BenQ E2200HD and E2400HD - 1080P FullHD LCDs
by Jarred Walton on November 4, 2008 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
BenQ E2200HD Specifications
| BenQ E2200HD Specifications | |
| Video Inputs | DVI with HDCP support HDMI Analog (VGA) |
| Panel Type | TN (Unknown Manufacturer) |
| Pixel Pitch | 0.248mm |
| Colors | 16.7 million (6-bit with dithering/interpolation) |
| Brightness | 300 cd/m2 |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 10000:1 Dynamic |
| Response Time | 5ms, 2ms GTG |
| Viewable Size | 21.5" diagonal |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 (1080P) |
| Viewing Angle | 170 horizontal/160 vertical |
| Power Consumption | <45W max stated 37W max, 16W min measured |
| Power Savings | <2W |
| Screen Treatment | Matte (non-glossy) |
| Height-Adjustable | No |
| Tilt | Yes - 20 degrees back/5 degrees forward |
| Pivot | No |
| Swivel | No |
| VESA Wall Mounting | 100mm x 100mm |
| Dimensions w/ Base (WxHxD) | 20.58" x 16.06" x 7.35" (WxHxD) |
| Weight w/ Stand | 10.56 lbs. |
| Additional Features | None |
| Audio | 2 x 1W Speakers Audio in, Line out |
| Limited Warranty | 3-year limited warranty, M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM PST |
| Accessories | VGA cable, audio input cable, driver CD |
| Price | Online starting at ~$250 |
Like many other inexpensive LCDs, BenQ uses a TN panel on the E2200HD. As you will see on the next page, that means viewing angles (particularly in the vertical dimension) are compromised compared to other panel technologies. As discussed in our last 24" LCD roundup, however, TN panels also have some advantages over other panel technologies, particularly S-PVA. The biggest advantage is that internal processing lag (also called input lag) does not appear to be a factor on TN panels. We should also mention that while we feel TN panels are not as nice as S-IPS panels, particularly on laptops where vertical viewing angles really matter, for desktop use they work fine.
The on-screen display (OSD) for the E2200HD offers all the usual options including controls for brightness, contrast, aspect ratio, color correction, and several preset viewing settings. Personal preference plays a role, but we found that using the "Standard" viewing mode and "Normal" color setting provided the most pleasing experience. Worth note is that the dynamic contrast option is not something we like to enable on any LCD so far; this can dynamically alter the backlight brightness depending on the content currently being displayed, and we find this more distracting than just sticking with a static brightness setting. It also tends to mess up any color accuracy calibration.
You can see the various options available in the menu system in the above gallery. One of the nice features is that pressing the "Enter" button on the bottom right will quickly switch between the three video input options without the need to enter the regular OSD (although you can also select video input inside the OSD if you prefer). Quick access to volume settings is also available via the third button, and the fourth button switches between the five viewing presets.
The E2200HD has two aspect ratio options, Full and Aspect. "Full" is supposed to stretch whatever resolution you're running to fill the whole screen. "Aspect" should maintain the aspect ratio of whatever resolution you're using and fill as much of the screen as possible, leaving you with black bars on the top/bottom or left/right sides. Overscan is also available on certain resolutions, specifically 1080P and 720P; we wouldn't recommend using it even if it's available, but feel free to disagree. As usual, aspect ratio control doesn't always function properly on every resolution with every input, so we created a summary of our testing of common resolutions.
| BenQ E2200HD Resolution and Input Notes | |||
| DVI | HDMI | VGA | |
| 800x600 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1024x768 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1152x864 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1280x720 | Wrong AR (Hor. Stretch), no Fill | 16:10 AR | 16:10 AR |
| 1280x800 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1280x960 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1280x1024 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1440x900 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1600x1200 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1680x1050 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1920x1080 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Resolution support was exceptionally good on the E2200HD. The only oddity is that one resolution we would expect to work perfectly -- 720P -- didn't even show up on our test system using a DVI input. Even after adding that resolution, however, there were still problems with 720P DVI support, and those problems extended to the HDMI and VGA inputs as well. For whatever reason, the aspect ratio control is wrong regardless of what you set it to when using 720P DVI. It only fills the center portion of the display, and if you select "Full" it stretches the output horizontally but not vertically. 720P is better on HDMI and VGA, but it's squished horizontally to fill a 16:10 AR, leaving black borders on the left and right. It's unfortunate, since 720P support can be important for certain devices (i.e. Xbox 360, PS3). The remaining resolutions all work properly; the only two issues we noticed are that 1280x768 and 1360x768 both had the wrong aspect ratio as well; both stretched to fill the same area as a 16:10 resolution instead of 5:3 and 16:9 respectively.
The built-in resolution scaler works well on all of the inputs when you're not using native resolution, but the closer you are to native resolution the more likely you are to see artifacts. Specifically, 1680x1050 doesn't stretch as well as lower resolutions and if you were to display a black on white grid, you would notice that certain lines are thicker and others are thinner. Obviously, you're best off running at native resolution if possible; if you want to run at a lower resolution (i.e. to get higher frame rates in a game), we would recommend 1440x900 or 1280x800 over 1680x1050 due to the scaling artifacts.
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10e - Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - link
If the last MVA panel from BenQ/AUO is any indicator, input lag should be low. I had the FP241VW with December 2007 firmware and it was 7.9ms behind a CRT, with only 5% of the time it being 2 frames behind. The other times it was only 1 frame behind, or none at all.It's good to see that our crying over on another forum has kept BenQ and AUO from abandoning the non-TN market altogether
The only tiny issue with it was dark greys shifted more than (say) my Dell 2709W (S-PVA). Good luck with the review.
Jorgerr - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
Did you check the Samsung T220P? looks that have the same specs as the Benq. Seems to be a very interesting competitor as well.I would appreciate to read your comments about it.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
Looks like that was an Asian release only? I'm not sure... spec-wise, it's actually a 1920x1200 LCD, and I haven't seen any of those in 22" trim over here in the US. Weird. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Samsung makes the panel in the BenQ LCDs; then again, it's either Samsung, AU Optronics, or Chi-Mei so I have a 33% chance of guessing right. ;-)Jorgerr - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
Thanks :-) In Israel the Samsung T220P is available, and we belongs to Asia.Good luck with the new president! No matter who will be I wish you the best.
NARC4457 - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
[quote]We are only aware of one other 22" LCD manufacturer that offers native 1080P support (ViewSonic), and we feel this is an untapped market.[/quote]Check out Dell's new 2209W, it is a Full HD 22" LCD
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displa...">http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod...mp;dgc=C...
JarredWalton - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
I edited the conclusion for you - I should have known better than to make an assumption without a bit more research. Probably HP has a similar display too - or it's in the works. Obviously, where one LCD company goes plenty will follow, and if there aren't more 22" 1080P LCDs right now I expect that to change. The Dell 2209W appears to lack HDMI input, however, so that's a big advantage for the BenQ and ViewSonic options IMO.NARC4457 - Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - link
True enough, I was surprised that they didn't have the same amount of inputs that many of their existing monitors already have.Wasn't looking for an update to the article, just wanted to send it your way in case you were looking for more monitors to review. :) Thanks jared, good information in the review.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - link
Probably all use the same LCD panel - once the panel becomes available, the usual suspects will all build a display around it.Flyboy27 - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
I know I want to step up to 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 so that means a 24" monitor. They seem to be the sweet spot right now as you can get a video card these days to run those resolutions in almost every game for a very reasonable price. However, there's no reason for me to upgrade my HD3850 until I get a bigger monitor since it runs all games just fine at 1440x900. I'm sure there are many other folks out there that are in the same boat.Now, it's easy to figure out comparatively which video card to get by reading Anandtech and other such sites but harder to find info on 24" monitors. Not too hard to compare FPS in a certain resolution and find a video card to get the best bang for your buck. However, for a guy that is a gamer, movie watcher, internet browser, and avid Photoshop user what monitor is the best bang for the buck. I don't want to sacrifice panel speed for colors. My idea with colors and Photoshop is just get me "close enough" and I'll be happy. I'm also on a budget (that's why I'm not looking at 30" monitors). Where is the happy medium here guys? -Thanks
JarredWalton - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
I have a BenQ MVA panel up next for review, along with a couple other 24" LCDs. I'm going to be very interested to see if the MVA panel can offer colors and viewing angles equal to S-PVA but with processing lag equal to S-IPS/TN. Stay tuned....