HP w2408 today

SpriteAlpha · 15 Nov 2010 at 20:41

More a question of interest this. I have an HP w2408 24" 1920x1200 monitor. I've had the monitor for around 3 years now, and I was just wondering what the 24" monitor market is like these days. If anyone is familiar with my monitor, how does it compare to today's top offerings?

95thrifles · 15 Nov 2010 at 21:44

Its prob on a par with the raft of 24" TN panels at the £170 mark, if you want significantly better youd have to look at one of the 120Hz (available around the £250) or an IPS panel which would be around £340 upwards

PCM2 · 15 Nov 2010 at 22:25

In many respects the EW2420 or similar will offer significantly better image quality for around £160. As 95thrifles has stated though if you're considering a 24 incher that is significantly better all-round then you'll be looking at £340 for the HP ZR24w or upwards for something even more special. If you want something super-responsive then something like the XL2410T might be worth a look. Full review to come shortly.

SpriteAlpha · 15 Nov 2010 at 22:53

Wow, I'm pleased to hear there are noticably superior options out there (though I doubt my wallet is

). Response times seem fine with what I have, but I'm looking forward to a review of that BenQ monitor in any case. After doing a bit of reading, the ZR24w certainly looks appealing, and the Dell u2410 even more so. I might invest in one of those in a couple of months.
Ideally, a great monitor which is 120hz would be available. I don't care much for 3D, but 120hz would certainly be nice. One day it will happen

Teq · 15 Nov 2010 at 23:09

I nearly had kittens when someone said it was on par with a £160 panel until I realised I have an LP2475w :-P

If you live near a decent hardware shop go and have a look around, forums are a good place for ideas but you can't beat seeing a unit in action but obviously when you are ready just come back here and buy it

A friend of mine swears by 120hz for his gaming even though he hates the 3D fad so it might be an option but from what I've seen the panels on offer at this speed lack other features that I value.

SpriteAlpha · 15 Nov 2010 at 23:21

Yeah, there's a trade-off either way for me. My current monitor has a wide colour gamut (92% I think). That's something I'm not sure I could give up with a new monitor. I like my colours

Teq · 15 Nov 2010 at 23:26

Indeed, colours are something that early LCDs lacked and now we have them why would we ever go back? I do like these new LED backlit jobbies but I've not seen a decent model in the realms of affordability just yet, I'm thinking of holding off for at least 18 months before I look again. Are you thinking of buying a newer model or just dipping a toe?

SpriteAlpha · 15 Nov 2010 at 23:36

It was a serious consideration, but it's becoming more obvious now that it's worth holding out. In 12-18 months time, maybe there'll be high-quality 120hz monitors out. My current monitor is decent enough to last me that long. If I really didn't like it, then that would be a different situation.

PCM2 · 16 Nov 2010 at 08:31

SpriteAlpha said:
It was a serious consideration, but it's becoming more obvious now that it's worth holding out. In 12-18 months time, maybe there'll be high-quality 120hz monitors out. My current monitor is decent enough to last me that long. If I really didn't like it, then that would be a different situation.

Without a drastic change in technology I don't think we'll see any IPS/VA or alternative LCD types (other than TN) offering 120Hz+ refresh rates. I am quite well versed in what we should expect over the coming years and depending on how much you're willing to pay you may want to hold out for an alternative technology (such as OLED). The reason why all 120Hz monitors thus far have been TN-panel based is not only due to cost, but also due to responsiveness. There is really no point in having a 120Hz monitor if the best response time you can hope to achieve is 6ms grey-to-grey in the very best case scenario

. You would need a consistent resonse < 8.3ms for 120Hz to be offer the smoothness you require in 2D or 3D.

OLED will be great because you're looking at response times of 0.01-0.1ms (no grey to grey acceleration required, either) and potential refresh rates that are not at all limited by responsiveness (up to 100KHz). You also get fantastic colour gamuts which are not governed by any backlight and colours which are not dulled by a filter. Static contrast ratios of 1000:1 will also be a thing of the past and we'll start seeing those huge 'dynamic contrast' numbers turned into 'static contrast' ratios for some really excellent distinctions and deep blacks. That will be the next real leap, we've done about as much as we can with LCD at the moment.

crackerbear · 16 Nov 2010 at 09:00

The only problem with OLED is the longevity, or different longevity I should say, of each of the RGB. The blue subpixel loses brightness faster than the red or green due to having a shorter lifespan, which subsequently means colour uniformity also changes over time.

If and when they fix that, as well as prices actually becoming affordable, it's probably one of the few things that makes me sit back and think "we're living in the future" - totally sci-fi stuff

PCM2 · 16 Nov 2010 at 09:46

Actually with the kind of life spans they're working with now that won't be a problem. The useful life of the monitor will be beyond that of most LCDs anyway - they aren't spending billions researching and developing for nothing of course. If you check the OLED monitor article there is a section labelled 'where are we now' that looks at this a bit. I am confident that things can move even further forwards, though. There is also a link to some keynotes from the most recent large conference where such things were discussed, SID 2010. LG are preparing to put this technology into 'proper use' next year when they launch some rather tasty premium TVs but I'm not sure what the blue sub-pixel or indeed useful lifetime of those screens will be. Given the price they probably won't be tempting too many people.

crackerbear · 16 Nov 2010 at 10:29

PCM2 said:
If you check the OLED monitor article there is a section labelled 'where are we now' that looks at this a bit.

Just had a look through it, great article, a very good read. I noticed you said pretty much exactly what I posted above

It's only a matter of time before the big companies can iron out the (minor) flaws, especially as you say, given the amount of money they're pouring into R&D.

Have you actually seen OLED screens first hand at all? I think I saw you say you're trying or going to get a LG OLED to test, but I just wondered if you've already seen them at demo shows already.

PCM2 · 16 Nov 2010 at 10:51

An excellent question. This is actually one of the reasons I'm personally very excited about them. Earlier this year I took a trip to Hong Kong which was actually more a trip for pleasure than business. I do happen to have contacts that work for the rather large Samsung research facility based there so it would have been a waste not to pay them a visit. They were preparing various prototypes and pre-production screens and devices of all types for some Asian expo at the time and this, perhaps unsurprisingly, included various types of OLED screen. Most of them were designed for mobile devices or were showing off nifty things like transparent OLED which isn't of so much interest to me - but there were a few 20"+ screens designed for use in TVs and IT products. Even from the brief glimpses I was shown of the windows desktop, some HD movie trailers and some odd game (perhaps Final Fantasy or something - it was just running as soon as he switched one of the screens on) it was clear that this was something really different. The colours just seemed so very lively with the most incredible shade distinctions I have seen. I couldn't interact with the things they were playing so couldn't gauge input lag or anything, but the responsiveness seemed just perfect.

I do wish I could have taken one away with me (haha... wishful thinking) or at least had more time to test them myself, but I'm sure I will get this opportunity in the near future. LG are still trying to acquire some OLED screens or an OLED screen for me to test but this seems to be taking its time. It is also just a 15" screen which is significantly smaller than the Samsung ones I saw in HK. As I'm sure you can appreciate it can be difficult to get a proper feel for things on such a small screen but I will still relish the opportunity.

crackerbear · 16 Nov 2010 at 11:02

Well I've only seen OLEDs on what's out there on Youtube and the like, but it just seems almost incomprehensible what the technology does and could potentially bring.

Even if you get an OLED sample from LG that's only 15", I'm pretty sure it'll be the best damn 15" of screen you'll have ever seen

I presume it'll be similar to this one that FlatPanelsHD reviewed? The measured results are so insane that it's just comical, Black Level 0,00 cd/m2 & Contrast ratio Infinite.

(Apologies for the thread derailment SpriteAlpha)

Teq · 16 Nov 2010 at 13:22

I am holding out for OLED on my TV screens, the LED backlit screens do look quite tasty though so I may grab a monitor before those technologies become affordable. It is pretty amazing how far things have come since my first 18" LCD screen (costing in excess of £800) was considered bleeding edge.

PCM2 · 16 Nov 2010 at 14:14

crackerbear said:
Well I've only seen OLEDs on what's out there on Youtube and the like, but it just seems almost incomprehensible what the technology does and could potentially bring.

Even if you get an OLED sample from LG that's only 15", I'm pretty sure it'll be the best damn 15" of screen you'll have ever seen

I presume it'll be similar to this one that FlatPanelsHD reviewed? The measured results are so insane that it's just comical, Black Level 0,00 cd/m2 & Contrast ratio Infinite.

(Apologies for the thread derailment SpriteAlpha)

Indeed - I think the panel will be very similar to that one (if not identical). It's gonna make doing my usual contrast tests almost pointless as my light meter isn't going to be able to read anything from the black levels. I suppose that in itself is a wow factor.

Teq said:
I am holding out for OLED on my TV screens, the LED backlit screens do look quite tasty though so I may grab a monitor before those technologies become affordable. It is pretty amazing how far things have come since my first 18" LCD screen (costing in excess of £800) was considered bleeding edge.

Absolutely. And now 'bleeding edge' is something we don't want to have associated with monitors... Oh wait, that's 'edge bleeding'.

Mr Fujisawa · 18 Nov 2010 at 10:19

I saw the sony OLED tv at a sony center. It really did look amazing, such rich vibrant colours, bright, dark, definitely the way forward.

I use the monitor in sig, play TF2 at 120hz, 120fps, it's a much nicer gaming experience. I do enjoy 3D though, batman AA is an excellent game to play in 3D, though the 120hz 60hz per eye isnt ideal. Having tried one of the sony ones, i was amazed how much nicer it was, such high refresh per eye i couldnt see flicker despite still being active shutter.