Soldato
BenQ G2420HDBL (LED Backlit) or BenQ G2420HD
- Thread starter Xplo
- Start date
Received my LED model from OCUK a week ago, unfortunately I paid the expensive price rather than the £150. I Bought it to go along side my old LG L204WT 21":
It's a very nice monitor & I much prefer the 16:9 ratio to the 16:10 the LG has.
I'm not sure how much better the LED is over the lamp lit version, the black level isn't that much better than the lg's (non-led lcd). The contrast ratio number quoted is only when dynamic contrast ratio (when the screen dims its light on black scenes of a film or game and turns up the light when there are bright scenes) is turned on so just ignore it. The main contrast ratio number to worry about is the normal contrast ratio - which is quoted at 1000:1 on these monitors (both the LED and non-led). - benq website This implies that the LED monitor offers no advantage over the non led monitor in the black-to-white ratio on a given image.
Don't forget that this is an edge lit LED and not a 'proper' backlit LED monitor - local dimming is NOT possible with this monitor so the contrast ratio that LED's are usually associated with is not to be found in this monitor. What I mean here is that in an image of a night sky, a full LED backlit screen would be able to turn the backlight off on the black areas of the sky and keep the lights lit for the stars - allowing for very good contrast ratio.
BenQ (&others) tried to get around the issue that this implementation of LED doesn't offer much better contrast ratios by offering a dynamic contrast option. This allows them to measure the light output from the monitor with a black screen (the backlights turned completely off) and then with a white screen (backlights turned completely on). This is a useless statistic since the real contrast ratio we are concerned about is when measured with the SAME IMAGE on screen - that is, how bright the sky is and how dark the shadow is - the statistic for this monitor is 1000:1 as mentioned in this post).
As much as I hate the idea of 'Dynamic contrast', it's actually okay on the benq.
I would usually ignore the function and accept it as a function purely to doctor the contrast ratio figures. The LED light output reacts fast to the scene changes in a film and it's the only implementation of dynamic contrast that I would consider using. For example, on the lg monitor the dynamic contrast function takes a long time to change between scenes (e.g. the scene changes from black to white in 1 second, but the lamp takes 3 seconds to go from dim to bright) making the light transition too distracting to be useful. I think that the LED's play a part here so if you intend on using dynamic contrast I would consider the LED version.
Standard settings are the only settings I would consider using for normal usage since the others (senseye) such as movie, game or photo reduce the spectrum of colours available quite substantially - this can be seen on a color picker such as colorpicker.com or on photoshop. I adjusted the gamma levels for video via the nvidia control panel (boosting the gamma to 1.3) and reduced the desktop gamma to around 0.9. This means that movies are no longer too dark and the desktop is properly gamma calibrated.
I have seen both the LED and the non LED verison of this monitor side by side (my friend bought the non-led version at the same time). There are no remarkable differences between the two, but the power saving and other advantages of LED's in general made me buy this verison.
Overall, an excellent monitor & a definate improvement in image quality over the LG L204WT (which was reviewed very highly at the time of its release).
It's a very nice monitor & I much prefer the 16:9 ratio to the 16:10 the LG has.
I'm not sure how much better the LED is over the lamp lit version, the black level isn't that much better than the lg's (non-led lcd). The contrast ratio number quoted is only when dynamic contrast ratio (when the screen dims its light on black scenes of a film or game and turns up the light when there are bright scenes) is turned on so just ignore it. The main contrast ratio number to worry about is the normal contrast ratio - which is quoted at 1000:1 on these monitors (both the LED and non-led). - benq website This implies that the LED monitor offers no advantage over the non led monitor in the black-to-white ratio on a given image.
Don't forget that this is an edge lit LED and not a 'proper' backlit LED monitor - local dimming is NOT possible with this monitor so the contrast ratio that LED's are usually associated with is not to be found in this monitor. What I mean here is that in an image of a night sky, a full LED backlit screen would be able to turn the backlight off on the black areas of the sky and keep the lights lit for the stars - allowing for very good contrast ratio.
BenQ (&others) tried to get around the issue that this implementation of LED doesn't offer much better contrast ratios by offering a dynamic contrast option. This allows them to measure the light output from the monitor with a black screen (the backlights turned completely off) and then with a white screen (backlights turned completely on). This is a useless statistic since the real contrast ratio we are concerned about is when measured with the SAME IMAGE on screen - that is, how bright the sky is and how dark the shadow is - the statistic for this monitor is 1000:1 as mentioned in this post).
As much as I hate the idea of 'Dynamic contrast', it's actually okay on the benq.
I would usually ignore the function and accept it as a function purely to doctor the contrast ratio figures. The LED light output reacts fast to the scene changes in a film and it's the only implementation of dynamic contrast that I would consider using. For example, on the lg monitor the dynamic contrast function takes a long time to change between scenes (e.g. the scene changes from black to white in 1 second, but the lamp takes 3 seconds to go from dim to bright) making the light transition too distracting to be useful. I think that the LED's play a part here so if you intend on using dynamic contrast I would consider the LED version.
Standard settings are the only settings I would consider using for normal usage since the others (senseye) such as movie, game or photo reduce the spectrum of colours available quite substantially - this can be seen on a color picker such as colorpicker.com or on photoshop. I adjusted the gamma levels for video via the nvidia control panel (boosting the gamma to 1.3) and reduced the desktop gamma to around 0.9. This means that movies are no longer too dark and the desktop is properly gamma calibrated.
I have seen both the LED and the non LED verison of this monitor side by side (my friend bought the non-led version at the same time). There are no remarkable differences between the two, but the power saving and other advantages of LED's in general made me buy this verison.
Overall, an excellent monitor & a definate improvement in image quality over the LG L204WT (which was reviewed very highly at the time of its release).
Last edited:
Associate
- Joined
- 26 Oct 2009
- Posts
- 107
Was going to get one of these but they're no longer £150
In stock at a competitor for £147, though could always email ocuk see if they will price match and when they are getting more stock....
Ordered LED version a while ago from here. I really like this monitor. Have played both my PS3 and my Xbox 360 on it (need to buy cables for the wii) and it plays perfectly (Although I think the VGA input is a bit fuzzy @ 1080p). Ships way too bright though, was wondering why I was getting so much eyestain, but I've lowered it to half brightness and it feels good. Am so happy I didn't get the 22inch version! 1080p at 22 inches I don't think I would be able to read text without zooming. Is HDCP capable, which was my major worry. Doesn't have 1:1 picture mode but scales depending on aspect ratio. Unfortunately it seems to have some bugs so you can do 720*1080 fine but not 1920*540 (scales when shouldn't). Still totally worth it if you just play shooters (Have MW2 and BF:BC2) and don't do professional editing. A good buy at £150, not sure how much it goes for now.
Associate
my monitors died and i need a new one ASAP, im looking at this one you guys are talking about but OC website says pre order
Should be the middle of this week, i orderd mine two weeks ago and there just waiting for delivery of stock
I bought this monitor about week ago. It is a great value for money but I'm still a bit disappointed. I can't get rid of washed out colors and brown greys. Greys are brown particularly in the range of around 50-130 RGB. Other than that they look fine. Has anyone noticed this with their monitor?
Soldato
My led version has some discolourment (if thats a word 
) round the screen bezel, BenQ will do an onsite exchange, does anyone know will it be a refurb or brand new, and how is my current warranty affected?
Thanks
) round the screen bezel, BenQ will do an onsite exchange, does anyone know will it be a refurb or brand new, and how is my current warranty affected?Thanks
Soldato
ahhh lolzor dont say stuff like that
i need one to replace my dead samsung 204bw(correct name?) 22"
edit: question, is there a slightly more expensive alternative to this benQ?
Feel free to read the Samsung XL2370 review on my website (can click my signature link or click on my name for the homepage link). This could be just what you are looking for. I can't say exactly how it compares to the BenQ as I haven't used it, but I will be reviewing the BenQ V920 shortly which uses similar panel tech.
Hmm yeah, I think I am getting hung up too much on HDMI. I will at this present moment in time purely be using it for the PC, connected via DVI-D with my gfx card.
I do not actually own any HDMI devices presently so the need for a HDMI port is not necessary, I am just fretting about 'future proofing', and the thought that one day I *might* buy a PS3. Also from as far as I can tell I do not need HDCP compliance for solely pc use (somebody correct me if I am wrong?) and finally the AMA is a small technology I could probably live without, it just prevents so much ghosting as far as I can tell, but with 2/5ms this is not so much a problem anyway.
Hmmmm I think im selling the LED backlit monitor to myself, but argh I am still not sure
You could use an HDFury cable to get an HDMI connection if you wanted to use a PS3 without an HDMI monitor. That's what I've done, although I will get HDMI when I upgrade...
Associate
I got mine today from another online retailer, really pleased i orderd this monitor, going from a 17" acer this benq just blows it away
Soldato
I have a noob question. If I connect my PC to BenQ2420HDBL using HDMI to DVI-D cable, does this mean I won't be able to hear the sound via monitor speakers ?
If the price is the same, I strongly suggest u take the LED backlit one coz it is power-saving and can last for longer time compared to the LCD screen
Soldato
Getting mine tomorrow. Quite exciting should be a lot better than my current ViewSonic VP191s. 