BL2400PT - Small Review & Videos

[rickh]

I got my BL2400PT today (same panel as the ew2420).

I can confirm that it's semi glossy.

Good points: The stand is excellent, the AG coating isn't visible (clean whites), the blacks are very nice, the panel is responsive enough for gaming - I can't notice it in games I've tried. Viewing angles are excellent (the colour shifts a little compared to IPS but it's miles better than TN).

Bad points: I have the 'dark finger' effect (dark shapes on whites) as mentioned here - doesn't bother me much though. I had to turn up digital vibrance to 60% because the monitor seems a bit washed out without it. The image isn't as crisp/sharp as it could be (compared to my apple cinema display) - even with the sharpness turned up to the max.

Overall - for £170 the monitor is brilliant value. It feels much nicer than my g2420hdbl did. However, if you aren't willing to play with it then I think the 2420hdbl looked nicer out of the box.

Something that might be useful to someone - this monitor comes with 'eye protect' enabled in the menu, which dims the backlight even if set to 100%.

Also, there is no 'game' mode - not sure what difference this makes.





Here are some videos comparing to an LG TN monitor:

Black level test in Toy Story 2 intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDYysxFh7Pw

Quick demo of call of duty & some viewing angle tests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5h6W78TkQQ

 

[rickh]

rickh, did you experience the reported backlight 'ripple' pattern toward the bottom right corner of the screen, by any chance? The user in the EW thread commented on it alongside the 'death hand' effect Just wondering if it is a batch or per-unit issue. Cheers in advance.

Yeah - it's there but not obvious.
Only on bright colours.

As I said - for £170 it's a good monitor, but it's not a perfect monitor!
If I'd paid any more I'd be a little upset - but it's fantastic value considering TN panels are around the same price.

And yeah - first thing I did was enable AMA!

 

[rickh]

Here's the worst cause of the 'dark fingers' I've found - twitter!




It's not noticeable on anything other than very light pastel colours or white.

Here's an image of a word document to show you that it's not usually that bad:




This might bother some - but for what you're getting at this price it's allowed to be imperfect (although I wish it wasn't).

 

[rickh]

/nervous bout my delivery now... well should have gone for the samsung :|

I wouldn't be.

Even with the defects I still love it and in sure it will look better than any tn panel. The pictures exaggerate the issues.

The finger effects are barely visible and get less obvious with more brightness.
I didn't even notice the led ripple at the bottom until I saw the picture.

I could buy this and a 120hz monitor for the price of an ips panel and get the best of both worlds.

Just be prepared to play with settings.

 

[rickh]

When shaking the mouse about I saw purple/black outlines from things in Css, but nothing in normal game play. I guess that's ghosting?
The gradient was only really noticeable because of the gradient already on screen not matching up either side of the box, so nothing major.
I think I'd definitely recommend this monitor to anyone
Very impressed!

Can you post a pic of the twitter not found page just like mine?

http://twitter.com/404

Thanks

 

[rickh]

Thanks for the pics.

You think I just got unlucky with my screen and the dark streaks then?

Now I know its there & other people don't have the same thing, it's kind of distracting.

Will the retailer see this as a fault or is this acceptable?
I don't fancy paying for shipping the 10kg box back!

 

[rickh]

I've filled in an RMA request with *buyer.

The dark 'fingers' have either got worse or I'm noticing them in every colour and every application.

Is it worth re-buying?

I really don't want another bad monitor.

 

[rickh]

*buyer just declared the monitor as faulty for the dark fingers and the led ripple.
I've been refunded and am about to get the u2311h on special offer!

The monitor would be great if I was guaranteed a good one, but I really don't have the patience to deal with returns all the time.

 

[rickh]

Get the Dell.

It's an absolute bargain at the moment at 180 (with cashback).
Unless you are feeling lucky..

If you get the bl2400pt without defects then it's a cracking monitor, but I'm not sure its better than the u2311h now it can be had for the same price.