BenQ VW2420H Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on December 10, 2011 2:45 AM ESTBenQ VW2420H Design and Interface
The BenQ VW2420H is a very simple design, but one without much adjustment available either. Your inputs are limited to HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub, with an audio input for the integrated speakers. There is no USB port for a hub or DisplayPort here. It does feature a tilt adjust with the stand, but there is no height adjustment or swivel, and there are no VESA mounting holes to allow for a stand with more adjustment range either.
Compared to a similarly non-adjustable TN panel that was just in, the BenQ was much easier to use since the edges of the panel would not wash out and discolor when looking at it from normal desktop distances. The lack of any adjustments other than tilt is something to pay attention to if you need those for your workspace. The audio input is potentially useful if you're not passing audio over HDMI and wish to use the integrated speakers, but the sound from the speakers is weak and tinny—just what you'd expect from small speakers in a monitor—but it will get the job done in a pinch. Adding a headphone output to the display would have been nice to make better use of the audio input/HDMI support.
| BenQ VW2420H | |
| Video Inputs | D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI |
| Panel Type | A-MVA |
| Pixel Pitch | 0.276 mm |
| Colors | 16.7 million |
| Brightness | 250 nits |
| Contrast Ratio | 3,000:1 |
| Response Time | 25ms, 8ms (GtG) |
| Viewable Size | 24" |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Viewing Angle | 178 horizontal/178 vertical |
| Backlight | LED Edge-lit |
| Power Consumption (operation) | 40W |
| Power Consumption (standby) | < 1W |
| Screen Treatment | |
| Height-Adjustable | No |
| Tilt | -5 - 15 degrees |
| Pivot | No |
| Swivel | No |
| VESA Wall Mounting | No |
| Dimensions w/ Base (WxHxD) | 22.85" x 17.08" x 7.42" |
| Weight | 8.6 lbs. |
| Additional Features | Headphone Jack |
| Limited Warranty | USA 1 Year |
| Accessories | D-Sub, HDMI Cables |
| Price | $330.00 |
This time BenQ has moved the controls for the OSD from the side of the monitor to the bottom of the display, which I found to be easier to work with. The change in orientation felt more natural for navigating the OSD, though I’m certain plenty of people had no issue using the previous setup either. The main issue is having both tabs horizontally across the top, and then a vertical menu selection. Instead of moving the buttons around, either designing the menus to be all vertically or horizontally oriented would make the UI easier to use.
The menu system has all the options that you likely need to set up the display. I used the User color mode since it allows for a custom color control. If you are setting up your display and plan on calibrating it, you should always use this control to calibrate the 100% white point to be as close to your target (typically D65) as possible. That gives the hardware LUTs the maximum flexibility to calibrate the display correctly.
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blueeyesm - Saturday, December 10, 2011 - link
"When initially hooked up and set to 200 nits of light output, the average dE of the BenQ is in the single digits, which unfortunately is very good for a consumer class LCD monitor."I think you may have meant "is not very good..."
Ryan Smith - Saturday, December 10, 2011 - link
Close. That was supposed to be "high single digits". Which actually is fairly good for a consumer LCD. It's only the professional LCDs that have good-to-decent accuracy out of the box.Samus - Saturday, December 10, 2011 - link
the last benq monitor i bought had an external power supply that failed twice before i finally ebay'd the monitor. as a credit to benq (a company with traditionally bad rap for support) they did replace the power supply both times, the second time being out of warranty! but the power supply ran super hot, and the monitor drew 160 watts from the wall when measured with a kill-a-watt.hopefully they've changed 'wall-wart' manufactures.
Rolphus - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I've found BenQ's support to be excellent. I have an XL2410T that had a manufacturing defect (really bad light bleed on the right hand side), and getting it swapped out was extremely easy. I've also got a BenQ FP241W I use for work, and that has been very reliable, and with excellent picture quality.Neither of them use wall-warts for power: perhaps it's a component supply issue.
cheinonen - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I will go clear that up, but yes, for a consumer display straight out of the box, anything below double digits is unfortunately considered to be good. The consumer video realm is finally getting to where displays and projectors have modes that are reasonably (dE < 5) accurate out of the box, so hopefully PC displays will get there as well.joelypolly - Saturday, December 10, 2011 - link
Lack of VESA mounts means that even though this is a pretty nice monitor it means that I won't be buying itMakaveli - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
"The main negatives for the BenQ in my book are the total lack of adjustments beyond tilt, which you can’t remedy with a different stand due to the lack of VESA mounting holes, and the OSD interface."Ditto for me also this would be a no buy just for this fact.
Goodjob Benq thanks for coming out.
psychobriggsy - Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - link
I've had this monitor for over a year now. Maybe it has just hit the US? I paid around £170 a year ago.It's extremely thin - which the review doesn't mention - and it uses a wall wart because of this.
It's a shame they didn't built the power supply and signal inputs into the base, as that would have been very tidy, instead cables hang out the back of the monitor (like any other) which rather lets down the point of creating a 'stylist monitor' in the first place, and losing VESA mounts, etc.
The picture quality is very good, for a consumer monitor, and far better than TN monitors in my opinion. Of course for serious gaming the TN monitors do have the fastest response times and the 3D options.
Torrijos - Saturday, December 10, 2011 - link
Black shiny edges are horrible for me...They reflect the light fixture directly into your eyes, incredibly annoying, I had to put tape on my last screen avoid the strain.
When are manufacturers going to understand buyers don't care about shiny just about functionality.
toyota - Saturday, December 10, 2011 - link
yeah bright shiny bezels are asinine for a monitor because they reflect everything around you. even the screen gets reflected on the inside edges of the bezel and that drives me nuts when playing a game or a movie.