LG Electronics Flatron L1920P

CNET editors' review

LG's Flatron L1920P is a stylish monitor, but other higher-end LCDs, such as the Planar PX191, offer superior image quality, and less expensive 19-inch LCDs, including the Dell 1901FP and the NEC AccuSync LCD9V, offer features comparable to those found on the Flatron L1920P.

The image-adjustment controls are the Flatron L1920P's best feature; we found it easy to optimize the picture. Two buttons provide quick access to the monitor's LightView presets. Six preconfigured modes are optimized for working with text, watching movies, and viewing photos in both daylight and darker environments. The presets are useful, if a little bright, and with a flick or two of the monitor's controls, we arrived at a nicely optimized image. The Flatron L1920P's easy-to-use adjustment menus let you access brightness and contrast simultaneously (a rare and useful feature) and offer other adjustments to brightness, contrast, and color temperature, plus positioning and phase lock for analog connections.

The silvery Flatron L1920P is good-looking and generally well designed. Its black bezel runs a bit more than an inch along the top and the sides and about two inches along the bottom; the sill between the screen and the bezel is prone to collecting larger bits of detritus. The Flatron L1920P forgoes ergonomic bells and whistles, and the somewhat gaudy chrome stand allows the screen to tilt only a few degrees forward and 20 degrees backward; the panel cannot rotate to Portrait mode, nor can the display swivel. On the plus side, the monitor is compatible with VESA wall-mounts or arm-mounts. Behind the detachable back panel, there are two USB ports where you can plug in peripherals, such as a keyboard or a digital camera, as well as a nice cable-feed system that keeps cords neat.

The Flatron L1920P, with a native resolution of 1,280x1,024 (standard among 19-inch LCDs), didn't ace CNET Labs' DisplayMate test suite, but its overall performance was acceptable. The picture looked fairly sharp, the backlighting was decent, and the contrast between darker colors looked better than on less expensive 19-inchers, such as Princeton's LCD19D. Still, we noticed problems in the darker end of the grayscale (dark grays turned to black), and we saw significant noise as well as streaking and ghosting with games and DVDs--annoying but not terrible flaws.

LG backs the L1920P with a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and the backlight. The toll-free tech-support line is manned 24/7, and you'll find manual and driver downloads, FAQs, and tech-support e-mail available at LG's Web site.