Dell Ultrasharp U2412M
An affordable alternative to the daily
drudgery of TN technology. Please tell us it’s not too much to ask for, surely.
Finally, mercifully it’s becoming a reality. For proof, look no further than
Dell’s new UltraSharp U2412M.
At $440, it would be awfully pricey for a
TN 24-inch, but it’s still a lot cheaper than your typical premium IPS and PVA
panel, which tend to slot [n at around $640 to $960. And yet what we have here
is a bona fide, card-carrying IPS panel. Okay, it’s e-IPS, the prefix
indicating a new generation of lower-cost IPS screens, but it’s IPS all the
same. Cue much rejoicing.
Glance at the spec sheet and you’ll
discover that Dell has addressed another of our panel pecadillos. The U2412M
sports a 1,920 x 1,200 pixel grid, and, therefore, a 16:10 aspect ratio. That
might not sound like a big difference from the 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution
that’s become dominant in recent years — as after all, how much difference can
those extra 120 vertical pixels really make? As it happens, plenty. The wider
16:9 aspect is all very well for HD video, but even then it only suits HDTV.
Feature films are almost always wider still, thereby nullifying the one
advantage of 16:9 panels — the absence of letterboxing, or black bars above and
below video content.
Not the crushing victory, we
expected. Even with e-IPS, the U2412M lacks punch
Dull From Dell
For everything else, we’re not convinced
16.9 is an advantage. In games, it’s probably zero sum. The increased pixel
count does put a marginally greater load on your GPU. But you also get a bit
more space for menus and status bars.
If all that wasn’t enough, Dell has also
panted up a proper stand with full height, tilt, swivel and rotate
adjustability. Do the maths and the conclusion appears to be that Dell has
delivered us everything we’ve been asking from them. It’s game over for all its
competition, then?
Not so fast. The U2412M doesn’t quite pull
off the crushing victory we were expecting. For starters, the chassis isn’t
just plain, it looks and feels plain cheap. We’d happily overlook that in
return for immaculate image quality. But that’s not exactly what you get. The
first problem is the anti-glare coating. Like a lot of IPS panels, it’s a
little too sparkly. Overall, the panel also lacks punch and vibrancy. It’s
better than a typical TN screen, but thanks to the progress made with TN tech
in recent years, save for viewing angles, the gap is marginal. Compared to the
majesty of Samsungs new PLS panel (reviewed p20), it’s all a bit underwhelming.
Not that the Samsung is even close on price. But what has been seen cannot be
unseen.
Vital Statistics
Price $440
Supplier
www.dell.co.uk
Size
24-inch
Panel type
IPS
Native resolution 1,920 x 1,200
Pixel response 8ms
Viewing angle 178/178° H/V
Inputs DV,
DisplayPort, VGA
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LG DM2350D
ATV screen that does the lot— that’s the
plan for the new LG DM23500 Cinema 3D Monitor TV. It’s a full HD PC monitor,
it’s also a digital TV with an integrated DVB tuner and IR remote, but the LG’s
real party piece is that it throws stereoscopic 3D into the mix. What’s more,
it all comes in a compact package that does a half decent impression of a
miniature high-end HDTV. If you’re short on space and want style, you could do
an awful lot worse.
As a monitor for a desktop or portable PC,
the LG is pretty much par for the course. It’s a 23-inch panel with a full-HD
1,920 x 1.080 pixel grid. At this price point — and bearing in mind the
built-in tuner and 3D support — it’s no surprise to find that the underlying
technology is TN. That said, LG’s latest effort is one of the better TN panels
that we’ve seen.
Part of the explanation is the use of an
LED backlight. The result is richer, more saturated colours than you get with a
TN panel powered by an old school CCFL lamp. Like most TN screens, pixel
response is excellent, too, making this screen a great choice for keen garners.
A full HD PC monitor, digital TV and
3D monitor — all rolled into one
Squeeze box
Still, there’s no escaping the LG’s
fundamental TN qualities. If you want broad viewing angles and accurate colours
for video editing, you’d better look elsewhere. The final PC-specific and 2D
image associated issue involves video inputs. For the most part, these are well
catered for with a pair of HDMI ports, VGA, SCART and component. However, DVI
and DisplayPort are preferable for PCs.
But what about the TV functions? LG has
squeezed a digital TV tuner into the slim and slinky chassis, and also bundled
an IR remote. The result is mostly indistinguishable from a small flat-panel TV
— with one exception. Only standard definition DVBC and DVBT broadcasts are
supported. You can watch Freeview HD in its full lO8Op glory, but only with an
external box connected by HDMI. But what about the 3D? The tech in question is
passive, polarised and orthogonal. That means polarised glasses (two pairs
provided) rather than active shutter glasses. The orthogonal bit matters
because it makes the screen more sensitive to viewing angles. LG has gone with the
TriDef platform for gaming. This is the solution AMD uses for its graphics
cards, but it also works with Nvidia cards too, so game compatibility is broad.
However, it’s hard to find the viewing
sweet spot, in terms of distance and elevation. The overall sense of depth and,
well, 3Driess isn’t as dramatic as we’ve seen courtesy of the best
active-shutter screens. Both observed resolution and brightness also take a hit
in 3D mode. There’s a price to be paid for flicking the 3D switch.
Vital
Statistics
Price $377.6
Supplier http://uk.asus.com
Size 23-inch
Panel type PS
Native
resolution 1,920 x1,080
Pixel
response 5ms
Viewing angle 170 /160° H/V
Inputs 2x HDMI, VGA
