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The cliche "you get what you pay for" certainly applies here.

I got this monitor (...)in August 2002, and have been using it daily ever since. At the time of this review, my Envision monitor is not even 2 years old yet.

When I first bought this monitor, it was pretty clear and sharp. After about a year of use, the text started to get REALLY blurry and unreadable, especially when viewing websites with a white background, like Amazon.com.
However, on websites with a black or blue background, the text is still sharp. The most obvious explanation is that the monitor experiences too much distortion while switching from white to any other color.

This problem seems to be common among cheap CRT monitors. I have another 15" compaq monitor, and it uses the same "shadow mask" technology, and its sharpness has deteriorated over the years. My Sony Trinitron monitor, with "aperture grille" technology, still remains sharp and clear after 4 years. However, the Sony cost 4x as much as this monitor.

This monitor still remains useful for watching movies and playing games, where sharp detail is not really necessary. However, if you are going to be doing a lot of reading, stay away from this.

This monitor has been fine for me so far. It does 1024 x 768 at 85Hz (optimal for a 17-inch monitor); has good color, clarity and sharpness; and of course the flat screen. Having owned it only a short time I can't say about long-term reliability. I have had no problems. Recommended for the bargain range, unless you know of any reason against it.

I just bought one of these, and mine is working fine. It does 1024 x 768 at 85Hz; picture is clear and sharp; goes all the way to the edges; adjustments are intuitive and complete. It's quite new and I can't say how this model may hold up.

(...)

The real question is how the defect rate for one company compares with that of another company. For example, I used to be a network administrator, and found that (in a certain time period, 2000-01) Gateway 17-inch CRT's failed often, while Viewsonics were more consistently OK. That's a more representative report.

So what is the defect rate with Envision compared with other brands? I don't know. The point is, you can't tell by reading reviews like this, unless you read a lot of them in many different places. And even then, you have to keep in mind that the people who have bad experiences are more likely to write.

I have no affiliation with Envision - I'm just trying to be fair, and give it the benefit of the doubt. Mine was $140 and will be a bargain when a $60 rebate arrives. I hope it continues working well for a long time. BTW, www.envisionmonitor.com has FAQ solutions for problems like those described below.