Envision EN7450 display

The Envision EN7450 is a 17-inch LCD monitor with both analog and digital inputs. Its silver base and white bezel make it an attractive companion for the Mac mini, and if you happen to own a G4-powered mini, you’ll be interested in the display’s integrated USB hub, speakers, and low price. But because of its relatively narrow viewing angle, tinny-sounding speakers, and slightly fuzzy text, the EN7450 may be better in concept than it is on your desk.

Setting up the display is easy: Just unpack the monitor and remove the small plastic plate on the back that conceals the connection ports. Connect the signal cable (analog or DVI), external power brick and, optionally, the speaker and USB uplink cables.

Once set up, you’ll find that the display doesn’t offer height adjustment, swivel or pivot capability—just a subtle front-to-back tilt range. The speakers are an improvement over the mini’s built-in speakers, but that isn’t saying much.

When connected to a Mac, the display boots into its native 1280-by-1024 pixel resolution. Like many displays, the default color profile is on the blue side. Once calibrated, the display’s colors were more acceptable, and its grays were more neutral—at least while you’re sitting right in front of it. If you move from side to side, or look up and down, colors begin to shift and the contrast fades. Unless you often collaborate closely with others in front of your display, this limited viewing angle shouldn’t be much of an issue. Text on the EN7450 looked good, though text sizes looked a bit fuzzy at smaller point sizes.

Macworld’s buying advice

The Envision EN7450 LCD monitor is fine for an inexpensive 17-inch display. Consider it if you’re looking for a bargain-priced monitor to complement your Mac mini.

[ James Galbraith is Macworld ’s Lab director. ]