Extraordinary LCD Monitors in 2009

In this review I will try to make a brief overview of interesting LCD monitors announced during 2009 (maybe at the end of 2008, for finding fault with the wording). Most models are available on the Russian market.

I first began to study this question when I chose a high-quality home monitor. The process was described in some detail here . At that time, I stopped at the 24-inch Dell 2408-WFP, because there was no 22-inch non-TN matrix in Russia then, and the smaller diagonal did not suit. Subsequently, the situation improved slightly, as I also wrote here .

Well, before you finish with the background and go to the point, I will make 2 more reservations. First, it will be almost exclusively about matrices other than TN, because I personally believe that comfortable editing photos and watching videos at arbitrary angles on TN monitors are far from ideal . And the second disclaimer, which, unfortunately, constantly has to do on Habré: I apologize if in the text you will find links to the personal blog of the author. If the link is present, then it carries an informational, rather than an advertising character - I don’t have much to advertise, because A blog exists only as a hobby.
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So, to the point.

Despite the already established dominance of TN matrices on all diagonals, the “alternative” solutions on VA and IPS continue to emerge with enviable consistency. And this year even more than in the past. Interestingly, new, cheaper to manufacture, varieties of these matrices began to appear. But first things first.

Nec



NEC, famous for the high-quality monitors of the UXi series, which have always been known for their super high price, released two new models of the professional series: 24-inch LCD2490WUXi2 on the IPS-matrix, and the more expensive LCD2490W2-BK-SV , which comes bundled with a calibrator (on photo above). Brief details can be found here , more detailed reviews probably already exist, so I will not dwell on the details. At the time of the news release, both monitors were worth some kind of nightmarish money, but punching on price.ru today shows that 2490WUXi2 is sold in Russia at a price of 32 thousand rubles, which is more than inexpensive for the professional NEC series.



Another “revelation” from NEC was the MultiSync EA231Wmi .

15 thousand rubles , 23 inches and IPS-panel - it would seem incompatible phenomena. In addition, the monitor has speakers and is able to adjust the brightness depending on the lighting. I would not like to find some kind of trick. Prior to this, NEC's IPS-series were synonymous with an unavailable price. I haven’t searched for reviews yet, maybe they aren’t there yet. If you know the minuses - write in the comments.



And finally , the unique 19-inch new - MultiSync EA190M .

The fact that the monitor can rotate immediately produces a non-TN matrix, because it will be almost impossible to work on a TN in a vertical orientation. Monitor only 19 inches. For such a diagonal, non-TN is now quite exotic. I would even say that this is the only monitor produced (correct, if not). In this and uniqueness. But the prices for it are not at all pleasing to us. On price.ru I managed to find only one offer for ... 22 thousand rubles. More expensive than a 24-inch Dell! But I think this is a shortage problem, because on bizrate.com these 22,000 are safely converted into 270 dollars. So it must, apparently, just wait. Well, or order "from there."

Hewlett packard



Also a professional 24-inch monitor on IPS released HP: DreamColor LP2480zx . Not entirely new, since it appeared in the winter. The price in Russia is frightening - 72 thousand rubles. Judging by the review , the quality should justify the price. But it is necessary to look at such monitors live.

EIZO

I’ll say right away that for some reason the presence of this company in the monitor market in Russia is limited: I didn’t manage to break through some of the new products on price.ru. Nevertheless, I will list them all to complete the picture.



First , it is a 23-inch model of the FlexScan EV2333W-H . Price from 26 thousand, almost no offers. Compared to the above monster from HP, this is pretty cheap. Matrix VA. Reviews in google :)



The second novelty of this company is the 22-inch model FlexScan S2242W . For some reason it is more expensive, I did not find it at all in Russia.



Third, 24-inch: FlexScan SX2462W - from here . Even more expensive and also not in Russia.



And the fourth is the Flexscan S2433W-H . Nothing outstanding , except for the name of the manufacturer - the same fashionable energy-saving technologies, DisplayPort, coverage of 96% RGB, which is not very much. And the declared price of 700 euros is not small. True, I think the quality of the price matches.

Dell



Dell periodically makes very interesting monitors. In 2009, this is, firstly, UltraSharp 2209WA .

The monitor is based on the new e-IPS matrix, which was also released in 2009. 23 inches is non-standard for IPS diagonal size. I have been looking for a long time to distinguish this matrix from the classic types of IPS (S-IPS, H-IPS). I met all sorts of guesses . The best description found, as usual, on Wikipedia : " A result of which it can be reduced to a certain degree ." Those. unfortunately, there were no compromises - the luminescence in the corners, and the color gamut are not the best, and not everything is fine with the contrast. But the price of $ 370 for 22 inches (from us, from 15,000 rubles) comes close to good TN, and this is already a very big achievement. In any case, it is worth reading this review on prad.de.

I have already mentioned that Dell monitors in Russia are not very common due to the strange pricing policy of the company: when importing to us a large margin occurs (according to Oleg Artamonov from the F-Center). Therefore, if you saw a Dell monitor on sale at an affordable price, then there is some possibility that this is a “gray” delivery, and theoretically there might be problems with the warranty. But this is only an assumption. On Habré there is a story about buying 2209WA at ebay.de auction and sending it to Russia. Written in great detail, so if you're interested, I advise you to read.



This year, Dell released another very curious monitor. I mean the model U2410 . I have a 2408-WFP at home, which I am very pleased with. However, the new product is even cheaper, despite the fact that it has an IPS-matrix installed. The crisis seems to be paying off!

On iXBT he had already been vigorously discussed . I haven’t had time to go into details yet, so welcome to the forum. And a review on the Austrian CNET. Of the visible differences from the 2408-WFP - the absence of a card reader and a more massive stand.

Samsung



Well, Samsung, as usual, did not stand aside and announced two models on the new cPVA matrix: 20-inch F2080 and 23-inch F2380 . This is a cheaper * VA variety. See what they can do in this review at the F-Center. Oleg Artamonov is traditionally incorruptible and tried not to miss the minuses, at the same time mentioning all the advantages of these models. In general, his opinion is rather positive. Given the price (about 15 thousand rubles for 2380), these monitors can generally be called very successful. Let me remind you that I did not test them myself, so I can only trust the author’s experience.

Mitsubishi



And finally, the Mitsubishi Viseo MDT243WG . A good set of connectors, ergonomic appearance, sure that the quality is unlikely to be bad. Decent price - $ 745. That's just to try it too, most likely, in Russia, few will succeed - I could not find any offers.

So, with the novelties of the non-TN camp finished.

Now two monitors with interesting 23-inch non-standard resolution matrices of 2048 x 1152: Samsung 2343BWX and Dell SP 2309W .





Since this is still TN, prices are quite affordable, especially Samsung. The statement on DisplayBlog about the need for a resolution of 2048 points made me laugh: “ 2048 is double 1024. And 1024 is the width that most websites use. Browser windows open, 2048 is perfect! ". It is not clear, where is Web 2.0?

And finally, an excellent selection of tips on how to eliminate broken pixels in LCD-monitors. Perhaps not everyone knows that there are special programs that can “revive” the monitor. The principle of operation is based on the quick on / off points, which can bring a dead pixel out of a coma state. If the procedure fails, the mechanical recovery methods are listed below. In general, one can hope that someone in this way will revive his monitor.

This is what I have noted since the beginning of 2009, reading news feeds and following articles from well-known online publications. As you can see, I didn’t do a deep analysis of the new products, but I hope that this review will save time for someone to search. I want to choose a good monitor that does not disappoint.