BenQ V2400W

CNET editors' review

The BenQ V2400W is the fourth 24-inch LCD we've reviewed this year and the third we'd recommend. The $600 Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP is the priciest of the bunch but offers the most connections and brightest image. The V7 D24W33 is nearly $200 cheaper than the Dell and skimps on features, but not performance, to hit its low price. (The Gateway FHD2400's lackluster performance keeps it off our shortlist.) The BenQ V2400W is similar in price, performance, and features to the V7 D24W33, but boasts a sleeker design and an additional video connection. Only the lack of adjustment options give us pause. You may need to prop the monitor on a phone book to get it at the right height on your desk, but if such an arrangement doesn't bother you, you'll find a lot to like about the sleek and cheap--it lists for $499, but can be found online for as little as $399--BenQ V2400W.

Design
When we took the 24-inch BenQ V2400W out of its box, the first thing that caught our eye was its light gray foot stand. The stand is curved along the top as if it was a small hill. The actual foot stand is 13.3 inches wide and 5.3 inches deep. The neck of the stand is angled forward about 50 degrees and is offset to the right side of the screen by a few inches. By not centering the neck, the video connections are unencumbered and easy to access.

The display's chassis is a smooth glossy black, both around the display on the front and on the back. While piano black is far from an original design choice, the gray foot stand and the OSD button panel that runs below the left side of the display create a pleasing-looking contrast. The bezel is a narrow 0.72 inches wide and the screen itself is impressively only 1 inch thick at its widest point, making the BenQ V2400W the thinnest 24-inch display we've tested.

The screen tilts back about 20 degrees, but it does not rotate left or right, nor does it pivot. There is no screen height adjustment; the bottom of the screen sits about 4 inches off your desk. We're used to our 24-inch displays having more utility, so this lack of movement is somewhat oppressive. As for stability, the display stays upright when it gets knocked from the left or right, but it does wobble when bumped from the front or back.

BenQ forgoes the glossy screen in favor of a matte one, which we think is the better choice because glossy screens can be prone to annoying glare and reflections, while also serving as a magnet for fingerprints.

There is an "always on" blue LED to the right of the OSD panel. Also all of the OSD button's fonts light up with a similar blue LED glow when touched. We wish that there was an option to keep the button lights on at all times, however, because they are difficult to tell apart in a dark room. The buttons are also flat and do not protrude from the display, so it's difficult to tell where one ends and another begins, which, again, can be troublesome in a dark room.

Navigating the OSD menus is simple and has a fairly easy learning curve. Brightness, contrast, and color temperature controls are represented. The brightness and contrast are also hot-keyed to the arrow buttons, so you have immediate access to those functions without having to navigate the menu. There are four preset picture modes--Standard, Movie, Dynamics and Photo. Each preset changes the color temperature slightly to be more appropriate for the task at hand. Overall, we feel the buttons are too sensitive, though, as even just running your hand over them can sometimes yield unintentional results. For example, once I quickly ran my fingers over the buttons and ended up changing the preset mode from Standard to sRGB just like that.

Manufacturer's specs:
Resolution: 1,920x1,200
Pixel-response rate: 5ms (black to white) 2ms (gray to gray)
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1
Brightness: 250cd/m2
Connectivity: HDMI, DVI, VGA
HDCP compliant? Yes
Included video cables? DVI, VGA

Features
To retain the streamlined look of the V2400W, BenQ stuck to the essentials for video connections. You get DVI, VGA, and HDMI only. These three connections should cover most people's needs, however those looking for more connections should check out the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP, which also includes composite, component, and DisplayPort connection.

The 24-inch screen of the BenQ features the standard--for a screen this size--1,920x1,200 resolution. The left side of the screen houses a headphone jack that's well hidden when viewing the display from the front. Being that it's recessed a bit toward the rear, you may actually have to rotate the entire display in order to insert your headphones. This seems to be a sacrifice of ease of use over style.

Performance
The BenQ V2400W held its own on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based tests against the two other 24-inch performance powerhouses, the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP and the V7 D24W33, both of which scored a 90 in our overall performance tests. The BenQ posted a composite score of 89 on our suite DisplayMate benchmarks. Compared with the similarly priced V7, the BenQ virtually matched it in every category but color, where the V7's slightly better color tracking--which tests for a lack of balance in the RGB channel, indicated as a noticeable tint of color when viewing the grayscale--gave it the edge.

The BenQ has the edge in maximum brightness where it yielded a score of 218 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) compared with 190 cd/m2 of the V7. The Dell, however, trumps them both with a max brightness of 452 cd/m2. As for contrast ratio, the BenQ came out on top with a 996:1 score, versus the V7, which only managed a 670:1 and the Dell, which got 891:1. This indicates that although the maximum brightness for the BenQ is low, it can achieve a very dark and deep black.

DVD playback on the BenQ V2400W nearly matched that of the V7, which is the best that we've seen. When watching Kill Bill Vol. 1 we saw great colors and sharpness--the Bride's yellow jumpsuit was vivid yet accurately rendered. We did notice slightly more ghosting than we saw on the V7. Blu-ray Discs looked awesome as always, especially given the BenQ's ability to display deep blacks. The nighttime car chase scene in Swordfish looked great, and the blacks looked dark without losing much detail at all. World of Warcraft was vivid and devoid of any streaking or ghosting as usual.

Find out more about how we test LCD monitors.

Service and support
BenQ backs the V2400W with a three-year parts-and-labor warranty, which also includes support for the backlight. Free phone support (as long as you are under warranty) is provided Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PST, but there is no weekend phone support. The user manual is included on a CD, but BenQ's Web site only has the warranty information available for download.