HCL HCM785 RFM

HCL HCM785 RFM

Ameya Dalvi, Feb 22, 2005 0000 hrs IST

Let's see what this HCL model has to offer and how it manages to compete against some of the best in the business.

Good all-round monitor, Sharp display, Good color reproduction, Perfect color registration.

Minor screen regulation problem, Slight blurring at one of the screen corners.

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EXPERT REVIEW

Just over a couple of weeks back we published our 17” CRT Monitors comparison. We tried to accommodate as many popular 17” CRT models as possible in there but somehow HCL managed to miss the bus. Obviously, we cannot include this one in that article now but we can always compare it to those present there. So let’s see what this HCL model has to offer and how it manages to compete against some of the best in the business.

HCL is more popular in India for their complete computer systems rather than individual peripherals. However it has been in the monitors segment for a fair amount of time. I don’t remember seeing standalone HCL monitors at too many outlets in Mumbai, but they happen to be popular in other parts of the country. The last time I had a look at one, was at a relative’s place in Goa. Samsung were the OEM for HCL monitors then and there used to be a clear mention of that at the back of the monitor. The HCM785 RFM had no mention of any OEM anywhere. The "Made by Samsung" was replaced by "Made in India’. Immaterial of the OEM, this seemed like a very good monitor, the moment I plugged it in.

The HCM785 RFM (whew, what a long name) is a pure flat 17" CRT monitor. HCL prefers to call it a Real Flat monitor. I guess that’s what the RFM stands for in the model name. This model sports simple yet smart looks with just four neatly buttons on the front panel that help you control the OSD along with a power button. Like in case of most Flat screen monitors, the dark borders of the screen were visible but they weren’t as prominent as in case of the BenQ or the Viewsonic models.



The view area is 16 inches and like most of the good monitors these days, this one is compliant with the popular emission and safety standards like MPR II, VESA DPMS and Energy star. It supports a horizontal dot pitch of 0.21 mm and a diagonal dot pitch of 0.25 mm. The frequency range supported by this model is 30 KHz to 54 KHz (Horizontal) and 50 Hz to 160 Hz (vertical). The maximum resolution supported is 1280 x 1024 at 60 Hz refresh rate but the maximum usable resolution is 1152 x 864 at 75 Hz. Maximum usable resolution signifies the maximum resolution supported by a monitor at a refresh rate of 75 Hz or better. Though 85 Hz is an ideal refresh rate, 75 Hz is the lower limit. Any refresh rate, lower than 75 Hz, will give a flickered output and can cause some serious eye damage after prolonged usage.

1024 x 768 at 85 Hz is the ideal resolution and that’s exactly the resolution we used to test it out. As we always do, we used DisplayMate to get a bearing on how well the monitor performs when put through various test patterns. DisplayMate first lets you tune a monitor to get the best possible display settings and then runs it through a series of test patterns to test everything from color/brightness to screen geometry to moiré and regulation.





It passed most of the tests with flying colors. Though it isn’t 100% perfect, there was very little to complain about. The color reproduction was excellent and so was the screen brightness. The contrast and picture sharpness is one of the best around. The screen geometry was perfect too. There was a slight blurring at the bottom right corner of the screen. This fault might be specific to only this piece but then we couldn’t ignore it either. In the screen regulation test, there was a slight expansion and contraction of the screen. Also, a slight Moiré was detected but I could eliminate it using the provided controls. In the color registration tests, just like the BenQ, there was absolutely no error. Thus, it joined an elite group of monitors that cleared the Horizontal Color Registration test without any misalignment. All and all, a very good monitor.

The HCL HCM785 RFM is available for a street price of Rs. 7,250 with a 2-year onsite warranty. The pricing is a couple of hundred Rupees lower than its Samsung and LG counterparts whom it matches in performance. However those two offer a 3-year warranty. Having said all that, I have to add that this is one of the best flat screen monitor around and is recommended for anyone looking for a sharp and vibrant display. Had it been in the comparison, it might have bagged the silver.

Test unit sourced from: HCL Peripherals, Chennai.



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USER COMMENTS

i need the driver for HCL HCM780M monitor

by robin, ambala, on Oct 23, 2008 11:51 AM, Report abuse   Reply

ssssss

by adee, asss, on Sep 03, 2008 02:12 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Hi frnds please send me the vga driver for the model hcl laptop p 21 pdc as soon as possible

by manish kumar, ranchi, on Sep 01, 2008 12:44 PM, Report abuse   Reply

I NEED DRIVERS FOR HCL HCM785 RFM TOUCH SCREEN MONITOR

by KUMAR, VIJAYAWADA, on Apr 19, 2006 04:57 PM, Report abuse   Reply

hcm785. i need colour coding

by muthu, madurai, on Apr 23, 2008 12:31 PM, Report abuse

Can you give me your views about LG flatron model T705SH 17"monitor?

by Prabal Bhattach, New Delhi, on Mar 15, 2005 07:29 PM, Report abuse   Reply

monitor screen setting

by zafar, mumbai, on Apr 09, 2008 07:03 PM, Report abuse

I have HCL Laptop model pdc p 20 I lost my drive installtion CD so where I will get those CD if you have idea please send me to my mail

by Vamsi, Hyderabad, on Feb 23, 2008 03:36 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Hi, i want to know my computer mother board name. because i lost the instalation cd's. so pls send the details above this model computer. (HCL HCM780M)

by vincent, chennai, on Dec 31, 2007 11:51 AM, Report abuse   Reply

Need your cheapest prices

by Saravanan, Coimbatore, on Oct 09, 2007 03:08 PM, Report abuse   Reply

PL SEND MOTHER BOARD SOFT WARE

by ABANI BASU, BISHNUPUR, on Sep 22, 2007 02:48 PM, Report abuse   Reply

This is the worst monitor, please don?t buy. if we give compliant Costumer care also not responding . Worst products from HCl Don?t buy any hcl products Worst costumer care in India

by subbaraju, pune, on Sep 01, 2007 02:53 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Hi fnds, Drivers required for the HCL 780M. Thanks

by Mark Lowey, Bangalore, on Jul 25, 2006 03:06 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Hi friend, did get the Display driver for this HCL 780M monitor. Please give me the link to download. in my PC i am getting the Monitor menu automatically, and contrast , brightness and options has been adjusting by itself. did you face any problem like this? please mail me p.ashok84@gmail.com Thanks and Regards, Ashok Kumar P

by Ashok Kumar, CHENNAI, on May 10, 2007 10:04 PM, Report abuse

I am facing the same problem with my HCL HCM780M. Please let me know if you got the solution.

by Praveern Bobbil, Hyderabad, on Aug 15, 2007 10:47 AM, Report abuse

I have HCM481 Monitor of HCL, but i have not its instattation CD. Please. Help me for this CD.

by Kamal, Shimla, on Jul 16, 2007 10:20 AM, Report abuse   Reply

please tell me the path to download the audio controller driver for ezeeBee computer of HCL make

by om prakash, khandawa, on Jun 26, 2007 06:44 PM, Report abuse   Reply

please give me the path to download the driver for audio controller of HCM780M computer of HCL make

by om prakash, khandawa, on Jun 26, 2007 06:41 PM, Report abuse   Reply

i dont have hcm780m display driver

by shivakumar, bangalore, on Jun 09, 2007 06:44 AM, Report abuse   Reply

how can i find the driver of hcl p 5601 audio & vedio driver or sound card

by vivek dalmia, surat, on Apr 03, 2007 01:58 PM, Report abuse   Reply

it is the monitor i was lking around for many days , thanks to HCL HCM785 RFM who make it available to the people in a low price .

by Lucky, Cuttack, on Sep 07, 2006 12:20 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Dear Sir Please Tell me that what cost of computer monitor 17,20,21 inch and cpu 40gb u tell me u nearest Dealer near narnaul mohindergarh haryana and Speaker of aost

by Sunder lal, narnaul, on Jan 22, 2006 12:06 PM, Report abuse   Reply

I have HCM780M 17" monitor. but i don't have its driver software. please provide me the software for better compatibility.

by G. Pandikumar, Tamilnadu, on Nov 07, 2005 09:19 AM, Report abuse   Reply

I have HCM780M 17" monitor. But I don't have its display driver. Please provide me the display driver for better compatibility.

by Snjay Patil, Pune, on Nov 17, 2005 11:42 PM, Report abuse

hi! i dont find any Driver 4 HCL HCM770FH is it a copy of LG/Samsung monitor?plZ tell me from where can i get the driver 4 it?

by vijay sekar, Chennai, on Aug 16, 2005 10:05 PM, Report abuse   Reply

ok but i want that it has 32mb grapich card or not & direct3D

by prithvi raj red, hyderabad, on May 22, 2005 03:25 PM, Report abuse   Reply

HCL HCM785 RFM. Its nothing but LG/Samsung monitor re-named by HCL.

by Yogesh Bagga, Bareilly (India), on Mar 04, 2005 09:36 PM, Report abuse   Reply

can any body tell me which type of samsung/LG monitor it is. so that i can download the drivers for it for my fedora core 2. i work in the vision department of my institute and your help will be greatly appreciated. thanks in adva

by M.Sidharth Goud, Hyderabad, on May 10, 2005 10:14 AM, Report abuse

An absolutely horrible monitor for FedoraCore 2. it does not give more than 800x600 resolution. it doesnot get detected (unprobed monitor) in fedora core 2. u can say the display has to do with the AGP or the chipset but............

by M.Sidharth Goud, Hyderabad, on May 10, 2005 10:04 AM, Report abuse   Reply

can any body tell me which type of samsung/LG monitor it is. so that i can download the drivers for it for my fedora core 2. i work in the vision department of my institute and your help will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

by M.Sidharth Goud, Hyderabad, on May 10, 2005 10:14 AM, Report abuse

i really liked this particular product

by priya.s, bangalore, on Mar 21, 2005 08:32 PM, Report abuse   Reply

though it is tru copy of samsung with a logo of HCL it can canablaize hcl busybee original computer inquiries at intel GSAs as this is main visible unit of HCL ORIGINAL COMUTOR AS A DESKTOP. A VIGROUS PROMOTION WITH PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION FROM ORIGINAL HCL COMPUTOR MAY HELP TO PROMOTE THIS PERIPHERAL IN TRUE SENSE. ... A GOOD BUY OTHERWISE

by GIRISH KUMAR VE, DELHI, on Mar 05, 2005 07:06 PM, Report abuse   Reply

price?

by pratap, rkt, on Mar 04, 2005 09:20 PM, Report abuse   Reply

i computer price

by rajeev, new delhi, on Mar 04, 2005 10:30 AM, Report abuse   Reply

it is like drime

by Mr.Kk chudasama, Bharuch-Gujarat-bharuch, on Feb 27, 2005 11:17 PM, Report abuse   Reply

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