Philips' E-Line 237E3QPHSU is a 23in Full HD IPS display
with white LED backlighting, two HDMI inputs and a two-year collect-and-return
warranty. It’s very energy-efficient, drawing only 30W in use and less than
0.5W in standby mode. The downside is that the backlight could use more power
because it's far too dim. This caused a lot of problems when trying to adjust
the controls to get the best image quality.
The 237E3QPHSU has a set of touch- sensitive buttons under
the screen that act as shortcuts for image presets, as well as displaying the
main image settings menu. It isn’t clear where you should put your finger to
activate a button because they’re incredibly insensitive.
This is incredibly frustrating. For example, the main menu
button takes you to the Power Sensor control, but if you accidentally tap it
twice you risk changing the setting. Thankfully, Philips also has a Windows
utility, which duplicates the controls and adds a wizard and a
color-calibrating utility.
Overall, image quality is much better than you'll find on
the average TN panel, with far deeper colors and better viewing angles, but we
expected more from an IPS panel. Its dim backlight is partly to blame, but
black levels are also poor and the screen's matt finish means colors are dulled
slightly. Night-time scenes at the start of Crysis weren't convincingly dark,
and the game also highlighted the slow response time, with ghosting evident.
The 237E3QPHSU’s translucent plastic bezel is a bit tacky,
but the thin stand and glossy black rear casing are classier. There's no VESA
mount on the rear, so it can’t be wall-mounted, and no speakers. Instead,
there's a 3.5mm HDMI audio pass-through to attach headphones.
Philips E-line
237E3QPHSU ports
Although color reproduction is better than most budget TN
panels, we were disappointed by the 237E3QPHSU's dim backlight. The controls
are a pain and the panel can't be wall mounted. It may give you IPS technology
for under $180, but when compared with ViewSonic's VX2336S-LED it doesn’t look
such good value as initial impressions suggest.
Technical data
Price: $167 i
Verdict: It seems a bargain, but its dim backlight, fiddly
touch-sensitive controls and lack of VESA mount mean the 237E3QPHSU isn't
good value
23in widescreen LCD: 1920x1080 native resolution, VGA,
HDMI inputs, 2x HDMI
Details: www.philips.com
|
