BenQ FP783
The FP783 looks nice and fuzzy. It would look right in the living room, shared between the parents and lots of kids. It looks like it has clown feet and wavy hair on the side. Our first instinct is to like it. And we are right: It's also a very good monitor. Inside, we found the same panel as in the FP767: an AU Optronics featuring a 12 ms response time.
Actually, as you may remember, there is little difference between 16 ms and 12 ms. However, this 12 ms is arguably better than previous generations, thanks to a sensibly improved color rendering, particularly in the darks. Our take on the FP767 is also applicable to the FP783.
Ergonomics
The screen can be inclined to its front or back, it has a double D-SUB / DVI input... and that's it. No height setting, the power supply is external, no wall-mounting attachment, no S-Video or composite input... This is the bare minimum but, do not forget, this is enough in 99% of the cases. It's just that other monitors have many more features.
Colors
The monitor's contrast is clearly better than average. The colors are stunning. Although the colorimeter showed better results than for most LCDs, these results are still slightly below those of the last BenQ tested. Even after several attempts to correct the settings, the FP783 rendered black less accurately than the FP767. Yet the panel inside both monitors is actually the same.
However, and this time it's a good thing, default settings on the FP783 are smooth. Default brightness is only 128 cd/m², instead of double that (which is too much) for the FP767. Even so, we still had to lower that brightness to get a deeper, more accurate black.
| BenQ FP783 | Default setting | After adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| White | 128 cd/m² | 88 cd/m² |
| Black | 0.52 cd/m² | 0.42 cd/m² |
| Measured contrast | 245 : 1 | 209 : 1 |
Color rendering on the FP783 is better than average. However, the FP767 is superior here with more accurate dark tones.
Interpolation
No change, the monitor's native resolution of 1280 x 1024 is the best for games. Below that, the picture quality decreases too much.
Games
Like the FP767, the FP783 is one of the best monitors tested. Its panel offers very low latency and the colors are stunning. All kind of games can be played without too much strain. Some gamers will not like the slight afterglow in the fastest games, such as in Unreal Tournament, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
Like always, it's a shame that with the fastest response time on paper, the FP783 has a higher latency than monitors built around 20 ms Hydis panels. Let's insist on this once more: response time measures these days are nearly worthless. They are only hints. We can't wait for the ISO standard to be updated...
Movies
The panel has a low enough latency to watch movies without a glitch. An improved rendering of black, wider viewing angles and less visible dithering would, however, have been appreciated.