Liyama are renowned for their quality, not price. If it's in your price range, go for it :-)
My own experience with 19":
A friend of mine bought an NEC about 3 years ago. He's had nothing but trouble, and warranty dept. has just kept fobbing him off. It distorts verticle lines like crazy, with ghosting that comes and goes. They just don't want to fix it. Of course now the warranty has lapsed there isn't much he can do (he payed for the extended warranty [12 months to 3 years] and it started fail after about 18 months - after blaming his video card, PSU, etc. they said something to the effect of "it kinda works, so considering it's more than 12 months, we don't care".
I bought a HITACHI CM721F - it's terrific value, I believe. I got mine for $500 AUD, has 0.20 dot pitch, and I run in 1600x1200 full time. The clarity is amazing. Another friend of mine has a 19" Sony - he sent back his first one as it had some dead pixels (3). His second one he is pleased with, but at twice the price of mine.... I don't think I would have got it. It has a better refresh rate at 1600x1200 but I still think mine has a sharper picture. His OSD has more geometry settings than mine too, but I haven't needed anything more than what I've got.
I'm certainly pleased the quality of my monitor for the price I paid. Remember: the whole point of a 19" CRT is running in 1600x1200... the budget ones don't really give a practical refresh/sharpness at that res (though they are getting better) so you have to drop back to 1280x1024, at which point you may as well get a mid-priced 17" that also does that resolution.
Of course, all manufacturers can make 1off lemons, but at least with the Sony it was replaced promptly. Then again, an NEC service center in a different country may be more helpful than the one here in Brisbane :-)
- Paul
