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Three-Way 22" LED LCD Roundup: Dell, LG, And Samsung

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Calibrated Performance: Brightness And Contrast Ratio

Calibrating a monitor can be thought of as benchmarking under controlled settings. It isn't very meaningful to compare the out-of-box performance of one monitor to another. If you want to know what a monitor is capable of, you need to normalize settings in the same way you benchmark two graphics cards.

All three of our 22" TN-based monitors perform well in white luminance calibration, but black production seems stunted in comparison to some of the larger 23" LCDs. Even with its Black Level setting dialed in to low, the E2241V still has a problem producing deep blacks. This is an issue reflected in the calculated contrast ratios. Each monitor is supposed to be able to produce contrast of at least 1000:1. However, we can't even hit 500:1 with any of our 22" samples.

78 Comments Comment from the forums
  • compton 13 July 2011 11:21
    I've put a Jihad out on TN panels. There are so many decent, cheap e-IPS panels out there. At their worst, eIPS screens are better than TN, and at their best comparable to much more expensive IPS units. There isn't really a reason to consider TNs anymore. It's bad enough that every laptop has a TN (except for a few 12" Lenovos), but why rape your precious eyeballs with a terrible TN on your desk? With that said, I look forward to monitor reviews, and this is a pretty good one.
    Reply
  • acku 13 July 2011 11:34
    Point taken. The key is finding those good IPS panels. There are good IPS monitors and there are bad ones. In the same way, there are good and bad TNs.

    I mean if we're breaking down everything down to tech...
    VA are great at black
    IPS are probably the best at color accuracy
    IPS better at color shift resistance, but you get light bleed at angles.
    TNs better than IPS for motion blur, IPS better than VA for motion blur
    VA and IPS both suffer a bit from flashlighting and clouding effects
    TNs don't have great color, but offer decent middle ground
    TNs are dirt cheap
    TNs generally have lower lags

    Big generalization here. The point is that nothing is perfect. If it was, there would be little point to advance technologies. In the end, you pick your imperfection.

    Cheers,
    Andrew Ku
    TomsHardware.com
    Reply
  • Gamer-girl 13 July 2011 11:35
    How about 24"+ 1920x1200 monitors?
    Reply
  • acku 13 July 2011 11:40
    9516998 said:
    How about 24"+ 1920x1200 monitors?

    I can do that. For whatever reason, I don't see that many 1920x1200 monitors. Most of the time I see 1920x1080.

    Is there a particular reason that you prefer 1920x1200?

    Cheers,
    Andrew Ku
    TomsHardware.com
    Reply
  • clownbaby 13 July 2011 11:54
    +1 on 1920x1200 monitors.

    "Is there a particular reason that you prefer 1920x1200?"
    The extra desktop space really helps in my design workflow and adds quite a bit of space over 2 or 3 monitors.

    Reply
  • soccerdocks 13 July 2011 11:57
    ackuI can do that. For whatever reason, I don't see that many 1920x1200 monitors. Most of the time I see 1920x1080.Is there a particular reason that you prefer 1920x1200?Cheers,Andrew KuTomsHardware.com
    I would also be interested in seeing some 1920x1200 monitors. The reason I prefer that resolution is I find that having that extra vertical space is very useful for productivity software, especially word documents. However, for gaming the resolution really doesn't matter to me.
    Reply
  • acku 13 July 2011 12:34
    9517001 said:
    I would also be interested in seeing some 1920x1200 monitors. The reason I prefer that resolution is I find that having that extra vertical space is very useful for productivity software, especially word documents. However, for gaming the resolution really doesn't matter to me.
    Any specific monitors? The list is pretty short on 1920x1200.
    Reply
  • 13 July 2011 12:41
    I agree with the above comments. I loath the 16:9 aspect ratio, and would really like to see some coverage of 4:3 or 16:10 monitors, which (IMO) are much more useful for doing work.
    Reply
  • ksampanna 13 July 2011 12:49
    How about an eyefinity/surround test with a range of TN, IPS monitors across a range of budgets? I know this is pretty huge, but you are toms, so you should be able to easily pull it off.
    Reply
  • Gamer-girl 13 July 2011 12:53
    The dell ultrasharp 24 inch mainly
    Reply