I chose this monitor to use with my Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop because of its features: LED backlight, built-in speakers and USB hub. The only accessory needed is a mini display port to DVI adapter. (The Kanex iAdapt DVI works great). Upon unboxing this monitor, you will not find anything on the product or in the (basically useless) manual that says it is using LED backlight technology. In fact it looks pretty much like a typical LCD monitor. But, when hooking it up and turning it on, it is clear that it is using LED backlighting given the excellent contrast and black levels it is able to produce. One other thing to note is that this monitor has a matte screen, which has the advantage of eliminating background reflections, but some may find it less pleasing to look at than a high-gloss screen.The USB hub works perfectly. I have hooked up an Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard MB110LL/A and Logitech Corded Mouse (M500) to the USB hub and there are absolutely no issues thus far.
Out of the box monitor produces a picture with excellent resolution and detail. The colors it produces are excellent as well. It also works very well with movies, especially when watching high quality DVDs. The sound quality is suitable for teleconferencing, but not for serious music.
The default display profile for the Acer B243HL can be selected from the "Displays" settings from MacBook Pro's "System Preferences" screen. Additional calibration was necessary from the MacBook Pro's "Displays" settings as well as the Acer's on screen menu to make the colors, contrast, brightness and gamma match my MacBook Pro. (If you are interested, the following are my settings on the Acer's on-screen menu: Contrast: 80, Brightness: 64, ACM: Off, Red: 64, Green: 54, Blue: 68). I found the Acer's primary green has a slight yellow tinge in comparison to the MacBook Pro's primary green - which is why the additional color calibration on the Acer's on-screen menu was necessary.
While I am very pleased with my purchase, in my opinion this monitor is more suited for office use than for photography or studio use, in which case the Apple LED Cinema Display 24-Inch MB382LL/A would certainly be a better choice.
For anyone considering purchasing this monitor, here are my comparative ratings, on a scale of 1 to 10, of the Acer B243HL and the Apple LED Cinema Display.
Build Quality
Acer: 8Apple: 10(While the Acer's build quality is good, Apple's is excellent).
Features
Acer: 7 Apple: 10 (The Apple includes a microphone, webcam and a MagSafe power adapter for the MacBook)
Aesthetics
Acer: 6 Apple: 9 (Acer's all black look is drab in comparison's to Apple's eye candy)
Ergonomics
Acer: 10 Apple: 6 (Acer has Apple beat here, since it has swivel, tilt and height adjustments)
Screen Resolution:
Acer: 9 Apple: 10 (Apple has 1200 lines versus 1080 on the Acer)
Screen Quality:
Acer: 8 Apple: 10 (Apple's high-gloss display is both smoother and slightly sharper than the Acer)
Picture Quality:
Acer: 8 Apple: 10 (Very slight dithering artefacts are present in the Acer in comparison to the Apple)
Color Quality:
Acer: 8 Apple: 10 (Apple's skin tones look slightly more natural).
Sound quality:
Acer: 5 Apple: 7 (The sound quality on the Acer is fine for Skype or videoconferencing, but definitely not for music).
All said and done, despite the overwhelming superiority of the Apple LED Cinema Display over the Acer, there are no obvious deficiencies in the Acer that would keep me from recommending it. Remember that the Apple LED Cinema Display costs three times as much as the Acer B243HL. If you main need is for work or every day use - document editing, software development, browsing the internet or basic photography - this monitor is a very good choice.
If you are looking for a studio quality monitor for serious photography or movie-editing, consider spending the additional money on the Apple 24" LED Cinema Display instead.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Acer B243HLbmdrz Black 24" 5ms Widescreen 1920x1080 LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/ Built-in Speakers
Product Description:
Wide LCD 1920 X 1200, 5MS, 160/160, 2 X 1.5W, VGA, DVI(HDCP), 8,000,000:1 Contrast Ratio, 4 USB
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