Windows Vista Ready LCD Monitor Round-Up - Part 2 March 07, 2006

Introduction

Page:: ( 1 / 13 )

Editor's Note: Part 1 is reprinted in its entirety. Please jump ahead to PAGE 8 to begin reading the hands-on testing.

So what is HDCP?

HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection and it’s an Intel-initiated program that was developed with Silicon Image. Manufacturers participating in the program must pay an annual fee of $15,000 and a device fee of $0.005. This is a content protection system as opposed to a copy protection system. Essentially, this protocol ensures that high-definition content such as HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and copy protected MPEG-2 is encrypted at every stage of the transmission. All HDCP does is guarantee that premium high-definition content can be output over a digital display interface such as HDMI or DVI. A lot of information can be found from Microsoft’s own documents on the Protected Video Pathway - Output Protection Management (PVP-OPM).

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/stream/output_protect.mspx

Although DRM clearly has implementation issues, we all must recognize that it is a “necessary evil” of the industry. Regardless of your personal stance on DRM, the content industry (i.e. Hollywood) refuses to offer unprotected high-definition video content. That’s the end of the story. They own the rights to their movies, and they can do what they choose. They set the rules. If you want to “fight” the adoption of HDCP, the only solution you’ll have is to fight with your wallet, and not buy any HDCP-products (which would include practically every HDTV on the market with an HDMI connector) or run your own movie studio. Otherwise, you’re going to be limited to DVD quality.

One of the problems that Hollywood has with PCs is that while it’s technically challenging to hack a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player, it’s much easier to hack a PC running HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. At one point, the content industry would have liked to have prohibited playback of these devices on the PC. From Hollywood’s perspective, there’s little incentive to support high-definition video on the PC.

Microsoft on the other hand believes that there’s a clear role for the PC in multimedia. With software like Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, and Apple’s own Front Row, it’s clear that a desktop computer can work as a media hub. It’s much easier to time-shift television when you can take advantage of the CPU, GPU, and HDD you already have in your PC. When you buy a dedicated HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player, you have to buy a H.264 decoder. On the other hand, when you go with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, your gaming GPU and CPU prevent the need for extra H.264 hardware.

HDCP (cont’d)

Page:: ( 2 / 13 )

What happens if you don’t have HDCP?

Without HDCP, you will only be able to output premium content of analog connections. In the case of VGA or high-definition component video, PVP-OPM will either constrict (decrease resolution) or completely disable output. Relevant quotes from Microsoft’s article include:

“It is strongly recommended that YPbPr not be promoted to users as a connection method to HD displays—customers will be unhappy when the PVP-OPM component is required to tell the driver to constrict or even turn off HD analog YPbPr outputs.”

“There have been some successes in getting content owners to make some allowances for [analog VGA]. Consumers would certainly be unhappy if it were immediately outlawed; so instead, many content owners are requiring that its resolution be constricted when certain types of premium content are being played. Eventually they may require that analog VGA outputs be turned off completely; but for the moment, it is possible to provide the necessary level of protection by constricting the information content.”

As you know, FiringSquad strongly recommends that LCD monitors be connected using digital interfaces such as DVI. This is the only way we test our monitors.

Where can I find HDCP Monitors?

To date, we have only identified 12 HDCP compliant monitors! Five are going to be featured in next week’s review (we’re still waiting on one of the monitors to arrive):

1. Gateway FPD2185W
2. HP f2105
3. NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2
4. Samsung SyncMaster 244T
5. Viewsonic VP2330wb

The remaining HDCP PC monitors that we are aware of include:
6. Dell 3007WFP
7. Samsung 214T
8. Samsung 930MP
9. Samsung 940MW
10. Samsung 242MP
11. Sony MFM-HT95
12. Sony MFM-HT75W

IMPORTANT: Only the North American NEC 20WMGX2 features HDCP support. In Europe, NEC sells the 20WGX2 (missing the “M” for multimedia). The European models DO NOT support HDCP.

In the consumer electronics world (CE), virtually all modern DLP, LCD, and Plasma televisions support DVI-HDCP or HDMI/HDCP. Although HDMI and HDCP are separate standards, we are not aware of any HDMI-enabled televisions that do not also incorporate HDCP. HDCP is also used in other home theater equipment as well such as DVD players that upconvert to higher resolutions and high-definition digital set top boxes available from digital cable and satellite providers.

Unlike the CE market, the transition to high-definition content-protected video on the PC is going to be shaky. The video cards aren’t ready, and just as importantly, the monitors aren’t quiet ready yet either. Most manufacturers seem to be trickling down their HDCP support from the flagship products and working their way down. The only HDCP LCD PC monitors under 20” come from Sony. That said, as much ire as we want to give to the monitor industry for being slow to release HDCP PC monitors, Dell, Gateway, HP, NEC, Samsung, Sony, and Viewsonic have all beaten the graphics card manufacturers in this race.

It’s interesting to note that Gateway, HP, NEC, Dell, and Viewsonic only have one model in their entire line-up with HDCP support. Sony was first to market with an HDCP monitor, and Samsung has several choices. While you might assume that this is because Sony and Samsung have a strong presence in the consumer electronics market, HP and Dell are both aggressively backing Blu-Ray technology as well. All of these companies plan to have additional HDCP monitors in the coming months. This round-up is missing monitors from LG and BenQ. Unfortunately, these two manufacturers did not have an HDCP-compliant monitor for us to review.

If we’re missing any PC monitors with HDCP support, we’d be glad to add them to our list. Just send us an email. For our definition of a PC monitor, however, the display should have a 0.30 mm pixel pitch or smaller. Once you have a display with >0.30mm, it will join the millions of HDTVs sold in the last few years that feature HDCP.

The monitors

Page:: ( 3 / 13 )

Gateway FPD2185W - $600 with 1 year warranty

(+ $40 sound bar + $36 DVI cable)
[image]

HP f2105 - $700

($650 after mail-in-rebate if purchased before 4/8/2006)
[image]

Monitors (cont’d)

Page:: ( 4 / 13 )

NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2 - $800

($750 after mail-in rebate if purchased before 2/25/2006)
[image]

Samsung SyncMaster 244T - $1400

[image]

NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2 - $800

($750 after mail-in rebate if purchased before 2/25/2006)
[image]

Samsung SyncMaster 244T - $1400

[image]

Viewsonic and features comparison

Page:: ( 5 / 13 )

Viewsonic VP2330wb - $1400

[image]

LCD Features Comparison
	Panel Type	Size	Resolution	Pixel Pitch	Contrast Ratio (higher is better)	Brightness (higher is better)	Pixel Refresh (lower is better)	Warranty	Estimated Street Price
Gateway FPD2185W	S-PVA	21"	1680x1050	.270mm	1000:1	300 cd/m2	8ms	1-year	$600
HP f2105	MVA	21"	1680x1050	.270mm	1000:1	300 cd/m2	8ms	1-year	$650
NEC 20WMGX2	S-IPS	20"	1680x1050	.258mm	1600:1 (A-DVM), 700:1 native	400 cd/m2	6ms	3-years	$800
Samsung 244T	S-PVA	24"	1920x1200	.270mm	1000:1	500 cd/m2	6ms	3-years	$1400
Viewsonic VP2330wb	MVA	23"	1920x1200	.258mm	800:1	250 cd/m2	8ms	3-years	$1400

Testing the monitors

Page:: ( 6 / 13 )

The approach to LCD monitor evaluation that I’ve developed focuses on real-world and objective performance metrics rather than subjective comments. Since our last article, I have substantially improved the testing protocol, most notably the addition of improved pixel refresh tests. Even if you’ve read the previous two LCD round-ups, I recommend reading through this section carefully.

Image Fidelity / Color Accuracy

To make our colorimetry measurements, I set the monitor’s contrast to the optimal value and set brightness to the maximum possible level that does not produce clipping. I then measure peak white and black levels and evaluate color temperature at white and 20% gray. Then I evaluate color accuracy using 24 scientifically selected colored squares in a wide range of colors that represent natural objects such as human skin, foliage, and blue skies. These are the same 24 colors made famous by the GretagMacbeth ColorChecker used by photographers around the world. We measure color accuracy at the color temperature preset that is closest to D65 standard (often called Warm 1, or sRGB, or 6500K).

From our measurements, we can produce our own color charts showing how the monitor differs from the reference standard. This helps you visualize how a monitor can produce colors that are too warm or too cold. The actual colors that you see on your monitor are meaningless. You should focus on the difference between the colors in each graph.

The difference between the reference standard and what the monitor displays can be summarized in a single number, the average delta E across those 24 patches. The smaller the delta E is, the more accurate the colors are. Since delta E’s can be skewed by one or two bad color patches, the color charts are the best way to understand the color performance of the monitor. The closer the monitor is to the reference color standard, the better your movies, games, and photos will look.

We also provide you with a measurement of the true contrast ratio of the monitor. Thanks to our precision colorimeter equipment, we are able to accurately measure the black level, giving the most accurate measure of contrast ratio possible. In our experience, the colorimeter is able to distinguish a 0.01 cd/m2 from a CRT and 0 cd/m2. A high contrast ratio helps to give text and images the extra “pop.”

In addition to testing monitors at maximum brightness, we also test the monitors when the brightness is set to 100 cd/m2 (or as close as possible). While running your monitor at the maximum brightness is good for games and movies, media professionals often prefer calibrating their monitor to 100 cd/m2 to minimize eyestrain. The dimmer brightness is particularly useful in the markets of digital photography and desktop publishing. Importantly, most CRTs only have a brightness in this range.

Pixel Refresh

Page:: ( 7 / 13 )

Up until now, the challenge has been in determining a useful real-world system for evaluating pixel refresh. That is, while it’s possible to use photo-diodes and measure the actual transition time in milliseconds, these measurements will not help anyone get a true sense of how those numbers translate into the real world. Fortunately, the consultants at PRAD in Germany (http://www.prad.de/en/index.html) have a Pixel Persistence Analyzer tool which they call PixPerAn. Although there are several different tests with their PixPerAn software, the most precision tool we’ve found (in terms of repeatability of results) is the scrolling text test. In this test, text is scrolled from right to left at increasing speeds. The tester must type the randomly generated string of letters that are scrolling by. The speed increases with each correct answer until the tester is unable to accurately read the text. You should download the Pixel Persistence Analyzer at http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/pixperan.html so that you can understand what text scrolling at a tempo of 8 looks like, as compared to text scrolling at a tempo of “23.”

I can easily reach a speed of 23 on a CRT refreshing at 100 Hz. At a tempo beyond 23, I have trouble reading the text even though it feels like the CRT is capable of keeping up. So far, all LCDs we’ve tested score worse than 23 points so we expect this test to be useful for some time. To prevent random luck from skewing results, the reported scores represent the fastest times achievable as a sequence of three tests. That is, because certain letter combinations are tougher to read when they’re adjacent to each other (such as mn and fl), it is possible to occasionally get letter sequences correctly at one speed but then fail when trying a different sequence of letters. To address this problem, scores only count if it was achieved in a sequence of three or more. So when I report a score of 17 on an LCD monitor, it means that I first correctly answered the letter sequence at a tempo of 15, then correctly answered the text at a tempo of 16 speeds, and then correctly answered at a tempo of 17. I spent an equal amount of time with each monitor, and there isn’t a difference between monitors that I tested earlier versus those that I tested later.

Cabling

We test exclusively with the DVI connection. This is in contrast to the way most monitors are tested at major technology publications.

Let's get to the performance results, we'll start with the least expensive monitors first, beginning with Gateway's FPD2185W.

Gateway FPD2185W

Page:: ( 8 / 13 )

The Gateway FPD2185W is the lowest priced HDCP monitor on the market today. Unfortunately, the $600 price is a bit misleading. Unlike all of the other competitors in our line-up, Gateway does not include a DVI monitor cable. This is surprising given the typical buyer of a 21” LCD monitor is likely to have a DVI capable video card. Moreover, many $200 budget LCD monitors include the DVI cable. The ergonomics of the monitor are also average. Placing the buttons on the side of the monitor makes it trickier to work with the monitor. Two of the USB ports are located on the right side of the monitor, and two are located in the rear panel next to the video inputs.

The strength of the FPD2185W lies in its video processing capabilities. In addition to being a high-resolution 21”monitor, the Gateway features a Faroudja DCDi video processor with a comprehensive picture-in-picture mode. You can adjust the transparency of the PIP window, resize the PIP window, and can independently set brightness/contrast for the PIP window. The video processor also allows noise reduction to be applied to analog video sources, and 4:3 aspect ratio sources can be scaled to the 16:10 panel using four different options including a panoramic non-linear zoom.

Gateway also sent us the optional $40 sound bar. Like most monitor speakers, the Speaker Bar is intended primarily for business audio playback rather than true multimedia use. For example, the sound bar would be a good alternative to a transistor radio if you wanted to have background music while you’re at work. The Gateway Speaker Bar was developed by Diamond Audio Technology, a company famous for competition-grade mobile audio products. The result is one of the best monitor speakers I’ve heard; it's a step up from the NEC in this round-up. I still wouldn’t recommend the Speaker Bar for gamers or multimedia enthusiasts, but it is richer sounding than a typical multimedia laptop speaker system. The Speaker Bar draws its power from a USB port, but does not integrate a USB sound card.

Picture Quality

The FPD2185W had good gaming capabilities, with a score of 13 on the PixPerAn text readability test. In addition, colors were always very pleasant with the Gateway monitor. In general, the FPD2185W erred on providing color that was oversaturated rather than washed out, and grays that shifted toward cooler temperatures. The native gamma curve of the FPD2185W exaggerates the blacks and dark grays to give a slightly punchier look. Contrast ratio was below the advertised value, but still reached a very respectable 908:1 out of the box.

The FPD2185W physically seemed to run a bit warmer than the other monitors in our round-up. Interestingly, after running the monitor for ~100 hours at peak brightness, the monitor took on different properties. The radiated heat coming from behind the monitor approached more typical level, and the colors became more accurate. This is the first time I’ve seen this phenomenon while testing monitors, and it is unlikely that is an error with our testing methods. Saltwater reef aquarium enthusiasts have also used high-output fluorescent bulbs, and the color shift toward warmer color temperatures with age has been well documented. After the initial drop-off in brightness, the color characteristics were stable.

When the brightness was decreased to 100 cd/m2 (a brightness setting of 0), the FPW2185W exhibited improved color accuracy.

Performance

PixPerAn Scrolling Text Score: 13

Gateway FPD2185W Performance
	Color Temperature (White)	Color Temperature	Black level	White level	delta E	Contrast Ratio
Native	6916 K	9537 K	0.35	317.73	9.90	908:1
Native, after 100 hours	6794 K	8925 K	0.29	264.55	7.02	912:1
Native, brightness set to 100 cd/m2	6745 K	8393 K	0.11	100.53	6.53	909:1

[image]

HP f2105

Page:: ( 9 / 13 )

Picture Quality

While the Gateway FPD2185W had a slight haze to the image, the HP f2105 did not. This made for sharper text and pictures. Unfortunately, the gains made in text quality were offset by poorer contrast ratio. Using the sRGB present, the HP had a 736:1 contrast ratio out of the box. While this would have been a very good score one year ago, it's worse than the other monitors in this test. Fortunately, color accuracy was good and when the brightness and contrast were set to the maximum value, the panel reached a 1002:1 contrast ratio. Increasing the brightness even brought improvements to color accuracy! On the other hand, bringing the monitor down to a dim 100 cd/m2 range severely decreased color accuracy. While the Gateway is better for those who want to run their monitor at a dim level, gamers and multimedia users who value higher brightness monitors will find the HP f2105 a better solution. The PixPerAn score reached 15, making it a slightly faster monitor than the Gateway (although both are advertised at 8 ms gray to gray).

Performance

PixPerAn Scrolling Text Score: 15

HP f2105 Performance
	Color Temperature (White)	Color Temperature (20% Gray)	Black level	White level	delta E	Contrast Ratio
sRGB (out of the box)	6165 K	6480 K	0.31	228.24	6.19	736:1
sRGB (100% contrast and brightness	6779 K	6331 K	0.32	320.74	5.96	1002:1
sRGB, 100 cd/m2	5802 K	7702 K	0.18	103.63	9.54	575:1

[image]

NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2

Page:: ( 10 / 13 )

The NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2 is one of the the most technically sophisticated monitors in this round-up. To begin, NEC is using S-IPS technology, famed for providing incredible color accuracy and reliable pixel refresh ratings. The Achilles heel of S-IPS technology has been poor contrast ratio and relatively poor pixel refresh performance. For the 20WMGX2, NEC claims a 6 ms gray-to-gray pixel refresh performance and the native contrast ratio of 700:1. The excellent contrast ratio is due, in part, to the use of the 400 cd/m2 “gloss-type” anti-reflective polarizer on the surface of the monitor, making it similar to those Sony XBRITE or HP/Compaq BrightView notebook screens. To further boost the contrast ratio, NEC offers an “Advanced Dynamic Video Mode” which increases to as high as 1600:1. When displaying a dark image, the monitor can automatically dim the backlight depending. This technique is used widely by high-end LCD televisions, but NEC is one of the first to offer the feature in a desktop LCD monitor.

If that weren't enough, the 20WMGX2 also features an NTSC tuner, the only monitor in our round-up to do so. While the tuner is appropriate for picture-in-picture use, the video processor isn't up to the level of the Gateway. True interlaced sources show significant loss of a resolution. On the other hand, the video scaling is excellent with Xbox 360 games looking superb.

Anti-Reflective Polarizer vs Anti-Glare Polarizers

For any given wavelength you can get perfect cancellation of reflection of glass by applying a wavelength divided by 4 thick layer of material that has a refractive index halfway between air and glass. The problem is that light is not made up of one wavelength -- it is a continuous range from 400 to 700 nm. This is where multiple anti-reflective coatings, or multi-coating, comes into play. In practice, the anti-reflective coatings used by most monitors isn’t as sophisticated as that found in high-end camera lenses. Although the NEC 20WMGX2 coating that is less reflective than a typical high-gloss laptop screens, reflections can still be a problem.

The ergonomics of the 20WMGX2 are good, and the monitor adopts the same joystick interface that the older GX series monitors featured. Unusually, the "native" color setting provided better results than the 6500K/sRGB setting.

Picture Quality

The "Advanced Dynamic Video Mode" makes testing of the monitor a bit tougher. Our colorimetry tests rely on a 25% gray background with several patches of color that only make up approximately 1/10 of the screen. In order to test the theoretical peak contrast ratio, we used a full screen white and black image. As a gaming monitor, the NEC 20WMGX2 had a respectable PixPerAn score of 13. At peak brightness, however, the monitor had excellent color accuracy. Although the Samsung 244T edged NEC out in terms of color accuracy, the high contrast and high-brightness of the image made an ideal monitor for gaming. Photographers requiring color-critical work may find the advanced DV mode to be a bit distracting and the standard display to lack sufficient contrast. The 20WMGX2 was clearly designed for gamers rather than photographers.

Performance

PixPerAn Scrolling Text Score: 13

NEC 20WMGX2 Performance
	Color Temperature (White)	Color Temperature (20% Gray)	Black level	White level	delta E	Contrast Ratio
Native	6355 K	6377 K	0.81	560.58	6.32	692:1
Native, Advanced DV enabled	6416 K	6463 K	0.24	517.79	5.46	2157:1
Native, brightness set to 100 cd/m2	6602 K	6555 K	0.29	103.65	7.47	357:1
Native, brightness set to 100 cd/m2, Advanced DV enabled	6618 K	6555 K	0.20	103.81	6.48	519:1

[image]

Viewsonic VP2330wb

Page:: ( 11 / 13 )

Unfortunately, the VP2330wb is Viewsonic’s first 23” 1920x1200 MVA panel (last year’s VP231wb was an S-IPS panel) and this seems to show in the picture quailty. Although build quality of the Viewsonic was excellent, color accuracy and pixel refresh performance did not compare favorably to some of the other monitors in this round-up. Even though Viewsonic has a sRGB preset, colors ran cool and the gamma curve was too bright. This would make an uncalibrated VP2330wb a poor choice for photography or multimedia use. On the other hand, the cooler color temperature provides an increased perception of higher contrast and for word processing and spreadsheet use, the VP2330wb works very well. The high pixel density and .258mm pixel pitch of the VP2330wb also meant that text and fine lines were substantially sharper than the other monitors in the round up with a .270mm pixel pitch. Although the color was inaccurate, the VP2330wb’s contrast ratio and brightness were measured to be better than what is advertised.

Although there is only a 2 ms advertised difference between the Viewsonic VP2330wb and the Samsung 244T, it was substantially more difficult to read scrolling text with the Viewsonic. The PixPerAn score only reached 11 points, making it the slowest monitor in our round-up.

Performance

PixPerAn Scrolling Text Score: 11

Viewsonic VP2330wb Performance
	Color Temperature (White)	Color Temperature (20% Gray)	Black level	White level	delta E	Contrast Ratio
Native	6037 K	9362 K	0.38	377.98	9.94	995:1
sRGB	6306 K	9459 K	0.39	343.85	10.94	882:1
Native, 100 cd/m2	6040 K	9318 K	0.13	133.44	11.30	1026:1

[image]

Samsung SyncMaster 244T

Page:: ( 12 / 13 )

The 244T is a quantitative improvement over the 920T in every measure we could use. Our testing with PixPerAn demonstrated that it was possible to make out text moving at a speed of 17, making it the fastest monitor in the round up! The Warm 1 preset offered superb out-of-the-box color accuracy with a delta E of 5.23 (the 920T had been 9.56!). Increasing brightness to 100% worsened color performance. While it’s not as good as our reference NEC LCD1980FXi which had an out-of-the-box uncalibrated delta E of 4.27, it’s still a remarkable improvement. At full brightness and the appropriate contrast setting (70% for our sample), contrast ratio was exactly 1000:1. Of note, although the 244T is advertised with a 500 cd/m2 backlight, we only measured 400 cd/m2 in our review unit. Calibration at 100 cd/m2 peak luminance showed virtually identical results to that of peak brightness.

As a PC monitor, the 244T was one of our favorites in the test. Unfortunately, as a multimedia monitor, the Syncmaster 244T is less effective. Unlike the advanced PIP capabilities of the Gateway FPD2185W, the Samsung did not feature any transparency options nor was it as flexible in adjusting the size or color of the picture-in-picture window. The video scaling quality of the SyncMaster 244T was surprisingly bad. When we connected the Xbox 360 to the Samsung 244T using the flagship Xbox 360 component video cable from Monster Cable, we found that 1080i looked substantially better than 720p. This means that the Xbox 360’s scaling abilities were better than Samsung’s. When the 244T scaled 720p to 1080p, there was considerable blurring.

While the Samsung SyncMaster 244T was our favorite PC display, its video performance should be thought of as a convenience rather than a critical selling point. In all fairness, Samsung does not appear to be charging a price premium for video inputs as its $1400 street price is virtually identical to the $1375 street price of Viewsonic VP2330wb, which lacks video inputs. Ergonomics were also less than impressive with the USB upstream port located on the left side of the monitor, adjacent to the two USB downstream ports.

Performance

PixPerAn Scrolling Text Score: 17

Samsung SyncMaster 244T Performance
	Color Temperature (White)	Color Temperature (20% Gray)	Black level	White level	delta E	Contrast Ratio
Normal, Maximum Brightness	6105 K	6348 K	0.40	417.22	9.60	1043:1
Warm 1, Maximum Brightness	6157 K	5911 K	0.40	400.28	6.81	1000:1
Warm 1, 90% Brightness	6139 K	6000 K	0.35	348.95	5.23	997:1
Warm 1, Brightness 100 cd/m2	6272 K	6071 K	0.10	102.64	5.20	1026:1

[image]

Summary

Page:: ( 13 / 13 )

Today’s monitors have better contrast ratio than they ever did before. Our *worst* performer still broke the 900:1 contrast ratio barrier. In this round-up, the NEC with Advanced Dynamic Video offered the best theoretical performance (full white versus full black) despite having the worst contrast ratio.





Pixel Refresh Performance also continues to improve. In our last article, we found that the LCD1980FXi was fast enough for gaming at competitive levels. By that reference, any score of 11 should be fast enough for gaming, and so all of the HDCP monitors featured in today's article would make good gaming monitors. Nonetheless, there continues to be a gap between LCD and CRT monitors, and the Samsung 244T shows that the gap continues to narrow. I highly recommend that you download your own copy of PixPerAn to evaluate if speeds of "11" are fast enough for your own needs.



Our previous champion of color accuracy was the NEC MultiSync LCD1980FXi. It still continues to be the best monitor for color accuracy that we’ve tested. Nevertheless, the HP f2105, Samsung 244T, and NEC 20WMXG2 all approach or beat the color accuracy offered by a premium-grade CRT monitor. Except or the Viewsonic VP2330wb which has been optimized for office use, all of the monitors in today's article offer superb color accuracy.



When the peak brightness was set to 100 cd/m2, the NEC MultiSync LCD1980FXi continued to show its strength as a monitor with a medical grade panel. An important detail is that the delta E of the 4.43 measured from the LCD1980FXi is a measurement done recently. That is, even after almost 9 months of use, the NEC LCD1980FXi is continuing to maintain incredibly accurate colors. Honorable mention still goes to the Samsung 244T as it is offering better out-of-the-box color accuracy than our premium-grade CRT monitor.



With the exception of the Viewsonic (which is better for business than multimedia/gaming), all of the other monitors are superb. So instead of ranking them or picking out a winner, I’ll just deal with the strengths and weakness of each product.

Gateway FPD2185W

NEC 20WMGX2

Viewsonic VP2330wb

The Samsung 244T is essentially a “dream” monitor. It’s a huge 24 inches, has 1920x1080 resolution, is super-fast when it comes to games, has great out-of-the-box image quality, and even has a portrait mode rotation. The only weakness of this monitor besides its luxury pricing is that the USB hub is cumbersome to use and the poor component and S-Video input. Nonetheless, this is our favorite monitor in the round-up. The Dell 3007WFP might be bigger, but the 3007WFP is not going to have the same 1000:1 contrast ratio or the same high-speed pixel refresh. This is definitely our favorite monitor of the group.