BenQ BL2710PT Review: 2560x1440 Matte AHVA (AUO's Version of IPS/PLS)

=DEAD= thinks every monitor has mediocre color presets :D and his unit had much lower contrast (600:1) when not using the User Mode+User Color Temperature settings. Interesting that he now recommends the VP2770 over the rest (aside from the Eizo EV2736W), guess he read about the U2713HM's quality control+revision issues.

I noticed this as well

=DEAD= said:
"If you deviate to a couple dozen degrees (in the vertical, in the horizontal plane), the change in the refraction of light at once show you the very structure of "toilet paper" or a "dirty rag."
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I wouldn't classify it as an issue though.
 
Hi

I need to buy a new monitor, and I don't know what to take, except I want a 27 2560x1440

I currently have a dell 2408 wfp. I really enjoy VA displays. I don't play at all, Watch a lot of movies, and need good colors for image editing (but don't need adobe rgb absolutely)

Is this AHVA display similar to other VA's ? Is the black really black ?

I had an older IPS (dell 2007wfp, IPS) and the black was awfull

For my use, would this benq be better than the viewsonic ? of the Samsung S27B971D

Thank you
 
snakesnake said:
For my use, would this benq be better than the viewsonic ? of the Samsung S27B971D
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Both will have much better colors than the Dell 2408 (S-PVA panel) but neither will have as deep blacks as the 2408, especially if you keep the brightness cranked.

The BenQ has slightly better color accuracy out of the box for photo editing (Standard Mode + Gamma 2 Setting) than the Viewsonic but slightly worse black levels. Fortunately one can set the BL2710PT to the User Mode and Select the User Color Temperature setting which provides equally as deep blacks as the Viewsonic.

Both models black levels are much better than the 2007's blacks and their blacks basically as deep as they get for a non VA panel. Have you considered the Eizo EV2736W? It costs 200$ more than the BenQ & Viewsonic but it may have almost no glow (click for example+link to =DEAD='s EV2736W Review).
 
NCX said:
Both will have much better colors than the Dell 2408 (S-PVA panel) but neither will have as deep blacks as the 2408, especially if you keep the brightness cranked.

The BenQ has slightly better color accuracy out of the box for photo editing (Standard Mode + Gamma 2 Setting) than the Viewsonic but slightly worse black levels. Fortunately one can set the BL2710PT to the User Mode and Select the User Color Temperature setting which provides equally as deep blacks as the Viewsonic.

Both models black levels are much better than the 2007's blacks and their blacks basically as deep as they get for a non VA panel. Have you considered the Eizo EV2736W? It costs 200$ more than the BenQ & Viewsonic but it may have almost no glow (click for example+link to =DEAD='s EV2736W Review).
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Thanks for your suggestion, it seems indeed this eizo would be a good choice
 
@NCX: I'm trying to understand why the BL2710PT apparently has 100% sRGB coverage in standard mode, but only 81.6% in user mode, as per your review. I'm obviously missing something here, but if the monitor is capable of 100% coverage, why would it be artificially limited in user mode? (Obviously the user could turn the levels down, but I don't see why user mode wouldn't offer the potential for the same coverage as standard.)
 
81.6%=Absolute sRGB Color Space coverage which is calculated by Gamutvision which cuts off values outside of the sRGB gamut. Absolute=% of the <insert color space> displayed in color managed programs. The User mode has trouble with calibration, though I can not explain why since such knowledge far exceeds my grasp. I believe it has something to do with all of the colors inability to be adjusted linearly together, so, some colors remain untouched after calibration. Sailor_Moon (Denis Freund from PRAD) can likely explain the issue.

Compare the Delta E Values

Standard:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97364704@N08/11043788136/sizes/o/in/photostream/

User:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97364704@N08/11043819014/sizes/o/in/photostream/

This issue is only problematic for those needing to do color critical work in color managed programs...but they could switch to the Standard Mode. The BL2710PT's native gamut is very accurate (compare the BenQ's gamut to the Glossy Qnix), in fact it is superior to most of the 1440p displays I've tested.
 
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Thanks for the response. To make sure I understand, the standard mode does have 100% absolute sRGB coverage, right? That's my understanding from this screenshot:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/images/benq_bl2710pt/default_gamma_mode2.jpg
From here: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_bl2710pt.htm

In user mode, would the 81% coverage be noticeable at all in day to day use (in web browsing with Firefox for instance, which is color managed)? Presumably it would mean that some colors intended to be very saturated would be muted somewhat? Is the difference just not great enough to be an issue?

BTW: After very briefly trying a U3014 (three of them actually), I wholeheartedly agree with you that 27" is the better option. It feels natural to sit slightly closer to the 27, in which case the size difference really doesn't matter, and I definitely notice the added sharpness from the higher DPI. (Plus it's nice to be rid of the terrible overshoot from the Dell.) That said, my first try was a PB278Q, and I think I'm having a mild reaction to the PWM. That combined with a couple of dead pixels convinced me to try something else. I'm leaning toward the BenQ, mostly because it's $100 less than the VP2770-LED. Anyway, your posts and reviews have been very helpful!
 
The Standard mode can cover around 100% of the sRGB color space, thouh a more accurate meter like the i1 pro would likely produce a slightly lower result (98-99.x% ) vs. my i1dp. Color management has to be enabled in Firefox. IMO the User modes colors will only be an issue to those who own a superior calibrated monitor for comparison and know what to look for. Some shades will appear slightly off compared to a reference monitor but the BL2710PT is not like most lower end models (23-24" IPS/VA/TN) which have smaller and mismatched native gamuts vs. sRGB and obviously less saturated colors compared to a monitor with better sRGB color space coverage.

Here is the BL2710PT calibrated in the User mode next to the calibrated glossy Qnix.
 
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Just got mine. Looks good, but it's got at least 4 stuck subpixels, and significant backlight bleed on the right side (not glow), even with brightness at 20-30%. Guess this one's going back to Best Buy for another round of panel lottery.
 
Awesome, got the replacement and it's perfect. No noticeable backlight bleed. (Maybe the tiniest bit on the left side, but so subtle I'm not even sure it's there.) No dead or stuck pixels that I can see. Nice and uniform. Beautiful! :) Colors look good with NCX's recommended settings here: http://wecravegamestoo.com/forums/m...0x1440-matte-ahva-auos-version-ips-pls-2.html (although I don't have anything to test them objectively).
 
Good to hear you like this monitor.

I am also very satisfied. Mine is burned up already and the colors look even better than at the beginning.
 
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NCX said:
Reducing the U2410's contrast from 50 to 20 likely greatly reduces the brightness [why not set the brightness to zero?] as well as murders the contrast/increases the black depth. Since you like really low brightness settings the BenQ BL2710PT is the best choice since it can get 2x+ dimmer than the rest, does not use PWM Dimming and has a slightly lighter matte coating than the Samsung PLS panels (EV2736W & VP2770).
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NCX said:
Since you are using a monitor with the grainiest matte coating you should place more value on lower brightness settings and get the BL2710PT which also happens to have the clearest coating :)
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I finally bought the BL2710PT too ! Looks great, no backlight bleeding.
Still testing settings, but I've again lowered the brightness at brightness:11 contrast:62 and RGB 84,76,83 at the moment.

In general it looks good, and for some reason, the surprise is that it's much softer on the eyes during movies compared to my U2410 ! Was not expecting that (it doesnt have to do with subtitles).

I'm not missing the 16:9 ratio, the extra width (27" 16:10) seems to more that compensate for the small vertical loss (16:9 24").

@NCX: thanks again for your advice.
 
BeholderX said:
I finally bought the BL2710PT too ! Looks great, no backlight bleeding.
Still testing settings, but I've again lowered the brightness at brightness:11 contrast:62 and RGB 84,76,83 at the moment.

In general it looks good, and for some reason, the surprise is that it's much softer on the eyes during movies compared to my U2410 ! Was not expecting that (it doesnt have to do with subtitles).

I'm not missing the 16:9 ratio, the extra width (27" 16:10) seems to more that compensate for the small vertical loss (16:9 24").

@NCX: thanks again for your advice.
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Got those ratios the wrong way around. But glad you're liking the monitor! &#128285;&#128285;&#9800;
 
Looks like this monitor has dropped in price, possibly due to the 28" 4k announcement by Dell. That's only 30Hz though, so the 27" Benq is still the best option for me. $600 at most places in Canada now (down from $750 a couple weeks ago).
 
Yea but for some reason amazon is not selling it right now; which kills the easy return if you get a bad one. Hum. I wonder if it has been discontinued ?
 
you2 said:
Yea but for some reason amazon is not selling it right now; which kills the easy return if you get a bad one. Hum. I wonder if it has been discontinued ?
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I just got one from the merchant on Amazon and it is bad. Has 1 stuck white pixel in the middle and excessive backlight bleed on the right. I requested a return let's see how it goes.
 
you2 said:
Yea but for some reason amazon is not selling it right now; which kills the easy return if you get a bad one. Hum. I wonder if it has been discontinued ?
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It has not been discontinued and Amazon US is selling it for 676.08$.

...still need to sell mine, although I am enjoying the 1:1 pixel mapping feature for SD Netflix content (Doctor Who).

vetanix said:
excessive backlight bleed on the right.
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How bright did you have it set?

-----------------------------

Updated the review to include the proper HDMI RGB PC Range Settings for consoles (refer to the console settings portion). Forgot about the included software as well which lets one adjust all of the PC settings via the software rather than using the touch buttons.

Viewsonic & Eizo need to drop the prices of the VP2770 & EV2736W to compete with Acer, Asus, BenQ & Dells 1440p options.
 
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I keep it at 30% brightness. Here is an image. Note that the camera exaggerates the effect by a lot.

0mfZ5w7.jpg


Even more annoying is the right edge of the screen where it looks like as if the bezel is "pinching" the panel:

LMVFXFH.jpg
 
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Wow, that's considerably worse than the first one I got, which I returned. New one is fantastic though.

In Canada, bestbuy.ca has it for $599, with even easier returns than Amazon.
 
ST Nathan said:
Wow, that's considerably worse than the first one I got, which I returned. New one is fantastic though.

In Canada, bestbuy.ca has it for $599, with even easier returns than Amazon.
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In the US it's about $700 after tax at BestBuy. I regret buying it from the Amazon merchant.
 
vetanix said:
In the US it's about $700 after tax at BestBuy. I regret buying it from the Amazon merchant.
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Which is especially crazy considering the CAD is only at 92 cents US right now. That, and it's the first time ever that anything was cheaper in Canada than the US... ;) I'm sure it'll drop there too soon (or go back up here).
 
Yes. this is the issue with my earlier comment; amazon is not selling it; only amazon merchant. Amazon has great return policy; merchants are a crap shoot.

vetanix said:
I regret buying it from the Amazon merchant.
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How is the lag subjectively for people? PRAD measured 0.9ms as the input lag for this monitor and that seems extremely low for a 1440p monitor.
 
I just got a new monitor from Buy.com to replace the defective one from Amazon (dead pixel, backlight bleeding). The new monitor is even worse. THREE dead pixels, backlight bleeding and the "pinching" issue under the right bezel is even more pronounced.

I will play the lottery one more time and if I lose ... I will get the Viewsonic VP2772.
 
How is the backlight uniformity on the BL2710PT? If you put a solid white screen on the display, does it show noticeable dark patches (such as in the corners)?
The written review looks really favorable and I was wondering if other owners could confirm the review against their own monitors.
 
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Of the two monitors I received from Amazon, the right side was a complete different shade than the left (didn't even measure it as it was probably 700K+ color temp difference), note some people here (NCX) think that is acceptable but that looks horrible in practice.

I am trying out the EA274Wmi right now from NEC and while it ain't perfect, it is much better than the other WQHD crap I have seen so far.
 
Most people don't have hyperbole powered heat vision and look at full screen colors all day, so the small deviations go unnoticed.
 
Lol, most normal people can notice when the left and right backgrouds on cnn.com or tftcentral.com, not to mention office toolbars are different shades entirely.
 
Why not spend more on a high end monitor with color compensation instead of spending a ton of time exchanging very similar monitors w/o color compensation and expecting different results.
 
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I'm confused; I thgouth the BL2710pt was 'high end'. Which monitors are high end and have better quality control (more uniform colour/less bleeding) ?
 
NCX said:
0.14 black @140/desired brightness=1000:1 contrast ratio

Contrast ratio drops to 170:1 when 1080p is selected when using Displayport, nothing changes when using DVI.
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It's been a few months since your review, but do you know if the same thing happens over HDMI as well?

Also, have you considered the possibility of the difference being related to the graphics card you're using? I think Nvidia and AMD have different default settings for different ports, and sometimes the settings aren't adjustable in the normal display driver settings. Need to get third party fixes maybe.
 
kenox said:
It's been a few months since your review, but do you know if the same thing happens over HDMI as well?

Also, have you considered the possibility of the difference being related to the graphics card you're using? I think Nvidia and AMD have different default settings for different ports, and sometimes the settings aren't adjustable in the normal display driver settings. Need to get third party fixes maybe.
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Not sure (didn't test and don't have the monitor right now), but the BenQ has HDMI PC Range settings (16-235 and 0-255) which can be used, or the patch from this thread can be used to fix the problem if it occurs over HDMI. It is a Nvidia problem which occurs with Displayport and HDMI connections
 
NCX said:
Not sure (didn't test and don't have the monitor right now), but the BenQ has HDMI PC Range settings (16-235 and 0-255) which can be used, or the patch from this thread can be used to fix the problem if it occurs over HDMI. It is a Nvidia problem which occurs with Displayport and HDMI connections
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Some Macs have known issues driving lots of monitors through HDMI and DisplayPort (possibly because they use NVidia chips). If the EDID of the monitor says YPbPr color space is available, the Mac assumes it's a TV and puts out YPbPr color which results in poor contrast and washed-out colors. There is a ruby script floating about which strips the entire extended-info block off the EDID to force RGB colors. I've had this issue with ASUS and Dell with DisplayPort in particular.
 
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NCX said:
Not sure (didn't test and don't have the monitor right now), but the BenQ has HDMI PC Range settings (16-235 and 0-255) which can be used, or the patch from this thread can be used to fix the problem if it occurs over HDMI. It is a Nvidia problem which occurs with Displayport and HDMI connections
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I see. So if it's a problem with Nvidia drivers in particular, I should be fine if I only plan on running 1080 through HDMI with consoles, correct? Following those settings laid out in your review, I mean.
 
I just got my bl2710pt from Best Buy (online) and it has some issues.

Is this backlight bleed unusual for the bl2710pt?

http://i.imgur.com/bABN9yk.jpg

There is another issue with some dust underneath the AG coating but I didn't bother taking a picture of that.

NCX, I know you don't have the monitor anymore to check on this, so this question is kind of a general question directed at other owners of the monitor as well.
 
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