Three-Way 23" LED LCD Roundup: Dell, HP, And Samsung

Out-Of-Box Performance: Brightness And Contrast Ratio

Right out of the box, Dell's SR2320L offers some very deep blacks, but it's stunted by poor white luminance. Samsung's PX2370 has the opposite problem: high white and high black luminance. In comparison, HP's 2311x takes the middle ground.

The brightness of white and black tones does not tell the full story of a monitor. It's only one part of a larger picture. Luminance can have an effect on how you perceive color, but it's indirect. It can help the display achieve brighter colors, but it often comes at the cost of contrast if a monitor has a poor color palette.

All three monitors default to a slightly cool temperature. This is to be expected. On the showroom floor, shoppers tend to favor images in blue tones. But remember, this is only an indication of out-of-box performance.

If you want a balanced image, you'll need to calibrate the display to 6500 K. Most DVDs, digital cameras, and online video content are calibrated for a 6500 K white point, because this represents the spectrum you would see in overcast daylight.

  • jimslaid2
    Ummmm LG! How Could you have left out LG?
    Reply
  • taso11
    I think you mean DVI-D not DVD-D on your front page chart.
    Reply
  • pirateboy
    hey where did my comment go?

    anyway...
    please review 16:10 monitors next time
    Reply
  • sleeper52
    where's the NEC EA231wmi or EA232WMI? that's around $300 as well and it's an IPS
    Reply
  • aznshinobi
    Hmmm.... Could've added an LG, I love my LG W2286L
    Reply
  • Eggrenade
    Input lag!!

    http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/response_time.php
    Reply
  • fstrthnu
    I'd actually rather see a 24 & 25.5" monitor shootout, they tend to be the higher-end displays of the brands (like Dell's super-duper Ultrasharp U2410).
    Reply
  • Assmar
    A certain retailer has the samsung monitor listed for 280 with free shipping. If you don't live in CA, that's tax free, i'm pretty sure.
    Reply
  • sleeper52
    fstrthnuI'd actually rather see a 24 & 25.5" monitor shootout, they tend to be the higher-end displays of the brands (like Dell's super-duper Ultrasharp U2410).
    +1 I'd like to see that. HP LP2475w (rev 2.0) vs Dell U2410 (rev 2.0) vs ASUS PA246Q
    Reply
  • LuckyDucky7
    Why would you bother buying one of these monitors when you can get an IPS one for the same price?

    How about reviewing something like the ASUS ML239H and give us a useful review, rather than going over which one of these junk TN panels is the best? 100% sRGB is useless if you can't see it unless you're straight inline with the screen (any sometimes not even then).

    KTHXBAI
    Reply