I don't think you can get a better 22" monitor for the price (or even a lot more). After checking Consumer Reports and numerous other reviews, I bought the ViewSonic from Tiger Direct via Amazon to replace a 22" Samsung LCD monitor that was only six months old, but already showed fading brightness and contrast, and had developed large gray patches where black should be displayed. It arrived promptly, in perfect condition, and setting it up couldn't have been simpler on my XP computer -- totally Plug and Play, not "plug and pray."
The OSD (on-screen menu) is straightforward and very easy to access with buttons on the lower right front of the frame. No hidden OSD buttons on the side or bottom of the frame that are nearly impossible to find and use, which seems to be a style over function design "feature" of so many other monitors. On the negative side, and the only thing about the monitor that is pretty much worthless, are the speakers. The sound they emit is tinny and barely audible. If you want sound, use the real computer speakers that you probably already have.
Most important of all, the picture quality is absolutely top notch. The OSD lets you choose between five different display modes, each with different brightness, contrast and color rendering characteristics to match the environment where you're using the monitor and the kind of work you're doing. This is a terrific feature. I do a lot of serious photo editing, and there's an sRGB mode designed specifically for that. It displays my photos perfectly -- showing true, accurate colors throughout the spectrum, and complete, well-delineated fine gray scale gradations. You can fine tune the monitor's color temperature using the OSD calibration, but you probably won't need to.
The ViewSonic is also pretty smart. It determines the aspect ratio of the signal it's receiving (regular or wide screen) and formats the input accordingly. That's a really nice feature that avoids the annoying stretched text and graphics you get with some wide screen monitors when they display narrow-format applications. The viewing angle range is very good, too, better than most LCD monitors.
Frankly, I'm not a "Go Green" person, so that part of the ViewSonic sales pitch is lost on me. I couldn't care less about a couple of kilowatt hours a year among friends, and I'll leave it to somebody else to save the Earth. Regardless of what technology it uses (LCD, LED or whatever), what I want from an HD computer monitor is excellent sharpness, true-to-life color rendition, uniform brightness, and good contrast no matter what application I'm using or what website I'm visiting.
Doing some rather intricate photo editing over the last several days on this ViewSonic monitor reinforces the emphatic two thumbs up that I gave it from the time I began using it over a month ago. Excellent product, great price -- definitely a Best Buy.
| Standing screen display size | 21.5 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Graphics Coprocessor | No Information |
