 takes up hardly any space as you would expect, ergonomically pleasing, and the slimmest of all the monitors in the test. It is supplied with a 3-year on-site warranty as a standard, sending out a clear signal regarding the confidence it has in build and reliability of the monitor. This is further enhanced when you inspect the specifications for the first time and realise this little gem can have USB options consisting of 1 upstream and 4 downstream ports. The settings on the monitor can be accessed via OSD with options for various languages providing the normal brightness, contrast, colour settings etc and are easy to use.

When purchasing LCD monitors make the viewable angle one of your most important considerations. LCD monitor's are fine when you view them straight on, but we would recommend a Horizontal and Vertical angles of 140 degrees, and in this area the ADI does not disappoint with a viewable image of 150(h) x 140(v), this combined with a .29 pitch size and a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 @ 75Hz the monitor is no pushover.

The ADI 610 test results were on par with the others in our labs. The display's images were good. The backlight was slightly uneven in the bottom left corner, thus failing our dark screen and screen regulation tests, but colour reproduction was good, once the required adjustments were made. Our swivel test for the Microscan 610 was difficult as it's the only monitor in the test not to have a swivel base, which meant moving the whole monitor, base and all, to angle the monitor if using it on the corner of your desk.

All in all the ADI 610 is a good 15" LCD monitor and was on par with the others on test. The recommended street price of £699.00 plus VAT makes it the most expensive of the trio, but don't let that put you off, you really have to see the monitor to appreciate it's build and picture quality, and it does have the advantage of a 3 years on-site warranty.

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