review site, recommendation for around $200

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llmercll

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 17, 2010
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Can someone point me in the direction of a good monitor review site? I got an Asus VW264H and I'm just not happy with it. I know, what can you expect from a tn? horrible view angles for one...

Either way, im going to return it and get a different one. SO I want to do some major research and I don't know where to start. Maybe you guys can even recommend me a few.

Any links to review sites or recommendations you enthusiasts can recommend will save me a big headache when I end up with a shitty monitor.

thanks
 
You seem to be very fond of that acer, do you own one?

I'd really like to go to a store and buy it from there. Think I'll be able to find it in a best buy or walmart?

would the 23" version be just as good as the one they reviewed here? I noticed they mention it's good with "clouding" on dark colors. That's exactly what I hate about the Asus. It also had bad view angles, but I hear thats common with TN screens. But this asus one is so bad I can't find a good view angle no matter what, one side always looks yelowed when viewing white backgrounds
 
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I don't have one but I know a bunch of people on here have bought them, and going by the review you can't do any better in terms of a TN gaming panel except the Acer 120hz, but it is 450$. Local retailers such as Best Buy, Staples, Costco, and I think Walmart should have them in store, you can also order them from New Egg as well.

Don't see why the 23" version would be any different, but it is possible. If viewing angles are a big concern get the Dell U2311 as it is an IPS screen and will have better viewing angles, similar contrast, better color, though if you sit infront of your screen spending up to 100$ more when on a budget might not be worth it.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2311h.htm
http://flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1275291737
 
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Well I'm going to the store to check it out today. I can't find any other reviews for the acer (and always kind of thought they were a cheapo brand, but what do i know?), but if i buy it at a store i don't have to worry about return shipping and restocking fees if i don't like it.

Basically, the acer is THE tn panel to get right now in the $200 price range?

Another thing, my brother has a 19" samsung synchmaster that runs at 1440x900 but has a 75Hz refresh rate. I really like that. Do any of the larger 1080p panels have the 75HZ or just 60Hz?
 
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I'd take a look at LG's W2361V from bestbuy for $220. I chose it over the H233H and am very happy with it. I found it's dark detail to be very good and the viewing angles are good for a TN. It was actually a very hard decision considering the $50 price difference(I paid $250 for mine) but in the end the ability to saturate the colors how I liked them won me over which makes a big difference in games and animated movies for example. The Acer did not seem to have this feature.


http://www.digitalversus.com/article-357-5175-35.html
 
Interesting. Does best buy have a bunch of monitors out that you can look at? I always remember them having tv's and laptops, but not monitors. I really hope they do.
 
llmercll said:
Interesting. Does best buy have a bunch of monitors out that you can look at? I always remember them having tv's and laptops, but not monitors. I really hope they do.
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Yes of course they do! They also have a no hassle money back guarantee if you bring it back within 14 days in canada and I believe it's 30 days in the states.
 
According to digital versus theAcer is quite a bit better than the LG, which has also had panel lottery issues. Just check the prad.de review of the LG, the panel they received is much bettet than the one DV reviewed.
 
Well I picked up the acer. the asus had too strong of a yellow. bad ghosting with black on gray, and horrible viewing angles. the acer has much much better horizontal viewing, accurate colors, and doesn't leave a trail when moving black on gray.

it's definitely better than the asus VW246h, but still has a bit of "clouding" on dark colors and bad vertical view angle that keeps me from thinking its perfect. I guess that's unavoidable with a tn panel though?

How reputable is digitalversus? i find it stupid that they took an entire star off the h243h over the h243hx because it doesn't include a webcam. on a 5 point scale, 1 is a lot.
 
Its sometimes better to consult multiple review sites, if anything just due to the fact that the same monitor could vary panel to panel (read any of the large monitor threads of users having varying quality panels for this). For instance the review of the h243h on CNET mentions the clouding as well, and they score the image quality on the panel lower then say the Samsung XL2370/PX2370. However at the same time, I feel they might be scoring those panels a bit too high. (image quality rated on par with IPS screens?)

Bad vertical view angle is unavoidable on a TN however. There are some monitors that try to alleviate this somewhat using contrast tricks that you can adjust, but you'd need to readjust whenever you change angles.
 
NCX said:
According to digital versus theAcer is quite a bit better than the LG, which has also had panel lottery issues. Just check the prad.de review of the LG, the panel they received is much bettet than the one DV reviewed.
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Please explain to me how the Acer H233H is quite a bit better than the LG W2361V?

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=35&mo1=501&p1=5175&ma2=38&mo2=743&p2=8761&ph=13

And the panel lottery involved the 22" model as mentioned on DV which has since been rectified which is also the model that prad reviewed. The 23" version is better than both these models and if the H243H is similar to my experience with the H233H then I can sleep well at night knowing that I made the right decision. If you want to nit pick, CNET mentions green tinting with the H243H not present on the H233H.

I would like to have tried the H243H based on DV glowing review but I could not find it locally and buying local is always prefered over ordering online. I tried the XL2370 and it's colors were not right not to mention it's horrible blacks due to all the bleeding. I don't feel that samsung's LED monitors are worth the price premium and don't look now but they are no longer listed on bestbuy.ca website. Perhaps they had enough of all the returns because of it's poor quality? The asus I was also not impressed with.

If I won the lottery with the LG W2361V then I am happy. It nice to win once in awhile especially after having lost with my samsung HDTV. I wish it had been the other way around. :(
 
I don't see why the acer doesn't come with an audio out jack. I need to use my hdmi connections on the crappy built in speakers or is there a way around this?
 
Of course there are ways around it. What are you connecting to the monitor? PC? PS3?
 
My xbox elite came with a dongle where you can route the audio via RCA or optical. If you don't have one you can buy one but if I remember correctly you might have to modify the dongle to make it fit with the HDMI cable inserted at the same time. It's a simple procedure where you remove the casing with a screw driver.
 
After playing with it more I wish there was less backlight bleed. My brothers 19 inch samsung only has a little bit on one side. it might easier to light 19 inchers though.
 
Bryson said:
Please explain to me how the Acer H233H is quite a bit better than the LG W2361V?

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=35&mo1=501&p1=5175&ma2=38&mo2=743&p2=8761&ph=13

And the panel lottery involved the 22" model as mentioned on DV which has since been rectified which is also the model that prad reviewed. The 23" version is better than both these models and if the H243H is similar to my experience with the H233H then I can sleep well at night knowing that I made the right decision. If you want to nit pick, CNET mentions green tinting with the H243H not present on the H233H.

I would like to have tried the H243H based on DV glowing review but I could not find it locally and buying local is always prefered over ordering online. I tried the XL2370 and it's colors were not right not to mention it's horrible blacks due to all the bleeding. I don't feel that samsung's LED monitors are worth the price premium and don't look now but they are no longer listed on bestbuy.ca website. Perhaps they had enough of all the returns because of it's poor quality? The asus I was also not impressed with.

If I won the lottery with the LG W2361V then I am happy. It nice to win once in awhile especially after having lost with my samsung HDTV. I wish it had been the other way around. :(
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I was just talking about the 24" version. The LG is the better choice in if deciding between the 23" models. Cnet and DV contradict eachother entirely between the 23/24" versions, which I find interesting.


@llmercll

turn down the brightness to about half or 35-40% and the bleed shouldn't be that bad, default settings are usually way to bright. Maybe go pick up the LG W2361V as well, if it doesn't have any bleed return the Acer?

I hate backlight bleed but most monitors have it. I have a 2233rz 120hz monitor and the bleed is so bad it is visible with the lights on (calibrated and brightness set to 120cdm/2), which is unacceptable. If that is the case with your Acer definately return it.
 
After playing with it some more I'm loving this monitor. What they said about the contrast and accurate colors is very true.

Lowering the brightness helped with the backlight bleed, but it's still there. If not for that I would say the monitor is PERFECT (besides shoddy speakers and no headphone out jack but eh).

I was thinking of going and picking up a few more of the H243H, and checking them for backlight bleed. It seems like something that could vary between one monitor and another of the same model . Do you agree? or think they will all have the same amount of bleed?
 
Yes, it varies from monitor to monitor, but they still usually have some degree of bleed. Might be worth a try picking up another.
 
I'm going to try out a few more monitors. Does anyone know a reputable online site that offers refunds without a restocking fee and/or free return shipping?
 
llmercll said:
I'm going to try out a few more monitors. Does anyone know a reputable online site that offers refunds without a restocking fee and/or free return shipping?
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Just stick with local retailers. Its probably easier just to drive down than ship stuff off.

Don't know if you saw my PX2370 review, but I am also in the process of reviewing the Acer G245H BMID which is 200$ @ NCIX and 245$ @ walmart. It is much better than the PX2370 (top rated 60hz TN), as it offers a much higher contrast ratio, just as accurate color and a gorgeous glossy screen. Won't have the full review up till tommorrow, but for now you should consider it.
 
NCX said:
Don't see why the 23" version would be any different, but it is possible. If viewing angles are a big concern get the Dell U2311 as it is an IPS screen and will have better viewing angles, similar contrast, better color, though if you sit infront of your screen spending up to 100$ more when on a budget might not be worth it.
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Yup, the H233H is pretty much the same as the H242H, there's a review here:

http://www.digitalversus.com/article-357-8761-38.html

And agreed, IPS monitors like the Dell U2211 / U2311 / U2711 have better viewing angles, but that depends where you'll be looking at it from.
 
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