Using the Yiynova MSP19u tablet monitor: One Year Later

yiynova_one_year_later

In January 2013, I placed an order and received the Yiynova MSP19u tablet monitor. In the days that followed, I wrote about my first impressions using the device.

Having used the Yiynova MSP19u on a daily basis for nearly a year, I wanted to add a few more observations to those first impressions. First and foremost, the Yiynova MSP19u is a solid device – it’s really sped up my digital workflow, especially when compared to using a standard tablet. Initially, drawing on the glass surface of the Yiynova took a little adjustment on my part, but now it’s second nature to me.

Working with the Yiynova long term, I’ve found that the best angle to position the tablet monitor is 45 degrees: it not only compensates for the limited viewing angle of the device, it also feels more comfortable to draw on for long periods of time without straining my back.

Initially I was somewhat concerned about the potential of short battery life on the Yiynova’s stylus. Those concerns are now all but forgotten as I’ve only had to replace the AAA battery once in the year since I’ve owned it. Incidentally, the original nib on the stylus is still very much intact – I haven’t had to replace it yet, despite my tendency to bear down on the device.

Yiynova has updated their Mac drivers a few times within the past year; in my testing the latest driver works well in Mavericks. I still feel that the driver is a bit bare-bones (especially when compared to Wacom’s own drivers), but I haven’t found any problems or compatibility issues. Thus far, I’ve successfully tested the Yiynova with Sketchbook Pro, Manga Studio 4 and 5EX, Photoshop and Adobe Flash CS6.

In my opinion, the Yiynova MSP19u is a solid, affordable digital drawing device that competes well with Wacom’s Cintiq line. To summarize, I’ve been very pleased with the Yiynova MSP19u tablet monitor. I can’t imagine going back to a regular tablet now.

-Krishna

These beautiful and intelligent people wrote

  • MichaelReply
    January 5, 2014 at 12:22 pm

    Cool! Considering my own tablet upgrade (still)…

  • Antoine GagnonReply
    January 5, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    Always cool to see different setups :P
    Hey Krishna, I know this post is about the tablet, but your carpet got me worried there. Isn’t it unsafe for electrical charges with all this electronic equipment?

    • Krishna M. SadasivamReply
      January 5, 2014 at 7:31 pm

      hi Antoine: Good point. I use an anti-static mat, which my chair rests on.

  • hariReply
    January 5, 2014 at 9:34 pm

    Hi Krishna, my brother is looking for a drawing on screen tablet device. He is currently torn between the Surface Pro 2 by Microsoft and the Cintiq Companion Hybrid. I suggested the hybrid. I myself use a HP Touchsmart tm2 laptop which is no longer in the market, but is a wonderful lower cost solution to drawing on screen. Neither of the options available today are inexpensive.

    Unfortunately the Yiynova is too big in size to be portable. Would you suggest any other tablet on which you can work on digital images with reasonable pressure sensitivity and doesn’t cost a bomb?

    • Krishna M. SadasivamReply
      January 5, 2014 at 10:11 pm

      Unfortunately, Hari, I don’t have any experience with either the Cintiq Companion or the Surface Pro 2. Maybe other folks reading this can chime in…

  • Nathan SeaboltReply
    January 15, 2014 at 12:01 am

    Due to problems lately with my faithful Intuos, I’ve been finally using my Samsung Slate for its intended purpose, and it’s been a fairly good experience. We can’t seem to get Yiynova tablets sent here in Australia, so if I upgrade, I suppose it will have to be to a Cintique tablet. But not for some time..need to earn some money with my toys before I can upgrade them!

  • stone75Reply
    February 23, 2014 at 11:06 pm

    man I love my Yiynova thank for all the advice and answering my questions I want to somehow post one of my drawings so you can see let me know what I can do

  • Leo CyruleReply
    May 10, 2014 at 11:17 pm

    I can’t get sketchbook to work correctly with the monitor. When I try drawing with it, there is a nasty five or six inch offset from the actual pen to the left. Could you tell me how to fix this?

    • Krishna M. SadasivamReply
      May 11, 2014 at 9:35 am

      Mac or PC, Leo? Also, are you using the latest driver?

      • Leo CyruleReply
        May 11, 2014 at 9:59 pm

        I am using PC. And I am going to assume the latest driver is 5.02. Yiynova hasn’t changed their drivers in ages from the looks of it.

        • Krishna M. SadasivamReply
          May 11, 2014 at 10:35 pm

          Is it only happening in Sketchbook, or other programs as well? If it’s occurring in multiple programs, check with the vendor and see if they can help. At this point, I’m not sure if your unit is defective or not.

  • RolandReply
    July 6, 2014 at 4:18 pm

    thanks for the article, it kind of made my choice to get the msp19u+.

    i have had the msp19u+ for 3 months, one of the best purchases i could ever imagine. when i was ordering i asked an Yiynova official whether they were bringing new tablet monitors this year, they said 2, a DVI version of the 22″ ips model and a new 20″, one was summer to late summer, and the other Q4 2014 to early 2015, But that i should expect adding 4+ months to that ETA.

    i chose the msp19u+ right away then, because truth be told, this one is worth every penny, and when you think about it, it sometimes takes a revision or more of a product, so i guess in late 2015 i’ll be hoping for that v2+ 20″ model, and that it’ll be an ips version by then, because 19/20″ seems to be the perfect size, where you are still able to flip it around without trouble with an monitor arm. =)

  • MartinReply
    October 6, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    I have just opened up and have begun setting up my msp19u+ and am having trouble with the pen not and the cursor not being in sync… I am on a mac, using mavericks, do you have any thoughts on what could be causing the problem?

    Thanks. :)

    • KrishnaReply
      October 6, 2014 at 3:33 pm

      hi Martin: I’m not sure what could be causing that. Have you removed your old Wacom drivers (if installed) and updated to the latest Yiynova drivers?

  • LDranzerReply
    February 1, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Does it work with the Pressure tool In Flash?

  • PatReply
    March 20, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    Hi,
    I’ve been using the yiynova msp19u+ for almost 2 months now and it suddenly started popping up the monitor menu on it’s own and now none of the buttons on the right side of it seem to be functioning properly. I can only turn it off after I’ve shutdown or unplugged it and the light goes from blue to red. I’ve tried unplugging everything, reboots, and re installs but it keeps happening. Can’t seem to find anyone else who’s this issue and I can’t think of anything else to do. It worked great up until this. Any suggestions?

    • KrishnaReply
      March 20, 2015 at 8:36 pm

      That’s really weird. Have you dropped a note to the folks at Panda City, Pat?

      • PatReply
        April 14, 2015 at 2:24 am

        Yea, I ended up sending it in for repairs. They said they couldn’t duplicate the issue I was having, which could have been a result of how long they actually tested it. After my original post I let it sit for a couple days then plugged it back in and had about 30 min of use before the issue started up again, but tried one more time a day later right before I sent it off and it happened within minutes. They replaced the main display board and side button board anyway. First day back using it and it’s working fine so far. Since it was 30 days past my original order date I did have to eat the shipping cost of about $35.

  • MinestormReply
    April 4, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    Hey Krishna,
    I have a driver problem with my MSP19U. After about 15 mins from a reboot of Windows 7 I notice the tablet driver icon vanishes. Once it does my stylus will no longer work in PS CS5 in 32 bit or 64 bit. I have found that Manga Studio and Sketchbook Pro have no problem when the icons disappears, even the pressure sensitivity still works. I have emailed Panda City but it has been over a week since I haven’t heard anything. If anyone has any helpful information to combat this issue I would really be appreciative. I’m running Windows 7 64 bit as my OS.

  • KigerReply
    July 7, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    Hi there! Thanks a lot for your review on the Yiynova 19+. :)
    I’ll be buying one very soon, but since I have a Macbook Pro 2011 I have no clue what type of cable I need for the connection. Last week I bought the wrong DVI to VGA cable. Not sure what I’m doing wrong but could you tell me what cable I need to connect it to a Yiynova 19+?

    • KrishnaReply
      July 7, 2015 at 4:38 pm

      My Yiynova has a VGA connector. I think the newer ones now sport DVI. For your device, you would need a Thunderbolt to VGA cable to make it work.

  • chandlerReply
    May 24, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    I have a question. My monitor turned off automatically and wont turn on (the blue light wont turn on) but the tablet still works. How do I fix this?

    • KrishnaReply
      May 25, 2016 at 3:01 pm

      I’m not sure I understand… If the monitor is off, how do you know that the tablet still works?

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