Mediocre monitor
Written: Nov 16 '08 (Updated Sep 06 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Large amount of space for working
Cons: Low view angles, overly bright, automatically changes inputs, button markings are hard to see
The Bottom Line: This is a typical TN panel with some poor design considerations. I would not recommend this monitor.
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| wakiz's Full Review: Acer 24" 1920 x 1200 WS LCD-Black: 24" wide-screen... |
I work at the IT department at my employer where 30 of these were deployed throughout the office. It's great to have a large monitor with high resolution because it allows several windows to be open side by side. The chief complaint that I've received was that these monitors are too bright out of the box; other than that the users are content with these screens. Being the picky person that I am I've found a few other features that I do not like.
The image on the screen is clear and bright, but that's only if looking at the monitor dead on. Moving side to side or up and down can cause the colors on the screen to change or make the image blur. This is the nature of a TN panel which is cheap. Most people don't know the difference so they expect this is a compromise of having a LCD screen. Better monitors use PVA, MVA, or IPS panels which have far better view angles. The screen can rotate 90 degrees clockwise but this feature is quite useless unless looking at the screen dead on.
The monitor has both DVI and analog inputs and it is possible to hook up two computers to the monitor. The bad thing is that the monitor defaults to DVI if the analog source goes out even briefly whether there is something connected to DVI or not. If the computer on the analog connection is rebooted, then the screen will go to the DVI. Going back to analog requires going through the menus; there is no button is change the input source. I have 3 computers on my desk, so I use a KVM switch that can only work with analog video connections. Because of the automatic input switching, I really am only able to use the Acer monitor with one machine and I need my older 19" monitor to use the KVM switch. I also use the 19" to extend the desktop of the machine that uses the 24" as the primary monitor via the KVM switch.
As previously stated, the screen is overly bright out of the box. The process to change the brightness and contrast is more difficult than it should be. To get to the menu to change those settings requires 6 button presses. There is no shorter way to get to this menu which can be a bit confusing at first because the menu item with the brightness and contrast setting is not something that sounds like it would have those settings.
There are 6 buttons at the bottom right of the screen but they are difficult to identify because the markings are only engravings in plastic. Painting these markings would make them much easier to see. This is an abysmal design consideration since changing any setting requires going into the menus and with black on black markings, one may as well blindly fumble with the buttons until the desired button is found.
The build tolerance on the monitor is a bit iffy, but it does seem solid. The monitor comes with the base separated from the vertical slider to which the screen is attached. There is a marking on the under side of the base where the two pieces are supposed to line up but I found that on more than half the units I assembled, these markings don't line up because the piece was assembled with different orientation. This does not affect the monitor though, it's just that one piece of metal was rotated so I had to estimate or guess how the two pieces should line up when attaching the base. The assembly still seems robust as I haven't noticed anything loose and the monitor doesn't seem fragile to where I'm afriad it would fall apart if I touched it.
One feature I like about the screen is that the height can be adjusted within a 6 inches or so. The screen will lock if slid all the way down. There is a slide switch on the back to release the lock but it was not immediately intuitive on how to unlock the slide.
In all honesty, if I were making the buy decision, I would not have purchased these screens. There isn't much I like about it other than the large amount of space. The menu interface is a bit confusing, the TN panel has horrible view angles, the monitor changes inputs like it or not, and the buttons aren't clearly marked. The selling point of these screens is their size and price which is what most people care about. Since many people buy based upon size and price, there is little incentive for manufacturers to use better, and more expensive, PVA, MVA, or IPS panels when less expensive TN panels sell so well which is unfortunate.
About the only thing I like about this screen is the 1920x1200 resolution that allows me to have multiple windows open. My job requires that I often remote control other machines so at any time I might have the screen of one or more computers on my screen and the high resolution of this screen makes that a lot easier. This large screen resolution allows me to have the screen of more than one remotely control machine on my screen without switching back and forth.
At home I have a screen with a 19" PVA panel and a NEC 20" with IPS. The PVA panel is quirks of its own but it's still better than looking at a TN panel in this 24" I have at work. The 20" NEC completely blows away the 24" Acer in picture quality and user interface.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
wakiz
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Location: California
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 1 member
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