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

Can anyone else confirm the 1:1 mappings now shipping? More reports the better! Hopefully this will be my new monitor for the next 10 or so years.
 
Just called BenQ to have my current FP241W updated with the 1:1 aspect ratio firmware. They're e-mailing me a form to fill out, which I'll return with credit card information to cover the return shipping, and then I'll send the monitor off with the RMA number. So they are now doing this (out of the US office, anyway).

There was a lot of speculation on whether there would be a charge for the service of updating itself, and the good news is that the only cost is for shipping both ways! If someone can confirm that NewEgg now has the updated monitors I can buy my second display and then send my current one off once the new one arrives.

I'm so happy with the FP241W that I decided to go this route rather than wait for a FP241WZ, which at a minimum would be around $300.00 more for a technology (AMA-Z) that has not yet been truly reviewed with an established customer base, a technology that in my opinion isn't even that neccessary (I'm both a digital video editor and an avid gamer) given the quality an excellent response time/lack of ghosting of the FP241W.
 
Well I just called BenQ and they have stated that there IS a $45 CDN charge to have the monitor upgraded, even if I drop it off to the service center -- in other words it is not for the shipping. This is BenQ Canada.

He couldn't explain to me (as in, he wasn't able to articulate properly) as to what the charge was even for.
 
rabhw said:
Well I just called BenQ and they have stated that there IS a $45 CDN charge to have the monitor upgraded, even if I drop it off to the service center -- in other words it is not for the shipping. This is BenQ Canada.

He couldn't explain to me (as in, he wasn't able to articulate properly) as to what the charge was even for.
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Yes, it's very strange that Canadians are getting charged for this upgrade, and Americans only have to pay for shipping.

Doesnt make sense at all.
 
so i wonder if worth it to buy the fp241w as is from newegg.com and pay for upgrade firmware or wait for wz version.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Yes, it's very strange that Canadians are getting charged for this upgrade, and Americans only have to pay for shipping.

Doesnt make sense at all.
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That sucks!
Canadians are constantly being raped in terms of product availability and cost. :mad:
 
cleve said:
so i wonder if worth it to buy the fp241w as is from newegg.com and pay for upgrade firmware or wait for wz version.
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newegg has the updated monitors already so you wouldn't need to send it in to upgrade...
 
just looked at newegg again but could not see that their fp241 w has the firmware updated.
 
I wouldn't get too excited about the 1:1 feature. Both the Gateway and Dell have bad image tearing issues when 1:1 is turned on.
 
Well everything else with this model has been close to perfect thus far, so I don't see why the 1:1 mapping should be any different. The Gateway is riddled with issues, and the Dell has its own mishaps as well.
 
So what's the advantages of the new versions coming out over the old version, when the old version has the firmware fix?
 
Thats exactly what I want to know. I would assume though the new versions also have the pixel mapping fix.
 
How do these panels compare to an S-ISP panel?
I currently have a 2007WFP and love it, but I like dual monitors also and was thinking of getting another monitor to replace my other 19" CRT.
So I figured I would get a 1920x1200 display for my Xbox 360.
I currently run it at 1280x768 on my 2007WFP over vga, it looks great but there are some flaws because of the low resolution compaired to the native res of the monitor.
How would a 24" display at 19x12 compare, anyone running a 360 on this set?
if so, with what input, VGA or Component?
 
cleve said:
just looked at newegg again but could not see that their fp241 w has the firmware updated.
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i called them and they told me that the shipment they just got in has the update on it and that the old ones without the update have sold out
 
If I were to buy this monitor, how would I check if it has the 1:1 fix? What procedures would I have to go through to visually see that it does in fact have this 1:1 firmware fix?
 
peTeMelster said:
If I were to buy this monitor, how would I check if it has the 1:1 fix? What procedures would I have to go through to visually see that it does in fact have this 1:1 firmware fix?
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It should be an option in the OSD.
 
dannyallen34 said:
i called them and they told me that the shipment they just got in has the update on it and that the old ones without the update have sold out
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can anyone else confirm firmware update on neweggs fp 241W?(as wallet opens)
 
dannyallen34 said:
i called them and they told me that the shipment they just got in has the update on it and that the old ones without the update have sold out
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I called them twice and once with the online chat feature and all three times thry told em that they could not confirm the updated firmware on their shipping stock. Just wondering how you were able to confirm this or the contact @ newegg that gafe you this information. If anyone can confirm Newegg is shipping the updated firmware please let me know as I really don't want to buy this monitor and end up shipping it back to have it fixed...

Thanks
-CG
 
Thank you for contacting Newegg. My name is Timon. How may I assist you today?
Clayton: I was wondering if there is any way to find out if the BenQ fp241w "N82E16824014124" that you stock have the updated firmware that fixes a 1:1 pixel mapping problem?
Timon: I apologize, but you would need to contact the manufacturer for this information. With the model number listed on the site the manufacturer can provide this information, if this specification is not listed we will not have anything further than that since what we have on the site is what the manufacturer has provided us.
Clayton: The Manafacture has been shipping the "Fixed" monitors since Dec 12th. If I can get a serial numbers of the "Fixed monitors" then could confirm that you stock these?
Timon: Unfortunately this information would not be available, I apologize if this inconveniences you in any way.
Clayton: There are some posts in a discussion forum @ www.hardforum.com and somebody says they contacted you and you were able to confiirm that the shipping versions have the update. How could he of gotten this information from you?
Timon: On our end at the customer service this information is unavailable, if someone were to receive this information they were likely misinformed. As far as I have known this information is not accessable by anyone at the customer service center.
Clayton: Is there somewhere else I could get this info from @ newegg? or should I call up IngramMicro presales or something?
Timon: I would not know where you can get this information.
Clayton: OK, Thanks for your help and have a good holidays.....
Timon: Thank you for contacting us and have a wonderful day.
 
well, the first person i called told me that they got the new batch with updates in on Dec. 22nd and that the old ones had sold out. then, i called a second person and they said that the old ones have sold out and the next set of monitors they get in will have the update (meaning that they didn't actually have any in stock but if you ordered now, you would get one with the update). i then went into a chat and asked and they said they didn't have access to this info. finally, i called for a third time five minutes ago and the person said that they didn't have access to that info either.

so, i'm having doubts now too. the second person said that i could call back each day and they would be able to tell me if they got more in. unfortunately, the guy from benq never called back. he was going to check on their shipments to newegg and see if they had recently sent updated monitors there, so i will probably try and call them tomorrow...
 
peTeMelster said:
If I were to buy this monitor, how would I check if it has the 1:1 fix? What procedures would I have to go through to visually see that it does in fact have this 1:1 firmware fix?
Click to expand...


Basically feed it a non-native resolution (maybe plug in a DVD player or VCR.... PS2, etc) and see if it stretches it both ways to completely fill the screen (non 1:1).

Then see if there is some way you can adjust it to stay in proper aspect ratio where it will be scaled up until it hits screen edges in one direction with black bars to fill in the top and bottom or sides. (this would be 1:1 aspect ratio)

Then see if there is some way you can adjust it so you get 1 pixel for each pixel in the source image. In other words, a 640x480 would fill a small area in the center of the screen, with quite large black areas on all sides. (this would be 1:1 pixel mapping)

I'm not sure if they will support both... that would be nice. But the big thing is that they can do one or the other... preferably the 1:1 aspect ratio of only one of the two.

Also... while this looks to be GREAT news..... I'm going to wait till I hear a bit more. Remember that a couple days ago... people were being told that there was no such thing as an update. Hopefully BenQ will actually say something official, or someone will actually get one. Silly BenQ.
 
SteveW928 said:
Also... while this looks to be GREAT news..... I'm going to wait till I hear a bit more. Remember that a couple days ago... people were being told that there was no such thing as an update. Hopefully BenQ will actually say something official, or someone will actually get one. Silly BenQ.
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You can call BenQ's technical support and say that you own the monitor and ask if they can update it... they will say yes.

i think i'm just going to go ahead and get it tomorrow at newegg, unless, after i call benq or newegg, something changes in what they say.
 
SteveW928 said:
Basically feed it a non-native resolution (maybe plug in a DVD player or VCR.... PS2, etc) and see if it stretches it both ways to completely fill the screen (non 1:1).

Then see if there is some way you can adjust it to stay in proper aspect ratio where it will be scaled up until it hits screen edges in one direction with black bars to fill in the top and bottom or sides. (this would be 1:1 aspect ratio)

Then see if there is some way you can adjust it so you get 1 pixel for each pixel in the source image. In other words, a 640x480 would fill a small area in the center of the screen, with quite large black areas on all sides. (this would be 1:1 pixel mapping)

I'm not sure if they will support both... that would be nice. But the big thing is that they can do one or the other... preferably the 1:1 aspect ratio of only one of the two.

Also... while this looks to be GREAT news..... I'm going to wait till I hear a bit more. Remember that a couple days ago... people were being told that there was no such thing as an update. Hopefully BenQ will actually say something official, or someone will actually get one. Silly BenQ.
Click to expand...


Yeahh but Nvidia cards can do that for you even if your model doesnt support 1:1 pixel mapping. I tested this using my brothers 7950gt card and all you have to do is set it up in the control panel something like "fixed aspect ratio" and you will get exactly what you stated above. Too bad im stuck with ATI which doesnt offer such option and which is the reason i will NEVER purchase another ATI product.
 
Is the current Newegg price for the FP241W ($800 USD) a good deal? My CRT is on its last leg, I wouldn't say I'm in a hurry.
 
kadiir said:
Is the current Newegg price for the FP241W ($800 USD) a good deal? My CRT is on its last leg, I wouldn't say I'm in a hurry.
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It has been at $800 for a while. Free shipping saves me about $15, so I don't really think that it is that good of a deal.
 
ButterFlyEffect, when we say feed the monitor a source, we aren't talking about going through an nVidia video card, we are talking about plugging the source into the monitor itself and seeing if the monitor can do 1:1 pixel mapping properly instead of just stretching it out.
 
Thanks for the updates on this dannyallen, let us know if you hear anything from BenQ - as I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these also.
 
UPDATE: James, my contact at BenQ, just called me back. He told me that all monitors made after Dec. 5th have the new update. However, he said that they are all made in Taiwan and can take up to 2 months to reach the US! He said that the only way you could know for sure that your monitor would have the update is to wait until Feb. 5th to order it. However, James said that it is possible that newegg has already recieved some new ones. But, he could not guarantee it.

So, I am going to call newegg one more time tomorrow right when their telephone support opens and ask again. The person who told me that they were in stock told me this like 5 minutes after their support opened, so maybe if I call early again tomorrow they will be able to tell me something. James said that each box contains a manufacturing date on it, and if it is after Dec. 5th, then it has the update. I don't really know if that would help though because Newegg doesn't let you return monitors, correct?

EDIT: After looking at newegg's website, I realized that if a product is out of stock then they mark it. The person who I talked to the second time said that it was out of stock, but the website said it was in stock. So, I don't really know who to trust. I'm calling BenQ right now to see how much shipping would cost if I was to return it for the repair if it doesn't have the update. If it is around $20-30, then I will probably get the monitor. If it's around $50+, then I'll probably hold off until I can get a confirmation that it is in stock at Newegg.
 
dannyallen34 said:
UPDATE: James, my contact at BenQ, just called me back. He told me that all monitors made after Dec. 5th have the new update. However, he said that they are all made in Taiwan and can take up to 2 months to reach the US! He said that the only way you could know for sure that your monitor would have the update is to wait until Feb. 5th to order it. However, James said that it is possible that newegg has already recieved some new ones. But, he could not guarantee it.

So, I am going to call newegg one more time tomorrow right when their telephone support opens and ask again. The person who told me that they were in stock told me this like 5 minutes after their support opened, so maybe if I call early again tomorrow they will be able to tell me something. James said that each box contains a manufacturing date on it, and if it is after Dec. 5th, then it has the update. I don't really know if that would help though because Newegg doesn't let you return monitors, correct?
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Yeah, I pretty sure you can return it within 30 days for the exact same model, that is the other thing I am worry about too. Thanks for doing the calls and I will try to get a responce too. If they would just do a little research for us it sounds like they would sell quite a few from us just watching this forum.
 
UPDATE: Just called BenQ again, they said that the only cost involved in the update is freight. They said that we can ship it via any means possible, including UPS and FedEx, and they will perform the update. I'm not sure how they would ship it back to me, but I estimated that it would cost me $15 to send it UPS Ground to somewhere in Texas (I remember reading that they are located in Texas or something). So, I may do that if I find out how they send it back (because i'll probably have to pay for that too).
 
I have been looking in to this great monitor, currently have a compaq 7550 17 inch CRT monitor, I use it for gaming now.

I need for a wide and fast LCD monitor like this BenQ, the new update, once it reaches retailers in Feb :( like Newegg or maybe Newegg will have it sooner, will it be the same price as the current one "$800" or some what cheaper. Hoping that it will be the same price since they just made the hardware fix of the 1:1

Also been looking at this monitor FP241WZ, looks like they have this feature "AMA Z Technology" thing but don't see them really selling anywhere but BenQ. It should be faster, but not sure is there any big difference then the FP241W and it list for $1299.
http://www.benq.us/products/LCD/?product=670&page=features
 
dannyallen34 said:
UPDATE: He said that the only way you could know for sure that your monitor would have the update is to wait until Feb. 5th to order it.
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That would only be true if one were certain that all of the old stock monitors would be sold by Feb 5th. Therefore, it would still be possible to get the previous version on Feb 5th and after.
 
toystwo said:
That would only be true if one were certain that all of the old stock monitors would be sold by Feb 5th. Therefore, it would still be possible to get the previous version on Feb 5th and after.
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ok... but chances are that most prominent sellers would have sold out their previous stock and recieved new before then.
 
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