I don't understand that. Could you take a shot of the menu with a camera? Also when and where was your panel manufactured (if it's not too much trouble). The easiest way is probably to check the label at the back for this information.
The BenQ EW2420: Too good to be true?
- Thread starter PCM2
- Start date
Yes I had seen the video. In my post here I stated some specific conditions under which quite severe ghosting can plague a VA panel monitor. Overdrive is the use of high voltage to speed up certain pixel transitions and is used in most modern entertainment monitors to varying extents - it is referred to by BenQ as AMA (Advanced Motion Acceleration). The associated trailing is generally less obtrusive as the traling appears a light blend between the background and foreground colour. 'Black ghosting' is very palpable and very off-putting and it is something that manifests itself frequently on non-overdriven VA panels (such as the F2380) as 'smoke like trails'. The EW2420, however, should rarely suffer from this and I've never seen it to the extent that was seen on the video. It would lead me to believe that the overdrive was somehow 'faulty' on the monitor and that it didn't kick in at all when it should have. I have seen some fairly short 'smoke light trails' in certain conditions but this is explained in the review.
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It is normal for a VA panel. This was explained in my previous post 
. In the video though it looked like a super-seperated trail with several iterations of the mouse cursor at once. Sometimes videos can exagerate things but I judge from the individuals reaction that the trailing was abnormal for an EW2420.
. In the video though it looked like a super-seperated trail with several iterations of the mouse cursor at once. Sometimes videos can exagerate things but I judge from the individuals reaction that the trailing was abnormal for an EW2420.
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ah ok, have to say you are the most dedicated person on these forums I know. You reply any time of the day in like 2 minutes
That's partly because work is a bit slow for me at the start of the new year and I have nothing better to do right now.
That aside I have been informed of something quite topical but also a little mysterious. The BenQ EW2430 - http://www.pcmonitors.org/reviews/benq-ew2420-an-example-of-inter-unit-variability
It uses the same AU Optronics AMVA panel and that seems to be where most of the problems stem from. The new EW2430 and EW2430V hopefully use a revised panel, though.
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I'm sure if you attempted to quantify what you are saying (i.e. by measuring the black depth of your BL2400PT) you would find that your disappointment is not unfounded. The variability in backbleed bleedthrough is a signficant issue for these monitors as much as any other of their size. It is also an issue that plagues higher end monitors from the likes of Dell and HP, too (recent case in point - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18257027&postcount=1). Although the panels in the BL2400PT theoretically allow very good contrast (the EW2420 we tested exceeded the 3000:1 specification) this is unobtainable if the backlight is leaking excessive levels of light through. Such a condition does nullify the main advantage of a panel of this type. It seems that the variability in both panels and the monitors themselves from BenQ's latest batch (this includes the XL2410T as well) is inexcusably bad and one can only hope things improve.
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When and where was your monitor manufactured? It should say on the label at the back if it's not too much trouble.
Mine was manufactured in September 2010. The hunch I have was that BenQ dropped the 'exact gamma values' because there was a lot of variation between panels. Although it would be useful to set exact values (such as 2.2) this variation meant that a lot of monitors had actual gamma values that were some way off what was set. They therefore seem to have simplified the scale from "low" to "high" - unfortunately that means having a play and seeing what works for you. If none of the settings work for you then it may be that the hardware control of gamma on your particular unit is a bit poor and the only way to correct this could be through software. It is possible to use the Windows 7 calibration tool (if you don't own a colorimeter) to adjust the gamma - just bear in mind that games and movie applications tend to use their own settings or misinterpret the ICC profile and it is often better to set things as much as possible on the hardware itself. I'm sorry about that - I hope BenQ get their act together to be honest.
No - it hasn't been released yet. The panel is apparently the same as the EW2420 (possibly a new revision but maybe not even that). I wouldn't expect it to be much different regarding QC.
As I said above. It has NOT been released. Not in the UK. It may have been 'released' to some European retailers, but we live in Britain I'm afraid. As I have also stated numerous times the panel itself is the same as the EW2420 - so there is no reason whatsoever to be overly optimistic that they will have ironed out the QC issues.
References, aside from this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18245389&highlight=ew2420+username_pcm2
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18643369&postcount=3
I am in direct contact with BenQ's 'media people' in the UK about this so I know the score.
References, aside from this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18245389&highlight=ew2420+username_pcm2
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18643369&postcount=3
I am in direct contact with BenQ's 'media people' in the UK about this so I know the score.
And I would be tempted to sell the EW2420 and buy the EW2430 as I prefer the aesthetics of the latter. BenQ's 'media people' are quite adamant that the panel is 'the same' so I don't hold out much hope. It could well be a different revision and maybe some people will be whipped into shape putting it together - who knows? I have been chasing after it for months so as soon as it is available (or shortly thereafter) I hope to review it and compare to the EW2420.
They're supposed to be out this month. Pricing isn't known but the EW2730 is supposed to cost around $350 (probably about £270 for us suckers) and I imagine the EW2430 will be around the £200 mark if not slightly less. I will try to chase up more about these next week.
If a monitor does not live up to your expectation but isn't faulty, and you purchased it online, you have 7 days to contact the reseller and make your disatisfaction known. They are required by law to offer a refund as long as you have taken 'reasonable care' of the product whilst it is in your possession. A brief overview of your rights under DSR (Distance Selling Regulations) which are applicable if you contact the seller within the first week can be found here.
If you attempted to claim it was faulty and they processed it as an RMA then that is a different matter - especially if you contact the reseller outside of the first week. It may be of little consolation to you but the fact is that with something as subjective as a PC monitor there is no substitute for first-hand experience. People shouldn't be put off taking the plunge on a model such as this as a few hours with the monitor trumps days if not weeks of reading mixed opinions. Just be aware of your rights as a consumer - that's why it's always a good idea to come straight to forums like this if you have any problems with a product.
If you attempted to claim it was faulty and they processed it as an RMA then that is a different matter - especially if you contact the reseller outside of the first week. It may be of little consolation to you but the fact is that with something as subjective as a PC monitor there is no substitute for first-hand experience. People shouldn't be put off taking the plunge on a model such as this as a few hours with the monitor trumps days if not weeks of reading mixed opinions. Just be aware of your rights as a consumer - that's why it's always a good idea to come straight to forums like this if you have any problems with a product.
Wow well...
Generally speaking retailers (particularly less reputable ones) don't like consumers knowing their rights. A minority of people will have even heard of Distance Selling Regulations - some retailers are much better than others at making customers aware of this. It sounds as if the retailer was trying to buy some time so that you were comfortably outside any kind of cooling off period. That business ethic is not a good way to attract repeat customers.
Generally speaking retailers (particularly less reputable ones) don't like consumers knowing their rights. A minority of people will have even heard of Distance Selling Regulations - some retailers are much better than others at making customers aware of this. It sounds as if the retailer was trying to buy some time so that you were comfortably outside any kind of cooling off period. That business ethic is not a good way to attract repeat customers.
I'm reviewing the EW2430 right now. So far it seems like a more tightly tuned EW2420 and potential variability aside if you like the EW2420 then you should really like the EW2430. It uses the same panel but the assistive electronics and tweaking are a little different. The construction is excellent given its price and my review sample seems pretty well tuned out of the box - but as with some other BenQ monitors there is a very narrow optimal contrast level range.
Sent by BenQ's PR department but I am confident it hasn't been cherry picked at all. If you remember back to our EW2420 review you will recall that we purchased the unit ourselves from normal retail stock. Performance is essentially very similar to this EW2430 although colour is better balanced by default on our EW2420 and gamma takes a little more correction. Being an experienced reviewer I can tell you that if it isn't the manufacturers who provide the products directly then they are very rarely cherry picked. If they have been well-used previously then they reach you in a more sorry state than they would if you purchased new. I think if you've read our XL2410T review, which was a review sample provided by BenQ's PR department, you will see that picked cherries were not on the menu.
Put it this way. I can't really see any cons compared to the EW2420 and if there is any chance that the QA of the monitors has improved then that is only a good thing. In terms of image quality it is difficult to say without a much larger sample size, but I would predict that you would see more inter-unit variation than you would between the EW2420 and EW2430 specifically. I do think they have set up the gamma a bit better this time (although this could just be coincidental) and there are a few features they have added to the EW2430 which I quite like.
I can't say much more at this stage and there are some subtle differences aside from pure aesthetics that will be covered in the review. What I will say is that the EW2430 doesn't seem inferior in any way to the EW2420 but in some ways seems superior.
Hope to have it finished by the end of this week. If not then early next week. If all EW2430s were this good (unfortunately this may be a little too optimistic) then it would be an easy monitor to recommend for the price. It has even surprised me in a good way when it comes to games testing as the new AMA premium mode seems to make things a little more comfortable on games such as Bad Company 2.... Well, as long as you don't hop on the ATV .
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Since he mentioned that AMA is on, explicitly, I think it is safe to assume he is talking about trailing during motion. Sounds as if it could have been an impulsive or poorly researched purchase - I didn't see one question on here from Barso about monitors before he bought it. Or on my website for that matter.
@ Barso
I hope you didn't get the wrong impression from some of the posts I made regarding the monitor because aside from the responsiveness it was a very pleasing monitor for the money. Whichever way you cut it the EW2420 has some of the lowest pixel response times you'll find on a modern monitor and this should be readily apparent from this thread and reviews of the monitor and other VA panel monitors. You can't always assess how troublesome you will find it without seeing it first hand, I do appreciate that. I am not sure how OcUK will handle a return for a non-faulty product after 3 weeks. Really you should act within the first week and voice your dissatisfaction so you are covered by DSR but I hope you get this resolved.
@ Barso
I hope you didn't get the wrong impression from some of the posts I made regarding the monitor because aside from the responsiveness it was a very pleasing monitor for the money. Whichever way you cut it the EW2420 has some of the lowest pixel response times you'll find on a modern monitor and this should be readily apparent from this thread and reviews of the monitor and other VA panel monitors. You can't always assess how troublesome you will find it without seeing it first hand, I do appreciate that. I am not sure how OcUK will handle a return for a non-faulty product after 3 weeks. Really you should act within the first week and voice your dissatisfaction so you are covered by DSR but I hope you get this resolved.
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If you are looking to spend that kind of money I would strongly suggest waiting for the Dell U2412M which is just around the corner (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18272922). With any luck it should be released to UK retail later this month and the price should settle at a similar point to the ZR24W. Early indications suggest that the contrast is noticeably superior to the ZR24W whilst underlying colour reproduction, viewing angles etc. should be similar. It is also LED backlit making it more efficient, lighter and thinner.
Also to clear up some confusion in your previous post about VA panels (not that it matters as I think you are settling for 16:10 IPS) - even if the panel itself is the same, the driving electronics and the way it is 'set up' can be very different. The BenQ EW2430, for example, is superior to the EW2420 when it comes to default gamma settings and (subjectively speaking) responsiveness. Whether AUO/BenQ's notoriously iffy inter-unit variances have been at least partly ironed out remains to be seen.