Official BenQ FP241W Thread !!! Info, Pictures, Reviews

IWKUA said:
Has anyone had problems getting windows XP to recognize the USB hub? I've tried the driver but windows still won't see it.
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No, no problems here....actually out of all the external USB hubs (one on my G15 keyboard, front usb ports etc..) besides the USBports on the back of my comp, the one on the BenQ is the only one that actually lets me transfer large amounts of data to and from my Ipod without any errors, which is pretty darn spiffy.
 
If you had a xbox 360 hooked up to this, and you were trying to read text in games and such, wouldn't they be stretched out? I would notice that quite easily.
 
Mysticode said:
If you had a xbox 360 hooked up to this, and you were trying to read text in games and such, wouldn't they be stretched out? I would notice that quite easily.
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The text stretches... it just doesn't stretch so much that it would be unreadable. I had the gateway 24" LCD with 1:1 and when I attached the xbox 360 to it, it looked as if the text was squashed. I guess my tube TV stretched the text too, so I'm used to it.
 
03RDG said:
Ok I broke down and order mine today, should get here tomorrow with UPS Next Day Air Saver. I'll let you guys know when it was manufactured, I'm 95% sure it won't be the latest, but there's 5% chance of being surprised :p
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Okay... newegg won't let me register for their preferred account thing, so i'm waiting until tomorrow night to order it so it's on next month's bill. Can't wait to hear if it's the updated one. :D
 
This is a 24" monitor. Are you asking what is a good 20" monitor? If so, please either read one of the many threads on the subject (or start a new one if you have some candidates in mind).
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Yea guys, the stretching is not the be all end all of everything. It's really not that bad.

When playing games on the PS3 it's not even noticable, and hey look on the bright side...your gaimng at 1200P instead of 1080P :D

The PS3 looks amazing with this monitor on a HDMI connection, way better then component or vga. Even looks better (colors and uniformity) then every TV I have seen the PS3 on, including the westinghouse 37 1080P model which has issues with the PS3 or so I have heard.

In movies it's a little annoying and noticable, but you would have to be looking for it. I had people over to watch Talledega Nights in 1080P I never told them about the stretching and not one of the 5 people noticed it.

So it's not a huge deal. If it's easy to fix... then do it, but don't stress out over it..it's not that big a deal.
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I have been playing Xbox 360 on it since Christmas. And I have to agree, I did not notice the stretching .It looks awsome to me. The text does not seem to suffer from it. It's not like Computer text that display letters that take up one line or row of pixels. And it looks awsome to me.

As far as movies. I showed someone Fantastic 4 and asked him if he noticed the stretch and he did not, even after showing it to him again. I can tell its there. But I does not bug me much except for the fact that i find myself looking for it, If I never heard of it probably would not bug me at all.
 
dannyallen34 said:
So, has anyone else called BenQ? Have you heard anything different?
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Not really.... though I did give them a call today. I can add my report... but it really doesn't matter. BenQ needs to really say something.

I called twice, as my first call was interrupted by a problem with my phone. :(

The first rep I spoke to, when asked if BenQ was going to release any statement on this issues.... said they didn't have to because it has been addressed. I asked what that meant for me if I were considering buying one... and he started into telling me that 1:1 didn't matter, as it is hardly noticeable.

I started to explain how noticeable it is, and ask about the upgrade and how it works, when he started to talk about the different models like VW and WZ. I never did get a clear answer about the state of the W, before our conversation got cut off.

The second rep I spoke to said that there was a firmware update, and that the monitor could be upgraded, but the customer is responsible for shipping. I asked how I could be sure if I got one... like SN or something, and he said there was no real way other than trying it out. He recommended putting me in touch with one of their 'friendly dealers' who could check before selling it to me. He put me into some phone queue that didn't get me to a person... but I'm guessing he meant a local small dealer rather than mail order (I might check this, but probably would be cost prohibitive).

I'm not sure what the resistance is to just posting something. My guess is that there is just a lack of communication within BenQ.

I would highly encourage people to call though. Maybe if they get enough calls, they will be encouraged to actually make an official statement. That is the only way I'll be confident to buy one without seeing the fix.

SlyNine said:
I have been playing Xbox 360 on it since Christmas. And I have to agree, I did not notice the stretching .It looks awsome to me. The text does not seem to suffer from it. It's not like Computer text that display letters that take up one line or row of pixels. And it looks awsome to me.

As far as movies. I showed someone Fantastic 4 and asked him if he noticed the stretch and he did not, even after showing it to him again. I can tell its there. But I does not bug me much except for the fact that i find myself looking for it, If I never heard of it probably would not bug me at all.
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I agree that you might be hard pressed to just notice the 16:9 to 16:10 stretch, as that is fairly slight. Still.... why pay the money for good equipment, just to have the movie distorted, etc.

However, when a 4:3 is stretched out to 16:10.... that is fairly noticeable.
 
Light-tower said:
For me the situation is like this, I had the Dell 2405 but I don't want to have a 'Dell' product of any kind on my desk - it's just the way I feel. The 2407 is the same as the 2405 but less luminance. Even though ( I presume ) that the BenQ may be the same monitor, it was better then the Dell 2405 I had and the most important thing was that the name 'Dell' wasn't on it ;)
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I'm curious of your impression between the 2405 and the BenQ. I've used my friends 2405 quite a bit, and was quite happy with all my testing on it. The 2407 seems to be generally the same, but the component inputs weren't as good for my PS2. I'd buy the 2405, but I really want HDCP in case I get a PS3.

So, the 2407 is a possibility... but I'm not happy with the component inputs... so that pushes me towards the Gateway or BenQ. However, since I know the 2405 as a reference point... is the BenQ a lot better than the 2405.... or just a spec better... or pretty much the same. (both computer use over DVI, as well as component inputs are of special interest to me.) Thanks!
 
SteveW928 said:
I'm curious of your impression between the 2405 and the BenQ. I've used my friends 2405 quite a bit, and was quite happy with all my testing on it. The 2407 seems to be generally the same, but the component inputs weren't as good for my PS2. I'd buy the 2405, but I really want HDCP in case I get a PS3.

So, the 2407 is a possibility... but I'm not happy with the component inputs... so that pushes me towards the Gateway or BenQ. However, since I know the 2405 as a reference point... is the BenQ a lot better than the 2405.... or just a spec better... or pretty much the same. (both computer use over DVI, as well as component inputs are of special interest to me.) Thanks!
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The 2405 is actually brighter then the 2407 but the BenQ had a better picture, and was even brighter and crisper then the 2405. I was trying everything possible to keep the BenQ a viable monitor in my system but as mentioned previously, I had no such luck.

The BenQ was definitely better and would of been worth the extra $100.00. At this point I would suggest that - if it's possible - to hold off until the new version is released. According to customer service, much of the problems has been addressed.

Now I have the NEC 20WMGX2 and it blows the socks off anything I've had for a country mile - too bad it's only a wide screen 20" but the added tuner and remote is a bonus. The picture sends shivers down my spine.
 
Light-tower said:
....At this point I would suggest that - if it's possible - to hold off until the new version is released. According to customer service, much of the problems has been addressed.....
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Problems (plural)? The only widespread problem I've seen discussed is the 1:1 pixel mapping. What else is there?
 
redman223 said:
I am also having this problem, or one similar to it. Sometimes when I am playing a game or surfing the web, the monitor will turn black for a second or two and then go back to where it was. I am also using the supplied DVI cable. Anyone out there with this problem not using the supplied cable?
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This happens to me, but not very often. Doesn't matter whether I'm in 2D or 3D mode on the video card. The monitor will go black for about 1 second, then the video comes right back. Sometimes it will happen once or twice in the span of a few seconds, and other times it doesn't happen at all after hours of use. I just shrugged it off thinking it was my video card, (ATI Radeon x850XT, using Omega Drivers based on 6.0 Catalyst).

Obviously others are seeing this, and something I will definitely keep an eye on. At least I'm lucky that it happens infrequently, and never for more than about 1 second at a time.
 
kadiir said:
Problems (plural)? The only widespread problem I've seen discussed is the 1:1 pixel mapping. What else is there?
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Non-compliance with newer Nvidia cards ( in my case, the 8800gtx ). Why take a chance with such major changes in the video industry? ATI/AMD is slated to release there new branded DX10 cards and who knows if there will be issues?

In Canada, every retailer is dropping the BenQ line because of service issues - or lack there of. As noted in my previous reply, BenQ offered me a few options - return the item, ship it to them at my expense, or pay $45US for the new firmware. And this is for a unit that is only 1 day old.
 
I'm curious if the new FP241WZ will have lag for fighting games. If you play Street Fighter, then the majority of LCDs have a slight lag when your playing. Can anyone with a FP241W test Street Fighter Third Strike or Super Turbo on PS2 or PS3 for lag?
 
Yes, are there any blatant problems with this display besides the for-now lack of 1:1 pixel mapping? To my knowledge, this monitor is pretty much problem free?
 
Light-tower said:
In Canada, every retailer is dropping the BenQ line because of service issues - or lack there of. As noted in my previous reply, BenQ offered me a few options - return the item, ship it to them at my expense, or pay $45US for the new firmware. And this is for a unit that is only 1 day old.
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Yea right :rolleyes:

Go call samsung about their monitors not having 1:1, call Dell about their 24 inch monitor not supporting 1080P aspect ratio or component in through 1080P and no HDCP, call Gateway about their 24 inch not supporting 1080P through component and crushed colors and tearing with their 1:1 mapping.....see what kind of response you get...

You might appreciate BenQ a little more for at least making an effort.

The monitor is probably the best out there, the color uniformity is great, no back light bleeding, and the PS3 looks great on it. The quality on it is a step above the rest. They made a mistake by leaving out the Pixel mapping, but other then that's it's pretty much flawless. They agreed to fix their mistake, which is way more then what NEC, Samsung, Gateway or Dell would do....they would just make another revision of the monitor and tell the people that already bought it tough luck.
 
03RDG said:
Ok I broke down and order mine today, should get here tomorrow with UPS Next Day Air Saver. I'll let you guys know when it was manufactured, I'm 95% sure it won't be the latest, but there's 5% chance of being surprised :p
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Have you received it yet? I've been watching this post waiting for your monitor to get there lol...
 
Ok, I called them up and talked with someone who was pretty cool. He told me that you need to fill out an RMA request form, and a product order form as well. He then asked for my email address and sent me those forms in the mail, saying that I could either fax them in (the number is on the form), or if I have a scanner, I could scan them and email them back to him. I did this yesterday afternoon, but have not received any replies yet with an RMA number.

I know there are several people on this forum that have called and received this information but I have not heard of anyone receiving their RMA yet. Has anyone received it and shipped their monitor off yet?

I also asked him about the problem with the screen turning black every now and then, he said it was probably a sync issue and it could be either the monitor, the dvi cable, or the video card. He said to try out a new dvi cable, but I will just wait a while until I get my new video card to see if thats the problem.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Yea right :rolleyes:

Go call samsung about their monitors not having 1:1, call Dell about their 24 inch monitor not supporting 1080P aspect ratio or component in through 1080P and no HDCP, call Gateway about their 24 inch not supporting 1080P through component and crushed colors and tearing with their 1:1 mapping.....see what kind of response you get...

You might appreciate BenQ a little more for at least making an effort.

The monitor is probably the best out there, the color uniformity is great, no back light bleeding, and the PS3 looks great on it. The quality on it is a step above the rest. They made a mistake by leaving out the Pixel mapping, but other then that's it's pretty much flawless. They agreed to fix their mistake, which is way more then what NEC, Samsung, Gateway or Dell would do....they would just make another revision of the monitor and tell the people that already bought it tough luck.
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I have to disagree. I've had issues with the Dell 2405 and they sent me another one within 2 weeks and did not charge me to ship it back. I've also had Viewsonics for years and they are by far the best I've encountered when I've had issues. If the unit was a few months old then maybe I could understand but not a unit that is one day old.

Sorry but that's not acceptable. If a firmware is what is needed or if it is defective from the box then they should not ask me to pay $45US for a unit that is one day old. I was willing to drive it to there authorized depot in Toronto (Gentronic) !.
 
redman223 said:
I know there are several people on this forum that have called and received this information but I have not heard of anyone receiving their RMA yet. Has anyone received it and shipped their monitor off yet?
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Yea I got a RMA number over the phone. Going to wait for a bit to decide to send it to benq, or wait till the store I bought it from gets new stock to just exchange it for one with a 1:1 update.

So hopefully people that are buying these now can post and tell us if it has the update :)
 
Light-tower said:
I have to disagree. I've had issues with the Dell 2405 and they sent me another one within 2 weeks and did not charge me to ship it back.
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You do realize that the dell 24XX monitors stretch a 1080P signal to 1200P and they have no pixel mapping anything above 720P.....you think Dell cares about that? Give dell a call and say Benq is upgrading this....why can't you guys...see what kind of answer you get :)

Edit: I do see your point, I do think that charging for it really sucks....but it's better then nothing and in the big picture it's not really that big of a deal that I would stress over it.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
You do realize that the dell 24XX monitors stretch a 1080P signal to 1200P and they have no pixel mapping anything above 720P.....you think Dell cares about that? Give dell a call and say Benq is upgrading this....why can't you guys...see what kind of answer you get :)

Edit: I do see your point, I do think that charging for it really sucks....but it's better then nothing and in the big picture it's not really that big of a deal that I would stress over it.
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That's not he issue I have. The issue I had was that the DVI input did not work, only the vga - some sort of issue with the nvidia 8800gtx apparently - I'm not sure.
 
Every day I keep my 15" Viewsonic LCD, my soul dies a little more.

I am dieing to see the NCIX staff tell us they finally have the 1:1 mapping models in :eek:
 
Here are some pics of the BenQ with the PS3. Have had some private messages asking to post pics so here they are:

So you be the judge if you can live with the stretching or not ;) Please excuse my grainy camera it doesn't do this monitor justice.





 
Mysticode said:
Have you noticed any backlight bleeding on your monitor at all?
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No the back light uniformity is great...and that is a very important thing for me...that's kind of why I think I am not even going to get the 1:1 fix for this I am worried when it's re assembled it won't be as perfect.

I would take pics of that...but all I get from my camera is a grainy picture that looks like a total mess. I need a new camera that's for sure.

Thanks brokenanimator.
How does the PS3 look connected via component compared to HDMI?
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Those picks are through HDMI. HDMI looks a lot better then component and much brighter. You also have more control with picture tuning through HDMI. 1080P works through component but it's much darker and not as crisp (to be expected I guess)...the dark area's of a game like resistance are pure black and you lose some detail...where as HDMI you can see all the detail.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Those picks are through HDMI. HDMI looks a lot better then component and much brighter. You also have more control with picture tuning through HDMI. 1080P works through component but it's much darker and not as crisp (to be expected I guess)...the dark area's of a game like resistance are pure black and you lose some detail...where as HDMI you can see all the detail.
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Great.
This goes to show those people who keep saying there's no difference between analogue and digital are in denial.
 
BrokenAnimator, I noticed you posted several times on the NCIX forum. Are you in Vancouver too? Did you buy the monitor from NCIX?

I notice they have an open box which is a lot less expensive...but you risk getting dead pixel...

I'm awaiting mine from Costco.ca.
 
consoleboi said:
BrokenAnimator, I noticed you posted several times on the NCIX forum. Are you in Vancouver too? Did you buy the monitor from NCIX?

I notice they have an open box which is a lot less expensive...but you risk getting dead pixel...

I'm awaiting mine from Costco.ca.
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Yea, I bought it from NCIX...not my favorite place to do buisness with but in this case I had no choice.

Oh well..

I wouldn't get an open box from them...you risk a lot more then dead pixels.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Yea, I bought it from NCIX...not my favorite place to do buisness with but in this case I had no choice.

Oh well..

I wouldn't get an open box from them...you risk a lot more then dead pixels.
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I see. yah.

Well you could've gotten it from costco website if you have existing membership. However it is $100 more but you get the great return policy.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Bestbuy website has it too.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10083393&catid=22559

It usally goes on sale sunday nights to about 939.00.
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Actually that's the same price as costco.ca $939 with shipping included and up to 6 months return policy :)

So if I can't get used to the stretching then I can always return it several months later and order a new one with the firmware update :D .. and hopefully with a price drop to boot. :p
 
consoleboi said:
Actually that's the same price as costco.ca $939 with shipping included and up to 6 months return policy :)

So if I can't get used to the stretching then I can always return it several months later and order a new one with the firmware update :D .. and hopefully with a price drop to boot. :p
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Usually stores like Bestbuy and Costco will order in bulk and soon ..as that is gone, they do not reorder the same model....so I don't think 4-5 months from now they will even carry this model anymore but it's nice to know you get your money back.

NCIX has an express RMA and no dead pixel guarantee which is nice, that lasts for 11 months. So you pretty much covered for 11 months. So you can RMA it back to NCIX if the stretching bothers you too because BenQ issues RMA numbers for this...but I doubt they will get any of the updated monitors in a new batch, they simply just don't move enough to be sold out of the old versions...again though..it's not even a big deal because as you can see from the pics, it doesnt ruin anything.
 
Actually I had spoken to Costco website customer service and had explicitly inquire about Benq and how they stock them. The lady I spoke to said, they order direct from Benq or their distributors so it's not the classic costco case you're referring to.

Maybe the warehouse operates differently from the website??
 
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