I've been looking for a new WUXGA monitor for the last month, and I've conducted a lot of research. I narrowed down my choice to these monitors: Dell 2405FPW, Samsung 244T, ViewSonic VP2330wb, HP L2335, and Sony SDM-P234/B.I will be using the monitor for coding, illustration, and DVD playback, in that order of importance. Prolonged periods of looking at text must be easy on the eyes. It also has to have natural colors with no casts or artifacts and a reasonable response time.
Two of these monitors are 24" and their panels are made by Samsung, the 2405FPW and the 244T. The others are 23" and their panels are made by LG-Philips.
The Dell 2405FPW was ruled out because, even though it's the cheapest by a big margin, it has a notorious high-pitch squeal problem that Dell doesn't acknowledge or address and people are still getting squealers to this day. This would surely drive me crazy. In addition, I don't like the shiny Dell logo at the front bezel, and the silver plastic stand looks very cheesy. I also heard reports that the brightness is so strong it would fry your eyes, even if you turn it all the way down. It might be good for gaming, but staring at texts for extended periods leaves you with eye fatigue. Dude, you're NOT getting a Dell!
The Samsung 244T is the most expensive of the bunch, and it has the fastest response time. However, since its pixel pitch is 0.27, text doesn't look as crisp as it does on the LG-Philips monitors, which have a pixel pitch of 0.258. Add to this the excessive brightness and an ugly stand that looks like a shovel handle and it's a no go!
The main problem with the HP L2335 is that it's been discontinued by the manufacturer, and that doesn't inspire confidence. The earlier batches of the LG-Philips 23" panels had pink and yellow cast problems, and if you want to buy a monitor that uses these panels, you need to make sure its one of the latest batches. In addition, the stand doesn't have cable management, so the wires droop all over the place. No go!
The Sony looks pretty good, but its scarce reviews on the web aren't encouraging, especially those about units that die after a couple of months and don't get replaced for weeks. Furthermore, I'm not a big fan of sliver/black monitors (like the 2405FPW, L2335, and SDM-P234/B). I prefer either all black or all silver (like the 244T, VP2330wb, and Cinema 23 HD). No go!
The ViewSonic VP2330wb is very close. It looks pretty good, pivots, and has a very good response time. In addition, my current monitor is a ViewSonic VX2000. I had it for more than two years and I'm very satisfied with it. So I was kind of inclined to go again with the same brand. According to a ViewSonic rep, however, it won't launch till February 13. In addition, its predecessor, the VP231wb, didn't have good color reproduction, and I prefer a lighter color bezel because it gives a more natural look, so it's skipped for the Apple.
When it comes to looks, the Apple Cinema HD is Miss Universe of the monitors. It's not just a monitor: it's a piece of art (and I'm not even an Apple fan; I use Windoze). On paper, the specs look fantastic. Small pixel pitch for extra clarity, moderate brightness, good response time (not spectacular, but then again, I'll be using it mostly for development), and according to most reviews, its colors look more natural than all the other LG-Philips-based monitors. It doesn't pivot, but that's a non-issue because I'd rather have more windows side-by-side than a single long window.
However, I had misgivings about the Cinema 23 HD because it has a bad rep from all the negative reports about pink color casts and uneven lighting. It seems that most of these complaints are from the earliest LG-Philips batches. But I wasn't really sure, and I had to take my chances.
The first one I bought didn't have bad pixels or a pink color cast, but it had a severe uneven backlighting defect. In a dim environment with a black background, you can easily see a golden/yellow spot at the upper right corner. It's very annoying and distracting when you watch DVDs in a dark room. And if you change your viewing angle vertically, you can see that blacks shift immediately to faint yellow. So I took it back to the Apple Store and got a brand new replacement.
The replacement was awesome. Uniform backlight, no color casts, not a single dead or stuck pixel, and absolutely gorgeous, clean, sharp, vivid, natural picture.
I really love this monitor, but I had to take one star out because Apple has major quality control problems. Apparently getting a good unit is a hit-and-miss proposition, and if you can lay your hands on one, it's worth every penny.
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Product Description:
Includes: DVI cable, FireWire 400 cable, USB 2.0 cable, and DC power. Apple 23" LCD Cinema Display - This huge 23" computer monitor is perfect for the prosumer and professional alike. Imagine multi-tasking with multiple full-size windows open simultaneously, or editing video with a super-wide timeline! It has a native resolution of 1920x1200, and a contrast ratio 400:1, for stunning quality on either a Mac or a PC.Brightness - 400 cd/m2 Viewing Angle - 170 degrees horizontal / 170 degrees vertical Antiglare Hardcoat Screen Treatment Kensington Security Port User Controls - Display Power, System Sleep, System Wake, Brightness and Display Tilt Connects to a PC or Macintosh via a digital DVI connection
