Category Archives: Yiynova

Yiynova makes tablet monitors with electromagnetic resonance (EMR) digitizers for digital drawing and painting. These are seen as lower-cost alternative to Wacom Cintiqs. The sizes go from 10″ to 22″. They aim for the professional, consumer, and prosumer markets. They also make LCD televisions. They have brands in the U.S. and China, as well as a location in Europe. They were founded in 2008. Their products are sold online by The Panda City. Their tablets are used in places such as banks and hotels, for business use; by artists and designers; and by schoolchildren, with educational applications.

Yiynova MVP22U.V3 review

Yiynova MSP19U+ Review (model with Vesa stand)

Yiynova MSP19U+ review: large pen display won’t break the bank

by Tablets for Artists

Update: This newer Yiynova MVP22U.V3 has fixed some of the issues of the 19U. We recommend this one over the MSP 19U, and will be adding more information on it.  See more reviews and info on Amazon.

Update: Yiynova MVP22U.V3 worth a look

Yiynova MVP22U.V3 review

Yiynova MVP22U V3

Yiynova MSP19U+Yiynova-msp19u-review

For a small fraction of the cost of a Cintiq, you can have a Yiynova tablet monitor by the Chinese company Yiynova. While the first iteration of the this monitor, the MSP19, had some issues, this second one, the MSPI9U+, has remedied most of them, and the slightly higher price tag is worth it . The Yiynova at 19″ delivers almost as much screen real estate as the Wacom 22″, but it is far lighter. At about 9 lbs., I wouldn’t call the MSP19U+ highly portable, but it’s not as desk-bound as the 22″ Cintiq. The Yiynova works with Mac and Windows.

 

WHAT’S INCLUDED

The monitor, pen with 2 spare nibs, clip to attach it to the monitor, nib removal tool, attached mini USB, power supply, quickstart guide for Mac and PC, CD with drivers, and documents. The warranty (good for U.S. only) is one year, serviceable by The Panda City in Taiwan.

 

FEATURES

The Vesa-compatible kickstand, which is non-detachable, lets you prop up the Yiynova and has an adjustable angle of 5 to 45 to 90 degrees. Or you can use on Ergotron arm. Drawing area is 19″ diagonal with a 16:10 wide screen. There are 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity, as many as the Cintiq. There are 16.7 million colors. It has a VGA input, a VGA output, a USB cord that is hardwired to the tablet, and a pen with kit. The pen needs an AAA battery. You can use it with multiple monitors.

System Requirements (for the -19U and -22U):

PC with USB3 port, video card with either VGA port, DVI port, or HDMI port (or mini-display port)

If your computer has a DVI or DisplayPort input, you will need a VGA to DVI cable.

Windows 7 or up, Mac 10.8 or up

What’s a VESA stand?

VESA stands for Video Electronics Standards Association, and being VESA-compatible means the mount, the square that attaches to the stand and the monitor, is of a standard size that can fit most TVs and modern flat-panel monitors.

 

 

Yiynova-msp19u-features-1

 

 

SCREEN

The screen is glassy, and smooth, reflective, not the matte of the Cintiq. While the Cintiq feels more like drawing on paper, the Yiynova gives you more of a glide. The colors start out a bit cool but can be calibrated.

The Yiynova lacks the expansive viewing angles of the Cintiq’s 175 degrees. The Yiynova’s are 85 degrees horizontally and 80 degress vertically, so you need to be more or less right in front of the Yiynova to see what’s on the monitor. Personally that’s how I work anyway, but to some it might be annoying.

The screen has a far lower resolution than the Wacom. It’s 1440 x 900. While users of the previous model complained of jagged lines in raster programs and font-rendering problems, this model has a different digitizer, so this problem has been solved for most. However, there are still some complaints.

The color gamut is a standard 16.7 million. Color calibration can be more difficult on the Yiynova than on the Cintiq. The display is bright and cheery with its LED backlight (which the Cintiq does not have). All the same, the colors themselves won’t necessarily be as bright as on your main monitor; this is also true of the CIntiq.

A smudgeguard glove will be useful, as fingerprints show on the glassy surface.

YIYNOVA PEN

The plastic pen has a rubber grip and two clicker buttons on the side. It needs an AA battery. The pen feels cheap compared to Wacom pens. It also lacks an eraser; you have to use the eraser tool in your art program, but that’s not a big drawback.

The pen requires a single AAA battery that should last for months with frequent use. It has a low-battery indicator light. The pen gets 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity, just like the Wacom. It just has the one size nib, unlike the varied nibs of Wacom. The Yiynova comes with a “kit” including a spare nib and nib remover.

There is far more parallax in the Yiynova than the Cintiq, you see a good quarter-inch between the stylus tip and the line. While this takes a bit of getting used to, it actually makes it so you can see what you are drawing better, since the pen isn’t in the way. But it takes the experience a further step away from pencil and paper. When looking straight at it, it’s not noticeable.

CONTROLS

This model has power and adjustment buttons on the lower right side of the device. There are no controls on the front–that means no programmable ExpressKeys.

SOFTWARE

The drivers are more difficult than the Cintiq, though I can’t say that using Cintiq drivers is always a breeze. You need to uninstall all other tablet drivers before installing the Yiynova ones. You need to use two drivers. It’s better to use the ones from their Web site rather than the included ones on the CD, because the site will have all updates.

Unlike the Wacom, you can’t do things like mapping the drawing area, it’s just a 1:1 shot of your screen. I only use this anyway even with the Cintiq, but some artists might miss the extra features. The driver’s limitations compared to the Cintiq are one of the biggest differences between the two. The Yiynova works with any art or other software your computer works with (Photoshop, Illustrator, Toon Boom etc.)

 

PORTABILITY

At 11 pounds, it is not very portable, but if you really had to take it somewhere you could do this far easier than you could with the much heftier Wacom 22 and 24s.

 

USER REVIEWS AND RATINGS

Most of those who have written a Yiynova MSP19U+ review or participated in discussions have been positive.

Customers really like the feeling of the pressure sensitivity, and they love the price. The things that I thought might annoy them seem to be OK, such as the parallax, and some do not notice it at all, or only notice it on 25% of the screen. It would depend on the angle you are viewing from. One said he prefers the parallax because he can see his whole drawing now.

Some said the included cables are not long enough to use with a desktop computer, so they used their own cables. One Yiynova MSP19U review said the Yiynova colors because it doesn’t have the anti-glare screen of the Cintiq and therefore the colors are truer and the line more accurate; others miss the traction of the Cintiq screen and feel the Yiynova colors are less vibrant. Biggest complaints are the limited viewing angles and that the pen is not as good as Cintiq pens. Parallax does not seem to be much of an issue.

Some versions of Sketchbook Pro do not work in dual monitor mode (see below). Sai Paint Tool has also had problems in dual monitor mode.

Sketchbook Pro 6.0 and 7.1.1 work on dual monitor mode. Sketchbook Pro
6.02, and 7.0/7.1 won’t work in it.

TIP: For Sai Paint Tool, Yiynova suggests this solution:

Go to the SAI data folder and find the misc.ini file
Use the text editor to change the line
TabletMouseSimulation = 0
to
TabletMouseSimulation = 1

then restart Sai. This might fix the cursor issue.

 

PROS

Price a fraction of the Cintiq

functions

display brightness

ease of use

customer service

VESA-compatible stand is solidly built.

 

CONS

Pen not as good as Wacom’s

drivers can be difficult

viewing angles are limited

screen resolution not high, leading to some having issues with jagged lines and font rendering.

no programmable keys

 

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service, provided by Panda City, is fast and excellent. They give detailed help in response to problems customers mention, and show that they are listening and concerned. They are closed on weekends, as is Wacom. The manuals and specs are all on the company Web site. Though the English is imperfect, it’s understandable.

This pen display tablet offers a lot of value to both hobbyists and pros, and can be compared to the Cintiq. Some artists like its underdog appeal. Others might miss the controls of the Cintiq, such as the ExpressKeys and rocker ring, which can streamline workflow.

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES:

It comes with a handy carrier with plastic handles, stylus, power supply, mini USB, and male VGA cable. As with the Cintiq, you will need to get an adapter if you have a Mac.

THE VERDICT

The more expensive Wacom Cintiq is better in many small ways, but with the closest-sized Cintiq, which is the 22 inch, costing almost 4 times as much, this Yiynova is a good, reliable solution for a student, and entry level designer, or any artist on a budget.

 

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES

You might want an HP single monitor arm to make work more comfortable, and a longer cable if you need.
hp single monitor arm

 

HP Single Monitor Arm

Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

See our review of the XP-Pen 22 tablet monitor.

See our review of the Wacom Cintiq 13HD.

end of Yiynova MSP19U review