The BenQ EW2420: Too good to be true?

Hi guys have been very closely following this thread and am extremely grateful for all the advice you have given (PCM2 particularly). I had been looking for a decent screen and went for this on the basis of your comments and I'm certainly not disappointed. I mainly use it for browsing, work and films but it was great value and looks fantastic. I have signed up to just ask you for a quick hand with a problem I'm having (might be a noob issue). I am running the monitor off a dell laptop with Windows 7 and a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 graphics card. The problem is thawt when I use an HDMI cable (which I would like to so that I can connect my speakers to the monitor not the laptop etc) the image is probably around half an inch short of the edge of the panel. The rest of the screen is just black. When I connect it by D-Sub the image is full screen but I'd rather use HDMI. I emailed benq about it but they just said to install the latest drivers - have done this but it makes no difference. Any ideas, solutions?

Many thanks,
R
 
rika12 said:
Hi guys have been very closely following this thread and am extremely grateful for all the advice you have given (PCM2 particularly). I had been looking for a decent screen and went for this on the basis of your comments and I'm certainly not disappointed. I mainly use it for browsing, work and films but it was great value and looks fantastic. I have signed up to just ask you for a quick hand with a problem I'm having (might be a noob issue). I am running the monitor off a dell laptop with Windows 7 and a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 graphics card. The problem is thawt when I use an HDMI cable (which I would like to so that I can connect my speakers to the monitor not the laptop etc) the image is probably around half an inch short of the edge of the panel. The rest of the screen is just black. When I connect it by D-Sub the image is full screen but I'd rather use HDMI. I emailed benq about it but they just said to install the latest drivers - have done this but it makes no difference. Any ideas, solutions?

Many thanks,
R
Click to expand...

Go to 'Picture Advanced' and change 'Display Mode' to 'Full'. You may also need to adjust the overscan in the graphics driver.

@crackerbear

That is a tough question. I assume you mean from an entertainment point of view? The EW2420 shows slightly greater vibrancy due partly to the semi-glossy panel. No question it is the superior panel for contrast. I would say for games and movies this gives the most pleasing image but this is quite subjective. The range of colours and accuracy of the colours is very good on the U2311H and it has a slight edge in terms of responsiveness. Considering everything though and including price my choice would be the EW2420 for entertainment but the U2311H for colour-critical work. Actually I would probably choose the U2410 over either of those for anything but that wasn't the question ;).
 
Ah yeah sorry should've mentioned that - it is set to full. In fact I think if you use HDMI that setting is disabled/fixed on full. If I use overscan it fills the screen but the quality is much worse. Bit weird. Maybe it's not worth the hassle or fixing?
 
Maybe right. I just use DVI on my EW2420 and it is all fine. Maybe you should use VGA in the meantime and order a DVI cable? HDMI seems to be by far the most problematic interface for PC users.
 
PCM2 said:
That is a tough question. I assume you mean from an entertainment point of view? The EW2420 shows slightly greater vibrancy due partly to the semi-glossy panel. No question it is the superior panel for contrast. I would say for games and movies this gives the most pleasing image but this is quite subjective. The range of colours and accuracy of the colours is very good on the U2311H and it has a slight edge in terms of responsiveness. Considering everything though and including price my choice would be the EW2420 for entertainment but the U2311H for colour-critical work. Actually I would probably choose the U2410 over either of those for anything but that wasn't the question ;).
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I sort of meant overall or if you had to pick one between the two.

From what I can tell from the TFTCentral review and the PCPro review, the input lag and response rate on the Dell is a fair bit better than the BenQ (which is a major plus point for me). However, as you say, the BenQ beats it for contrast.

I only ask as I've seen a refurbished U2311H for £219, but that's also only with 1 year warranty. I'm not sure if it's worth the gamble, especially given it's a refurb model, over a brand new BenQ (or alternative). At £265, a brand new U2311H (which has a 3yr standard warranty) isn't even in my scope of vision, but I guess you could also say the extra 2 years is worth the £46 extra.
 
How did you gague the input lag is better on the u2311? They are both around 15ms i would say and you can't use that is a distinction. Given everything the BenQ is a better buy as an all-rounder. Considering the uneven whites, poor contrast and tinting that is being reported by many u2311h users I wouldn't take the gamble.
 
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PCM2 - Would you know how this screen compares against a Dell 2407WFP? That was what I was most recently using, did mainly gaming on it and thought it was the dog's danglies to be honest!

I quite fancy a U2410 but this is close to £300 cheaper!

Thanks in advance.
 
A lot of you have used this monitor so you might be able to help me.

I bought the EW2420 and I have sound problem when using the audio output with HDMI. I have a 2.1 Logitech system and when using my XBox360 or PS3, there is absolutely no bass going through, like there is a low pass filter somewhere in the audio passby. The speakers are working perfectly with other devices and used to be working just great with the audio output of my previous screen (Samsung 245T). I tried both audio output and two different HDMI cables.

Can anyone confirm the sound quality of there device ?
 
PCM2 said:
How did you gague the input lag is better on the u2311? They are both around 15ms i would say and you can't use that is a distinction. Given everything the BenQ is a better buy as an all-rounder.
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U2311H:

TFTCentral:
This test returned pleasing results. Input lag ranged from 0 - 30ms, but on average was only 10.6ms.
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DigitalVersus:
We didn't notice any difference in terms of responsiveness between this model and its 22'' counterpart: rapid moving objects are smooth, but not quite as fluid as on the best gaming monitors. FPS fans will prefer the 2209WA, or better still, a 120 Hz display.

The same is true for the input lag, which remains below the perceptible threshold, so you won't be able to blame it if you mess things up at your next multiplayer session.
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FlatpanelsHD:
Another positive thing is that U2311H has virtually no input lag. I compared to some 120 Hz monitors and CRT monitors and only very rarely U2311H introduced a few milliseconds lag but U2311H is indeed very fast and performs very similar to the popular 2209WA monitor.
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VW2420H:

PCPro:
Input lag hit peaks of 40ms, with lows of 10ms, and we noted an average of 22ms. The panel's relatively sluggish black-to-black response time of 25ms causes some minor smearing in fast-moving games, but all but the most demanding of gamers are unlikely to notice.
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Only TFTCetrnal gave specific figures for input lag for the U2311H and the PCPro review of the VW2420H is the only one I know of that has stated input lag times as well. However, taking the averages (10.6ms vs 22ms), the U2311H wins.

PCM2 said:
Considering the uneven whites, poor contrast and tinting that is being reported by many u2311h users I wouldn't take the gamble.
Click to expand...
I've only see people complain mostly about tinting and a couple on uniformity. I've not seen anyone complain about contrast, as backed up by the TFTCentral review who measured it to be 857:1 - of course this is still no where near the BenQ *VA panels.

Quote from HardForum:
Spooky said:
Just bought a Viewsonic VP2365wb and am very pleased with it. I tried a Benq VW2420h and was very very disappointed with it. But this Viewsonic is light years in performance and quality away from the Benq but very close in price.

I read around for reviews and noted CNET's gripes. The chassis is not fragile atall, it's solid and beats the hell out of the flimsy fall-over Benq. There's quite a lot of adjustment on it in height, tilt and swivel. I am not getting shifted colours at angles - I did on the Benq. Colours look really very nice and even. No backlight issue atall. Brightness is not low - I had to reduce it a lot. Colours look fine. I hate saturated colours! The response time is 14ms (off/on) but 5ms gtg. Having played games on it, I see no issues with ghosting. I did on the Benq with even mouse movement showing dark trails. Movies look excellent. You can also rotate the screen 90 degrees for portrait look - there's software included for this.
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Quote from TrustedReviews VW2420H comments:
Okay sent back the Benq VW2420H and have now bought a Viewsonic VP2365wb which uses an IPS panel. This one I have retails for about £190 which is a teeny bit more than the Benq. However, the differences between it and the Benq are enormous. Viewing angles are excellent as is colour. No screen smear. No backlight bleed. Zero pixel issues - Viewsonic offers zero pixel warranty. Certainly it has less trailing edge than the Benq. It's fine for fast games - see reviews on YT
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The Viewsonic VP2365wb uses the same LG e-IPS panel as the Dell U2311H and from the TFTCentral review, it doesn't have Response Time Compensation (unlike the Dell), so should be slower and the input lag is worse (avg 16.3ms). Of course, user opinions are going to be subjective, but going by what's quoted above, the Viewsonic is faster than the BenQ and the Dell is even faster still.
 
The difference in input lag depends largely on who is testing it and how they are testing it. It isn't an absolute value - it is given relative to a CRT of the reviewers choice and there is no standard methodology for testing. As I've said the input lag is not a problem in either panel and the difference between them when you actually use them is not at all significant. I didn't mean the U2311H has poor contrast - far from it. As with everything else in the post it was relative to the EW2420. Again, the values for contrast vary considerably depending on the equipment and methodology used and the 'peak' contrast is sometimes achieved using settings that are terrible to use for gaming purposes. That isn't the case for the U2211H or U2311H though and contrast is impressively close to the stated values even under 'gaming' settings.

Really what this boils down to is how vibrant and immersive you like your gaming and movie experience to be. The explosions, flames, muzzle flashes etc. etc. and just colours in general are far more in your face on the EW2420, without looking over saturated. The U2211H showed excellent variation in shades and a good 'natural' look but it lacked a certain flair to the colours. The absolute distinction between 'light' and 'dark' that can help add that little bit extra to games and movies was missing. The EW2420 and U2410 both trump it in this department. You can gague what to expect by comparing our U2211H review with the EW2420 review if you haven't already.
 
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rika12 said:
Hi guys have been very closely following this thread and am extremely grateful for all the advice you have given (PCM2 particularly). I had been looking for a decent screen and went for this on the basis of your comments and I'm certainly not disappointed. I mainly use it for browsing, work and films but it was great value and looks fantastic. I have signed up to just ask you for a quick hand with a problem I'm having (might be a noob issue). I am running the monitor off a dell laptop with Windows 7 and a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 graphics card. The problem is thawt when I use an HDMI cable (which I would like to so that I can connect my speakers to the monitor not the laptop etc) the image is probably around half an inch short of the edge of the panel. The rest of the screen is just black. When I connect it by D-Sub the image is full screen but I'd rather use HDMI. I emailed benq about it but they just said to install the latest drivers - have done this but it makes no difference. Any ideas, solutions?

Many thanks,
R
Click to expand...

Hi rika12

What kind of speakers are you using with your monitor ? Do you have any trouble getting a quality sound, like I described in my previous (and first!) post ?
 
My EW2420 experience ;)

Ok. Received it on monday. In case someone's interested about my feelings towards the EW2420, here they are... ;)

First I must say that I ordered the V2420 a month ago [TN] but being very unsatisfied I have sent it back. It had a problem with the upper 1/3 of the screen darkened (uniformly) and uneven displaying of an even picture (different but easy to confuse with a backlight issue).

I saw then the VA version and having already experience with that silly thin V-series construction I chose EW2420.
The construction of it is much better than in V-series which I suppose may be related with higher probability of backlight problems. The V's are so thin that I asume it's easier to shift something for about a 1mm during assembly and make the whole display one piece of cr**p ;-)
My point is that the thicker and more conventionally built EW2420 would lack of such backlight problems.

The EW series is VESA mount compatible (V-series isn't) so if somebody is unhappy he may make some upgrade with the stand. The stand of the Vseries is very bad too. Well, it's maybe nice-lookin' but very delicate and unstable. At the time of ordering the BL wasn't available and isn't still in Poland. It may be a bit pricier but I really didn't care about the BL-stand.
As I expected the EW is much more stable and rigid. The monitor is even better packed and secured than the Vseries. There was no DVI cable as I expected. Just the VGA one, USB, power and audio.

The USB-thing is well... even useful. I have a portable external drive which shouldn't be moved when turned on. So now I can put it behind the monitor and not worry about it. I doubt however that there's much more to do with it. My Logitech wireless mouse receiver works, but the mouse is less responsive and the moves are harsher.

Sound... it's very bad. Not only because of the speakers quality, but the electronics cut of the basses. Just like someone here noticed. I checked it with headphones. So don't expect anything else as mediocre sound. Rather useless.


Right... so as I was badly surprised with the V2420 I wanted here to check everything and searched right away for any kind of problems.
I noticed that the assembly work wasn't done perfectly. The screens boarders are shifted / moved to the left about 1mm, so the space between the plastic and the displays edge on the right is 2mm, but on the left 0mm :/ Eventually I decided not call it a problem.
Then I saw also immediately the ripple on the lower edge. It's not very disturbing, but it's present.
I would be happier without it but I am not so eager to send another monitor without good reason.


No bad pixels. Actually there was a time when I thought that pixels are the only worry of monitor buyers.
Backlight is even, with a small exception of very difficult display situation.
The uniformity of the LCD panel is good to. I can't say how good, because the last monitor I used besides of the 3 years old TN display on Lenovo N200, was an 8 years old ;-) 15'' Samsung that eventually stopped working xD last spring.
I had to look around and see what others have. So now I rather think it's about very good or perfect.

Now... I must say what I noticed. The monitor behaves perfectly during all typical tests in therms of the picture quality. White / Black / 3x Color and so on. Everything is uniform.
As I wanted to emphasize any potential drawbacks I checked also uniformity of the display on darker colors, because then the former V2420 monitor exhibited the worst behavior.
Some other person tried the same when having problems with "finger-like" shadows.
Anyway... I wonder if all (literally) displays will exhibit any kind of shades on a uniform picture filled with colors like...
H = i.e. 211
S = i.e. 50%
B = 10-20? % thats the brightness setting of the color in Photoshop all becomes a bit more noticeable

My EW2420 looks rather perfect on a typical test, but if I would like to I could find some blemishes on image quality. It would be interesting to see the high-end performing in such scenario like this one above. Because now I can't even tell if it's common or uncommon to see not that perfect image uniformity ;-)

So in terms of backlight bleed or shade/ uniformity of the panel etc. All looks perfect besides of that 1 situation. What made me certain that Benq does a good job was this ;-) :
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/...htm#uniformity
If you want you can measure the brightness differences with any camera, even a compact one. You zoom in a bit putting the lens close to the corner and half-press the shutter button to measure light. Remember the numbers and compare with the center. The distance from the panel must be the same. I did it and after recalculation it's about 20% of difference in that specific dark situation. Full white or black doesn't show any difference with this DIY measurement.


What's next... ah, the settings.
I decided to go for gamma 2.0 , contrast 50 (100 when watching movies probably), brightness 25 for now.
I loaded some other person ICC and on this basis I tweaked it further in Adobe Gamma accordingly to have gamma of every color in the right 2.2 position on Lagom ( www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gamma_calibration.php ).
After that I changed in-monitor color for User Settings = R100, G96, B92 ... which is based on NCXs review.
I use Dsub connection so sharpening is on max. value = 5 [it is a must to correct the non-digital signal which gets some noise during computer-to-monitor transfer etc.]


And yeah, it has some 'black-crush' effect. To not be able to see the brighter corners you will have to sit at the distance of at least 1.5 or 2 meters.
Speaking of angles when viewing movies (at night), the view is near perfect when watching between -20* and +20* (assuming that 0* means perpendicular). Further... it's still between watchable and very nice, depending on the scene type. Haven't sorted it out yet, what exactly would work best for movie watching. I'm thinking about Contrast 100 and brightness 25 or around 60 as some reviewers suggest.
The EW hasn't got the ability to turn the Dynamic Contrast in standard or any other mode that's not horribly oversaturated. Funny, because in the V2420 I thought I was able to turn it on in Standard mode. The degree of oversaturation seems also a bit worse than V2420. I guess they've put the electronics from the TN versions without configuring it more properly to the new VA panel.


I am not worried about speed, so didn't test the responsiveness to much. I don't see differences here between my notebook TN display and this is enough for me...


Weird... that brighter left end of the display...
In Lagom viewing angle test it shows a gamma shift. So... it's not a backlight bleed problem or anything else but a viewing angle one?
Strange, because it's just on 1 side. As if there would be something in the display slightly misaligned. Anyway... I guess I will live with that. I feel lucky enough to have a decent monitor at all... it seems a bit of a lottery with these things. I wish they made monitors like digital cameras. You buy them, and they're OK or NOT OK.
Not 98.4% OK, or 93.3% or 99,1% ;P

I guess in the next 8 years they or the market will solve that finally ;D
Se next time I will get perfect one ;>


Good luck guys, although I hope you won't need it while hunting for some decent display ;-)


PS. I know it didn't help you probably (there are already pro-like reviews) but it sums some things up, maybe from a bit different perspective ;-)
 
Thanks for your thoughts. They are always welcome :). It is good that you have a monitor that you are happy enough to want to keep for 8 years if you can. Haha. In a few years time we will have nice OLED monitors (check my signature link) that will hopefully iron out a lot of the problems that come from the backlight and how the monitor is sandwhiched together.
 
PCM2 said:
The EW2420 and U2410 both trump it in this department.
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There's no way I'd be able to afford the U2410 so there's no use for me comparing or even looking at that, unfortunately.

PCM2 said:
You can gague what to expect by comparing our U2211H review with the EW2420 review if you haven't already.
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I've read those reviews and both monitors (for you) seemed to come off as being very good, hence the reason why I asked "which would you buy if you had to choose" question.

I think from what I've read of user feedback is that there seems to be more blurring/ghosting/trailing whatever on the EW2420/VW2420H/BL2400PT (at least that is noticeable), the vast majority of U2311H owners have said there's none at all. Of course, there's a lot more owners of the U2311H so the overall average opinion may be weighted, but of the little user feedback there is on the BenQ VA + LED panels, a lot seem to be negative.

Anyway, I think the U2311H is out of the cards for me now, whilst the £219 price tag is nice I don't think I can justify spending that much on a refurbished model and with only 1 year warranty. For all things that need an extended warranty, a monitor is probably one that comes up top.

Instead, I have been looking at the Viewsonic VP2365wb which uses the same e-IPS panel as the Dell and comes in at about £190 new. However at the same time I am partial to a 24" with a 16:10 resolution, so have also been looking at the Samsung 2443DW, but that comes in at a pricey £225.

Hmm, decisions...
 
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The ViewSonic VP2365wb is astonishing value really and is probably a good all-rounder. I haven't used the monitor myself but I see it as similar to the U2311H but marginally less responsive, perhaps comparable to the EW2420 if not a little better. It's one of the best-selling IPS monitors on my website. You are right - you don't want to be bogged down by a 1 year warranty with a monitor if you can help it. There's just so much to go wrong and in most cases a small fault impairs what you see on the screen.
 
There seems to be contradicting reports on the Viewsonic VP2365wb. TFTCentral claim the average input lag is 16.3ms where as Prad claim the average is 4.3ms, which is a massive difference.

I know testing methodology is different etc, but using the input lag results of the Dell U2410 as comparison, TFTCentral got 14.4ms and Prad got 14ms which is pretty much the same so their testing methods don't appear to differ considerably. However, 4.3ms input lag just seems a bit too low for me on an e-IPS panel.
 
4.3ms sounds quite wrong for any LCD monitor to be honest. Even 7ms is pushing it. But I wouldn't dwell on this figure too much. You can always exercise your rights under DSR no matter what monitor you get. Yes you have to pay for return postage but it could be worse. ;)
 
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