The BenQ EW2420: Too good to be true?
- Thread starter PCM2
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Well I hope it's a goodun. If they were using it as a display model I would think it would be. I paid about the same for my one brand new and it's a fantastic unit - very, very lucky I know.
I'm upgrading from a 20" Samsung widescreen monitor which uses a TN panel, that monitor cost me £230 when I bought it 4-5 years ago, this BenQ is a 24" monitor using
a VA panel with LED backlighting and it's £70 cheaper than what I paid for the Samsung way back then, just goes to show how much the prices have fallen
a VA panel with LED backlighting and it's £70 cheaper than what I paid for the Samsung way back then, just goes to show how much the prices have fallen
well my BenQ EW2420 arrived, out of the box it doesn't look like anything special, but the first thing that smacked me in the face were the BLACKS, they are truely jet black. Factory settings are way over the top, needed to reduce both brightness & contrast. I downloaded a few 1080p trailers from the Apple website and they looked beautiful, no other word for it. You can't compare this panel to a TN, it's in a different league. As for gaming, can't say yet, need to install Windows 7 on to a new HD, then install my games. In the one hour I have owned this monitor ... I love it!
Your first impressions sound very familiar. I hope it continues to impress you.
This sounds very similar to my DGM PVA panel.
How does this monitor display whites/text?
Also, does your monitor have any (quality control) defects, such as tinting issues, back light bleed or ripples?
The big problem with my DELL U2311H, is that its image quality is washed out. The blacks are grey and the images don't pop out at you, in the same way that my DGM VA panel does.
Also, have you owned any good CRT/LCD monitors in the past or are you comparing it to TN monitors only?
well I only got the monitor a few hours ago, initial impressions are it's a very different experience to any TN panel I've used, primarily because of the way it reproduces black, they really are jet black, and because of this the whites look superwhite, so looking at say my homepage which is set to "Google" which has loads of empty white space, well it just becomes dazzling in a way that hurts my eyes. I've had to reduce the brightness way way down to reach an acceptable level, the factory settings are ridiculously high. What really impresses me about this monitor is viewing HD movies, I downloaded a few 1080p movie trailers which looked really stunning, regarding backlight bleed well it's still light in my room so too early to tell if there's any bleed. As for gaming well I'm afraid I can't give you a definite answer due to the fact that my gfx card is a humble XFX HD4850 1GB and this panel deserves better, but a quick burst of MOH and I didn't notice any ghosting, overall I think it's a great panel for the money and if your coming from a TN panel you will notice a big difference.
Excellent!
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I'm looking to get three monitors (either EW2420 or P2450H) for gaming/internets, if I were to get them from OCUK is there any warranty on blacklight bleed/dead pixels/stuck pixels?
You could test them out individually and can return them for any reason, under DSR, within a week. It complicates your job that you are considering three screens purchased at the same time, though. I would be wary of inter-panel variation as mentioned here.
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Thanks PCM the inter-panel variation is my main concern really. I know the Samsungs will be more consistant but they are end of line really as they were released awhile ago. Kinda stuck between the two really.
Missus bought a vw2420h a couple weeks back and that is pretty much perfect but I'm worried as I'm getting three I'll have a nightmare...
If you do find you struggle to get things the same on all three screens I would certainly advise a 'cheap' colorimeter to try to get things more consistent. You will probably find the colour temperature different on the P2450Hs too but you are less likely to find any major problems like screen ripples and the like. I would go for three EW2420s myself, especially if you like the VW2420H, but I'm a bit of a gambler. 
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Such a thing exists as a "cheap colorimeter"?If you do find you struggle to get things the same on all three screens I would certainly advise a 'cheap' colorimeter to try to get things more consistent. You will probably find the colour temperature different on the P2450Hs too but you are less likely to find any major problems like screen ripples and the like. I would go for three EW2420s myself, especially if you like the VW2420H, but I'm a bit of a gambler.
Hehe. I suppose not, unless you can get one used on the bay or something. You can get a new Pantone Huey which I would recommend for about £80. Problem is you'd need a seperate light meter to make sure the luminance is the same on all three screens (brightness of the backlights will vary somewhat). Actually this might be a good starting point - to set the luminance to the same value using a lux meter and then try to tweak the colour settings through the OSD yourself to see if you can get them looking the same. It's a bit complex I know 
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.It's a bit complex I know
I think this is a very complex method.
My way is the simplest and cheapest method - put your monitors side by side and keep tweaking until your eyes see what they like. Job done.
I didn't need any gadgets to tell me that the DELL lacks the vibrancy of my other monitors.
a note about inter-panel variation - the same could probably be said about most mainstream monitors in the market to be fair. There are good and bad versions of many modern and popular screens and there will always be negative and good experiences with each of them. The Dell U-series all spring to mind along with others like the HP LP2475W, HZ24W. Differences in backlight bleed, uniformity and issues with colour 'tinting' and the like have been reported on these modern screens but affects some screens and not others. dont get to hung up on the differences possible with the EW2420. Yes, something to be wary of given the reports, but nothing really more than some other popular models
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I think it's not the fact these variations exist on pretty much all monitors (which they do), but rather particularly on these BenQ *VA monitors, the probability of getting a unit with defects seems much much higher - if going by user reports.
By the way, the EW2420 that you're getting, is it a random sample (i.e. as if you bought it new as a consumer) or is it a review model that BenQ are shipping around?
By the way, the EW2420 that you're getting, is it a random sample (i.e. as if you bought it new as a consumer) or is it a review model that BenQ are shipping around?
agree there are quite a few end user reports of these issues, although i always take with a pinch of salt as invariably you will hear more of the bad than the good. not sure we've seen a big enough sample of screens purchased to get a full view. i would agree caution is needed, but some would argue the same could easily be said about those other screens i mentioned, even though there are many many happy users out there
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Datalol-jack mentioned he was ordering a large batch of BL2400PT, you could probably gauge how likely you are to get a bad unit depending on what he receives.
Someone on HardForum did bring up the issue of lacklustre quality control on these monitors to a BenQ marketing lady, who in turn has messaged the AUO engineering team to look into the issue. Hopefully this means they'll be a little more strict on checks for future units.