| #823 - BenQ FP241VW 24" LCD |
|
|
| Written by Rodney Reynolds | ||||||||
| Friday, 11 May 2007 | ||||||||
Page 4 of 6 A closer look: When I first say this monitor I thought to myself, "@#$#, this looks wicked cool!". There's no question that this display has impressive styling or at least I think it does. The design is very bold and sends a very strong first impression. With a silver/brushed aluminum perimeter and black center it will easily blend in with any computer and/or audio/video setup. 
 At the front left are the controls; power, enter/PIP (Picture In Picture), up/down/brightness/contrast, menu/exit, display modes, game mode, input/swap, perfect motion and i key button. Below the controls is an LED; green when powered on, amber when in standby mode. The controls are easy to navigate and very well organized. I really like this design because it looks very sleek, its very functional but not in your face. 
 When the menu button is activated there are many items that can be changed to your personal preference. In the display area there's; Auto Adjustment, Horizontal Position, Vertical Position, Pixel Clock and Phase. In the picture area there's; Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness and Color. In the picture advanced area there's; Picture Mode, Senseye Demo and PerfectMotion. In the PIP (Picture In Picture) area there's; Input, Size, Horizontal Position, Vertical Position, Contrast and Sharpness. In the audio area there's Volume and Mute. And finally in the system area there's; Input, Display, OSD Settings, DDC/CI, Information and Reset All.       I'm impressive that BenQ had the sense to put a sturdy stand on this large display. Most other displays is in size category come with a center stand configuration. This central stand setup in most cases tends to be a little unstable and can wobble. There's nothing worse than a wobbly monitor, it's irritating and hard on your eyes. The stand on this display is reinforced with steel so it's not going to wobble. The only downside to this stand design is that the height can't be adjusted, no swivel option (left/right), or positioned vertically. The display can be tilted back and forth as pictured below (click here for animated gif). With limited movement I initially thought it would be a problem getting this display setup correct. I'm of average height (5'8'), so I can see why I had no issue with it. If you are super tall it might be an issue. Overall I'm very impressed with this stand design. 
 The top-mount monitor shelf not only puts a finishing touch on this display, but it serves a purpose. On the left side a gaming controller or other input devices can be attached. There is also a flip out piece of plastic on the right side for hanging headphones or similar products. PLEASE NOTE Do not try to pickup the display with this top-mount. This top-mount can only support up to 1kg. Also, never place cans of beer, soda, glasses of water or anything else wet near or on top of the shelf.    On the left side of the display is a USB hub with two USB ports and a headphone jack. Having a USB port on a display is so very convenient for connecting flash drives, digital audio players, digital camera, webcam or almost any USB device. USB ports rock!  This display almost look as good from the back as it does from the front. There are ventilation holes at the top to let the heat escape, so don't cover that up. There is BenQ branding in the middle which can be removed to allow for a VESA mount to be installed. 
 The cable connections at the bottom; power, DVI, HDMI, VGA, component video, composite video, s-video and USB connection. 
 At the bottom are rubber feet. These rubber feet are soft so they have excellent anti-vibration properties and won't scratch the surface. I should also mention that while these feet are rubber they are not super soft, so this allows the monitor to be slid over the desk which is excellent for repositioning the monitor. 
|
||||||||
