Dell E228

Godsbrother · 6 Jan 2007 at 18:11

Anyone know anything about the new Dell? ie- whens it going to be available etc?

Baddass · 7 Jan 2007 at 00:18

some info about it here. Not sure when it will be available over here, i'd expect it fairly soon though given it's availability in Asia/Pacific

Vertigo · 4 Apr 2007 at 20:50

Sorry for the thread resurrection but I thought it better than starting another.

Anyone got one of these monitors and if so, what's your opinion of it? Doesnt' seem to have been any discussion about it anywhere unless I'm mistaken.

One thing I did notice was that I read the "TN" panel it uses is a "6-bit" one rather than "full 8-bit". Is this true and what does this mean in practice - that it can only display 262k colours!?

Mud · 4 Apr 2007 at 21:05

Vertigo1 said:
Sorry for the thread resurrection but I thought it better than starting another.

Anyone got one of these monitors and if so, what's your opinion of it? Doesnt' seem to have been any discussion about it anywhere unless I'm mistaken.

One thing I did notice was that I read the "TN" panel it uses is a "6-bit" one rather than "full 8-bit". Is this true and what does this mean in practice - that it can only display 262k colours!?

There're lots of 6-bit TN film panels about, and while you're technically correct about the colour count, the other colours are achieved by dithering.

Vertigo · 4 Apr 2007 at 23:58

I'm trying to find some decent reviews of it but coming up blank atm

I'm looking at replacing an old 17" Iiyama with one of these but not if the quality or colour reproduction is going to be inferior.

Logic Zero · 5 Apr 2007 at 21:19

I just received mine yesterday, im no monitor expert but i can say that mine had no dead pixels and looks brilliant! Nice clean, sharp colours, lovely for gaming, no tearing/ghosting etc, slight backlight bleed but not noticable unless you look for it. I love it! Well worth the money!

Vertigo · 5 Apr 2007 at 22:00

Thanks for the info

Looks like I'm about to get a 2407 for myself and an E228 for the gf, going to be an expensive day

Baddass · 6 Apr 2007 at 10:55

Vertigo1 said:
One thing I did notice was that I read the "TN" panel it uses is a "6-bit" one rather than "full 8-bit". Is this true and what does this mean in practice - that it can only display 262k colours!?

There aren't any TRUE 8-bit TN Film panels that I know about, lots of rumours when new models come out, but most are using 6-bit with FRC, or enhanced FRC methods to achieve 16.2 or 16.7 million colours. Modern TN panels can produce 16.7 million colours according to the specs listed nowadays. Without FRC technologies, a 6-bit panel would only be able to produce 262k colours, but there aren't any TN panels without FRC really nowadays

FirebarUK · 6 Apr 2007 at 21:53

I ordered an E228 for £196 today, looking forward to just generally having a bigger screen. I don't watch DVD's on it so the viewing angles dont trouble me, colour reproduction doesnt either tbh.

Vertigo · 6 Apr 2007 at 23:14

Baddass said:
There aren't any TRUE 8-bit TN Film panels that I know about, lots of rumours when new models come out, but most are using 6-bit with FRC, or enhanced FRC methods to achieve 16.2 or 16.7 million colours. Modern TN panels can produce 16.7 million colours according to the specs listed nowadays. Without FRC technologies, a 6-bit panel would only be able to produce 262k colours, but there aren't any TN panels without FRC really nowadays

So, basically, is this a case of "you'd never know the difference". In other words, the monitor will produce virtually any colour it's asked to with no obvious signs of dithering or other adverse effects?

Baddass · 6 Apr 2007 at 23:42

with modern FRC methods you'd be very hard pressed to see any real difference in practice between an 8-bit and 6-bit + FRC panel when it comes to colour reproduction. As long as the FRC algorithms are advanced, you shouldn't see any artefacts from the technology, and most average users wouldn't notice a real difference in colour depth. Colour reproduction can also be excellent from modern TN panels, especially with some calibration. The thing which still seperates the technologies, and the reason why S-IPS is used in colour pro displays, is the viewing angles. You will notice contrast and tone shifts with viewing angle changes, especially vertically. Again, not something which would bother most normal users i would say.