| 22 Inch HP Debranded DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor
|
In Use:
When the monitor was finally powered up, I was very impressed. Without making any adjustments everything looked very sharp, the colors were vivid, and the black levels were very good. It is one of the best LCD panels I have worked with, and the only minor issue I noted was the slightest bit of backlighting washing out the black along the edges.
I was also very glad to see that there were no dead or lit pixels; a problem which can absolutely drive me crazy. Some people can ignore them, but even one defective pixel is enough for me to not want to not use a monitor (and I have returned a few monitors / LCD TVs with just one defective pixel). It seems that such defects have become more infrequent as manufacturers improve their processes, but it is still a possibility that may be more prevelant when buying refurbished. Geeks.com has a policy on defective pixels that might discourage some buyers, as this monitor would be considered acceptable to them with up to eight dead or lit pixels, depending on their orientation.
Navigating the on screen display (OSD) for the monitor was simple, and made easy work of configuring the monitor to suit my preferences. The brightness seemed more than adequate at about the half way point, so users who would like it much darker or lighter should be satisfied somewhere along the scale. The OSD is just one more area where it is clear that this is an HP product, as their logo is embedded right into it.
The viewing angles that this monitor was usable at were definitely adequate for use as a desktop display. If it was going to be used more like a TV monitor, you might have some issues as the images seemed to fade when looking at it from slightly above or below. For example, if this was going to be mounted higher up on a wall, just make sure you have a bracket that can aim the screen downwards to keep it inline with your eyes.
Desktop applications looked fine, and with the 1680x1050 resolution it was very easy to get multiple open windows on screen. The Geeks.com website doesn't actually reference a response time, but looking up the original HP product number finds that it is rated for 5 ms (Tr/Tf). I played a handful of 3D games with this monitor connected to a modern system using a Radeon HD4870 graphics card, and overall things looked great. There were a few instances where the motion blurred, but the response time specification is decent for a monitor like this.
The only negative to discuss while using the monitor is based on my personal preference. The screen and the bezel both have high gloss finishes which not only make dust and finger prints stand out, but they are also quite reflective. In one sense it is good because I can use the screen as a mirror to see who is coming up behind me, but for the most part I dislike the mirror effect. I don't want to see what is in my office while looking at my computer screen, and objects like lamps and my big head are just distracting.
|
|
|
|
