X-bit labs

20" LCD Monitors Roundup. Part V (page 6)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 12/21/2007 | 10:53 PM ]

The monitor’s default brightness and contrast are 77% and 50%, respectively. These values correspond to the Standard mode in the preset mode list. I achieved a 100nit white by choosing 35% brightness and 28% contrast. You should not increase the contrast setting above 50% as leads it a loss of light halftones. The brightness is regulated by backlight modulation at a frequency of 240Hz.

Color gradients are reproduced correctly without banding.

The monitor’s color gamut is close to the standard sRGB color space and is no different from the color gamuts of the above-discussed monitors from Acer as well as of many other modern LCD monitors.

The brightness uniformity is 6.7% on average and 20.0% at the maximum on white. On black, it is 6.2% on average and 17.5% at the maximum. It is good there are no single bright spots on a black background. It is bad that the white background becomes much darker towards the corners of the screen.

The gamma curves are normal at the default settings. Running lower than the theoretical curve, they are close to each other and are shaped neatly.

The curves nearly merge into one at the reduced brightness and contrast although still lying below the theoretical curve and producing a higher-contrast image that it should be.

Lacking an RTC mechanism, the X202WBD cannot be fast. Its response time average is 12.7 milliseconds GtG according to my test.

The color temperature is set up very accurately. There is no more than 500K of difference between the temperatures of different grays in any of the modes, which is an excellent result for this class of monitors. I would specifically note the Cool mode. In most monitors cold-temperature modes are set up sloppily and produce a bluish gray, but this Cool mode is an example of accuracy.

The maximum brightness is somewhat higher than average for today’s monitors. The contrast ratio is good but breaks no records. Modern TN matrixes often have a contrast ratio higher than 400:1.

Like the two previous models the X202WBD has four preset modes you can switch between quickly – much more quickly than if you use the monitor’s onscreen menu. The following table shows what parameter values the monitor has in each of those modes.

To my surprise (after the two previous monitors), none of the modes provokes any distortions in color reproduction – the gamma curves retained their shape in each mode. That’s good, of course. What is not good, the Text mode is too bright and suits rather for viewing photos or for games and movies under mild ambient lighting, but not for working with text.

Thus, the Acer X202WBD is a good monitor for home or office (for the boss rather than for a regular worker, I guess). It boasts an appealing exterior design, a good setup of color reproduction, and a rather uniform backlight. Its main drawback is the slow matrix without response time compensation. If you need a monitor for playing dynamic games, you should better consider other products but the X202WBD is going to be good for all other applications (except for such areas as photo-editing where all TN matrixes are not good due to their poor viewing angles).

Highs:

• Nice exterior design
• Good color reproduction setup

Lows:

• Slow matrix
• Rather irregular backlight on white

Recommended usage:

• Text-based applications (documents, spreadsheets, Internet)
• Viewing and simple editing of photographs
• Movies and games that don’t require a fast matrix