| Review: Two new 22-in. LCDs offer great views |
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Two new displays from Envision and Lenovo offer good-quality video for desktops that can't handle larger monitors.
January 09, 2008 (Computerworld) -- Let's be honest: We'd all like to wake up one morning and find a monster display on our desks. However, assuming you can find one that's affordable, your desk may simply refuse to cooperate -- it just won't expand (or clean off) enough to allow you to stick 28-plus inches of flat-panel LCD in the space once occupied by a 17-in. display. But what if you could find yourself with capable 1,680-by-1,050- or even 1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolutions -- in just 22 inches of space? That's what Envision and Lenovo Group Ltd. are offering with their E218c1 and ThinkVision L220x Wide LCDs, respectively. At $500, Lenovo's ThinkVision L220x Wide display doesn't qualify as a budget item, but it represents amazingly accurate visual technology and carries a host of ergonomic features to custom-tune it to your desktop environment. Envision's E218c1 ($330) is a more of the run-of-the-mill consumer monitor, but it's augmented with integrated camera, speakers, and a microphone. Although both are HD-compatible, neither has an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port. As a result, if you want to use these displays for HD output, you'll need to either have an HD tuner or DVD player installed with your PC, or find an HDMI-to-DVI conversion cable to attach an external HD device to the monitor. I tested the metrics of both of these displays using DisplayMate Technologies Corp.'s DisplayMate software. I also put in hours of ad hoc testing using DVDs, live television and games. Envision E218c1 Envision's E218c1 22-in. LCD monitor is really a multimedia display in every sense of the word -- it offers integrated speakers, a microphone and a webcam. Even at 16.5 lb., the monitor is well balanced enough and has a rigid enough pedestal to allow you to easily flip it over to install the cables. The display offers a variety of connections for Video Graphics Array (D-sub), Digital Visual Interface (compliant with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), audio, headphones and an external microphone. There is also a three-port Universal Serial Bus hub. The camera and microphone need to be connected to your computer via a USB connection; the display's swivel and height adjustment let you aim the camera. Although Envison provides a hard-copy owner's manual, you probably won't need it. The front-mounted on-screen display (OSD) buttons are labeled clearly, and the functions are logical. The only real setup involved (beyond physically making the connections) is for the included microphone/camera application, which offers a small on-screen display showing you what the camera sees, and a Record button to start the process. There are also adjustments available for resolution, brightness and contrast. I had no complaints about the built-in echo-canceling microphone -- it captured my voice with as little distortion as could be expected. The webcam is a different matter -- the E218c1 offers only a 1.3-megapixel camera, which is rather meager considering that even cell phones are starting to offer 5 megapixels and better. As a result, the output can be described as something from the low end of the YouTube barrel. You can get an honest 30 frames per second (fps) out of it, but that drops precipitously as you increase the image resolution. The display has a native 1,680-by-1,050-pixel resolution. According to many high-definition purists, who demand a minimum resolution of 1,920 by 1,200, that should remove it from the HD arena. Envision disagrees and states that the monitor is 720p/1080i-compatible. I found that graphics were generally fine, but overall contrast (at a 700-to-1 contrast ratio) and brightness (at 300 cd/m2) were not as good as with Lenovo's more expensive display. Colors rendered well, but again, they were not as vivid as I found with Lenovo's display. The only real problem I found, based on the DisplayMate series of tests, was a loss of detail at the lower boundaries of gray and the upper regions of white. It's a just a bit more severe than I'd prefer for a consumer-grade monitor, but not serious enough to be a deal-breaker. That said, when I popped a standard-definition DVD of the film 300 into my DVD drive, the picture was amazing. Color, brightness, contrast -- they were all spot-on and well displayed. In other words, while the graphics quality was just good, video was superb. Switching to the SD television tuner produced equally acceptable results. Obviously, if you're digitally restoring the Mona Lisa, you might want to look beyond Envision's E218c1 for a better -- and more expensive -- option. But if you're upgrading for size and want some basic video instant messaging or teleconferencing all in one package with a surprisingly reasonable price tag, then you'd be hard-pressed to top the E218c1 for value. Lenovo L220x Wide Everyone associates Lenovo with the ThinkPad series of laptops. Some even know that it has a ThinkCentre line of desktop systems. But not many people seem to be aware of its ThinkVision monitors. That's a shame -- if the L220x Wide is any example, the company should be better known. The out-of-box experience for the L220x Wide was surprising. While I've needed to tweak the color, brightness and contrast of most displays I've tested in order to get them where I want them to be, this one required no adjustments whatsoever. Setup was a cinch: Windows Vista and my HD2400 GT graphics card recognized the L220x Wide immediately and gave me a host of possible resolution settings when asked. The OSD buttons are front-mounted and labeled with colorful icons so you won't mistake their functions. DisplayMate loved the L220x Wide. There were no stuck pixels, color was deep and rich, detail in white areas was fine -- except for the whitest regions, but even there, it was no worse than you'll find at the consumer level. The L220x Wide produced distinct gray levels all the way down to the darkest level of the scale. Most consumer monitors will give up some detail at these extreme visual regions. The official numbers are 325cd/m2 brightness and 1,200-1 contrast ratio, both excellent. There was no blooming, no blur -- in fact, nothing to complain about after ad hoc testing on the Internet and with graphics, gaming, live TV and DVD playback. The native resolution for this 22-in. display is 1,920 by 1,200, which is the ideal resolution for 1080p "true HD" video. However, there's a catch. Along with four USB ports, Lenovo only provides D-sub and DVI connectors for analog and digital signals (respectively). A spare HDMI input would be appreciated for external HD devices -- it's the only thing that detracts from an otherwise superb product. None of that affects the computer usability of the L220x Wide. In fact, it's probably one of the most versatile monitors you're likely to run across. It tilts and swivels and has a height adjustment as well. It also pivots for portrait and landscape modes. Although achieving the rotated view is sometimes dependent on the level of graphics card you're using, Lenovo supplies the software that should do the job if your equipment is up to it. What may give you pause, however, is the $500 price. There are other -- and larger -- HD-level monitors available for that price, such as HannsG's HG281DPB 28-in. (27.5-in. viewable) LCD. However, if you're looking for a really high-quality 22-in. display, the L220x Wide will give you something great to look at all of the time. Ref: Computerworld.com, Jan 9, 2008 |
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