BenQ E2400HD
BenQ promises that its E2400HD LCD monitor will provide ?a brand-new
standard for personal digital audiovisual entertainment?.? And while
we?ve grown weary of marketing hyperbole, at first glance, this 24-inch
panel has the specs to back up this statement. The E2400HD sports a
1080p HDMI interface and utilizes a 16:9 aspect ratio (rather than the
more common ratio of 16:10 for widescreen panels), two features that
should improve the movie-watching experience. OK, perhaps ?brand-new
standard? is a bit overboard, but as we unboxed it, we did think that a
1080p 24-inch monitor for less than $400 was certainly intriguing?even
if it sports a 6-bit panel. A 16:9 aspect ratio should, theoretically,
provide a better image when viewing high-def widescreen movies because
a 16:10 monitor has to either stretch an image by 10 percent or add
black bars to the top and bottom of the image to compensate for the
additional space. In our tests with multiple DVD movies, however, those
ubiquitous horizontal black bars appear during playback. While TV shows
and many movies (typically romantic comedies) are filmed in a native
16:9 aspect ratio, many films are matted using a wide 2.35:1 aspect
ratio where you?ll still see black bars. Therefore, while the BenQ is
capable of displaying a movie in its original widescreen glory, many
DVDs will still not be able to utilize all of the screen?s space.
Regardless, this is still a solid panel for watching high-def
movies?when the monitor?s Movie mode is used. In standard mode, V for
Vendetta suffered from a washed-out palette. The panel couldn?t
differentiate the movie?s many dark hues and the bright white seemed to
take on a gray cast; however, Movie mode upped the contrast
significantly, showing off both ends of the color spectrum. Gaming was
also solid; the colors in Far Cry were vivid and we didn?t observe any
stuttering or ghosting during gameplay. Our DisplayMate tests
(www.displaymate.com) backed up what we observed in our real-world
tests. We were able to differentiate colors at both ends of the
spectrum in the grayscale tests, and the E2400HD showed no
color-tracking or banding issues when we ran DisplayMate?s scripts.
However, the same Senseye technology that improved our movie-watching
experience was much less successful when we viewed high-def photos.
With the Photo mode on, pictures took on a cold, blue hue. Standard
mode seemed to present a truer presentation of the images colors, but
lacked a certain vividness. Whether the 16:9 aspect ratio will make any
noticeable difference really depends on what type of content you?ll be
watching; still, with a street price hovering around $350, the E2400HD
is a good value. But even at this midrange price, we expect more from
the stand, which allows only minor tilt adjustments; if we were to use
this monitor as our primary movie-watching or gaming panel, we?d prefer
to also have height adjustment and swivel included as well.
LaCie 730
We had the LaCie 730 delivered to the Lab as a possible contender for
our upgrading feature (page 25)?at $5,000 and change it?s certainly a
comfortable fit at the high end of the price spectrum. Of course, it
wasn?t just the price that intrigued us. The LaCie 730 includes a
number of features that set it apart from other monitors we?ve
reviewed?as well as one oversight that keeps it from attaining our
highest praise. While most monitors that come to the Lab sport 6- or
8-bit panels, the 730 has a 14-bit panel, which should greatly increase
the color depth of this monitor. Additionally, the 730 includes an LED
backlight rather than the more typical cold-cathode fluorescent
backlight. An LED backlight should produce a truer black than a CCF
because unlike the CCF, LEDs can switch on and off while a CCF is
always on (for this same reason, an LED backlight should also reduce
the amount of light seepage at the edges of a monitor). However, the
first LED backlight monitor we reviewed, ViewSonic?s VLED221wm (May
2008), was able to create the darkest black we had ever seen but
couldn?t differentiate the darkest grays in our grayscale test. LaCie?s
730 had no such issues, displaying clear separation between shades at
both the light and dark ends of the spectrum in our grayscale test. In
our DisplayMate tests, the 730?s white and light grays weren?t as
bright as those displayed by our current high-end Best of the Best
champion, Gateway?s XHD3000 (reviewed December 2007), but when we put
the monitors side by side for our digital photo comparison, there was
no contest: The 730 produced the most vibrant, rich colors we?ve ever
seen in our monitor tests. We noticed, in particular, that the 730 did
a much better job of differentiating between shades of orange and red.
In fact, this 14-bit monitor sports a 123 percent color gamut, well
beyond the 72 percent standard for most LCDs. Through our synthetic and
real-world tests, the LaCie 730 seemed to be best in class, showing
rich colors in photos and no evidence of banding or color-tracking
errors; however, as we moved to our Blu-ray test, we discovered the
monitor?s one true weakness: It lacks HDCP. While software fixes such
as AnyDVD (www.slysoft.com) can alleviate this problem, the LaCie 730
cannot natively handle commercial high-def video. The lack of input
options is also a small knock against the 730; the monitor includes DVI
and USB, but neither HDMI nor DisplayPort. If the boss-man purchased
this monitor for your workplace, you?d be thrilled, but if you want a
multipurpose monitor for photo and video editing as well as high-def
movie watching, you?ll likely want to look elsewhere. If you?re willing
to step down a bit in size, LaCie?s 24-inch 724 has the same 123
percent color gamut, supports HDCP, and will cost you just $2,650.
Westinghouse L2610NM
Taking a cue from ViewSonic?s playbook, Westinghouse?s L2610NM produces
a crappy image out of the box. We haven?t seen a display ship with such
a whited-out picture in a long time. And unlike ViewSonic?s VX2240w,
adjusting the L2610NM?s brightness and contrast settings does little to
help matters. Word to the wise: A monitor?s brightness isn?t like
whipped cream. Overloading the display?s luminosity won?t make the
picture any sweeter. Switching through the display?s color temperatures
requires a large contrast adjustment, as moving from one mode to
another tends to wash out a huge section of the display?s lighter
grayscales. The color saturation on the 1920x1200 display suffers from
its overly bright settings. It trades richness and vibrancy for a
brightness that can overpower the natural look you?d expect images, and
even your desktop, to have. Colors look white, blacks look
gray?everything looks far more washed out than we?d ever want.
Depending on which color temperature we picked, the monitor?s
grayscales were imbued with various tints of color. We were unable to
find a true black-to-white gradient even once. We?d normally list the
connections this display carries right here, but it?s irrelevant; we
don?t want you connecting anything to this 26-inch spotlight.
Hannspree HF289HJB
Size is important, but so is quality. Hannspree?s 27.5-inch HF289HJB
fits the former just fine, but its average performance makes us yearn
for a better-quality picture to fill the massive screen. No banding? No
color-tracking issues? The HF289HJB avoids these problematic picture
issues entirely. We had to crank the brightness on this 1920x1200
display to the maximum level to achieve the best results in
DisplayMate?s series of grayscale tests. Even after this adjustment,
the display reproduced less detail in its darker values than any other
monitor in this feature. The HF289HJB isn?t as bad on the lighter side
of the spectrum, but it?s not good enough to compensate for the limited
range of dark values. The HF289HJB had more trouble producing lighter
colors against a white background than other monitors we?ve tested.
This resulted in skin tones that looked washed out in our real-world
testing situations. On the gaming front, our Call of Duty 4 run-through
lost a bit of its visual flair. The shades of green in the image
suffered the most, and black scenes as a whole appeared slightly tinted
with blue. If we had our way, we would have made a few changes to this
monitor. For starters, the display doesn?t come with any presets. None.
We tweak our displays, but not everyone enjoys fiddling with the
nuances of brightness, contrast, and color. We?d also fix the
HF289HJB?s strange audio setup. The single included speaker sends out
its mono sound from the back of the display. This creates a strange
auditory effect that could easily be improved by replacing it with two
front-facing speakers. You can adjust the height and angle of this
mammoth monitor, but not pivot it or change it to portrait mode. But
that?s OK: There are far more changes this panel needs than increased
ergonomic options for it to be a king of the huge displays. We?d rather
spend the cash on a better-performing, smaller panel.
Dell 2408WFP
Dell?s 2408WFP is the latest in the company?s line of 24-inch panels,
following on the heels of the much-beloved Dell 2407WFP (reviewed
September 2006). Unfortunately for Dell, improving upon its predecessor
isn?t enough to push the 2408WFP above other tested displays. Do not
try to distinguish the 2408WFP from the 2407WFP. For all intents, they
are the identical twins of Dell?s display world. The Dell?s grayscale
performance in DisplayMate was great, matching the range of Samsung?s
245T on the light end, although it didn?t quite match the 245T?s
abilities at the darker end of the spectrum. These subtle differences
became more apparent in our real-world testing, as both our gaming and
movie benchmarks looked a bit darker on the 2408WFP than what we?re
used to seeing. And we also had less detail in our high-res still
images compared to what the 245T was able to produce. Although it comes
with a number of presets, none were able to alleviate the loss of
detail we experienced without creating other issues at the same time.
The unnatural, over-the-top brightness added by the display?s
multimedia and gaming presets is simply unacceptable. Similarly, the
2408WFP?s 110-percent color gamut lends images far more color
saturation than we?re comfortable with. Even the grayscales themselves
are tinted by a mild green hue. The 2408WFP comes with a number of
connectors: HDMI, DVI, VGA, and component video, as well as a built-in
USB hub and 9-in-2 media card reader. Dell also throws in a DisplayPort
connector for the few people who run DP-capable videocards. We applaud
Dell?s 2408WFP for its efforts. While its saturation comes off a bit
strong, we?d use this monitor on our desk without reservation?unless
someone was offering us Samsung?s 245T too.
Acer P244w
Acer?s native-1080p display wins points for hitting the widescreen 16:9
formfactor, but the P244w treats its colors with the same
unpleasantness it treats its grayscales. The monitor?s color saturation
suffers from a reduced range on both the top and bottom ends of the
spectrum: Colors lose their vibrancy as they get darker and become
washed out as they get lighter. The P244w offers acceptable detail in
its grayscales in our synthetic tests but still displays less detail in
an image than other monitors we?ve tested in our real-world routines.
And we didn?t enjoy how dark scenes in our real-world movie tests
always looked tinted by a bit of unnatural brightness?we much prefer a
richer, deeper black. When the P244w is on, you?re treated to bleeding
backlight on the screen?s top and bottom edges during darker scenes.
Start saving your phone books: You can?t adjust the height of this
display. And we dislike how the display?s presets don?t appear to vary
the image quality very much at all. The P244w?s list of
connections?DVI, VGA, and HDMI?lacks the component option that
higher-quality displays often come with. We?d prefer a monitor that has
more: picture quality, connections, ergonomic options?anything.
Gateway FHD2401
The Gateway FHD2401 hits a ball or two out of the park, but we?re not
terribly impressed by this 24-inch panel?s overall performance. The
FHD2401?s mighty speaker bar wins the sound portion of our display
testing, no question. The display?s grayscale performance favors the
darker side of the spectrum. The FHD2401 is able to distinguish among
shades of gray against a black background, but a below-average showing
in lighter grayscales hurts overall performance. Worse, banding and
color-tracking discrepancies permeated the darker end of the grayscale
when the monitor was tasked with producing 256 different shades. The
1920x1200 display touts a 92-percent color gamut, which made for rich
coloration in our real-world suite of tests. But the display?s visuals
aren?t the best we?ve seen?in our movie, game, and image-quality tests,
the images were lacking minor details on both ends of the grayscale
spectrum compared to the best panels we?ve tested. The FHD2401 offers
support for HDMI, VGA, and DVI inputs, but no component input. You
can?t adjust the monitor?s height either, a sloppy omission for a
monitor in this size class.
ViewSonic VX2240w
ViewSonic?s VX2240w is unwatchable at its factory default setting?the
screen?s brightness is cranked beyond the point of acceptable image
quality. Fortunately, we were able to tweak the display?s settings to
produce an image that was at least similar in quality to the Gateway
HD2201?s. While the VX2240 matched the HD2201 tit for tat in its
ability to produce lighter shades of gray on a solid white background,
the former exhibited better color saturation in the lighter shade
levels. Something unusual happens when you adjust this monitor?s
coloration options. Flesh tones on the VX2240 appeared more lifelike
compared to those of the HD2201, and the former even offers two
additional color temperature settings for picture customization. This
monitor displayed no banding issues and only a few color tracking
discrepancies on the most demanding black-to-white gradients, but it
does suffer from a critical flaw. When you change its color
temperature, the VX2240w is sometimes unable to produce its full range
of dark or light contrasts. This sucks the quality out of a normal
picture, but flipping the display on and off brings back normal
settings. Still, it?s the kiss of death for the VX2240w.
