Official BenQ FP241W Thread !!! Info, Pictures, Reviews

DragonQ said:
Here's some pics of the "Page Cannot Be Displayed" page, the last one shows the pinky lines most obviously:

http://dragonq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/IMG_0568.JPG
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I think thats the "redish" tint that people say you get with the VGA input on the FP241W. I dont see any pinkish banding as such, just a red tint to the white?

You might be able to fix that by changing the colour temperature settings or trying DVI.

DragonQ said:
I've bought 3 17" LCDs for various people over the last 3 years and I've had my laptop screen and none have had flickery text - but then 1920x1200 is a lot more info to run down a VGA cable than 1280x1024 is, so that's why I thought if the cable isn't shielded properly it would produce this effect??
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I would not expect you to get any flickering text on your display like you describe.

Mike
 
http://dragonq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/IMG_0570.JPG

http://dragonq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/IMG_0571.JPG

Doesn't really show much - the graininess is an artifact of the camera, and the banding doesn't show up (although at normal viewing distance it doesn't show up either).

That picture where you say it looks like a gradient...if you look closely (you don't have to look closely at the real thing) there are bands of red/pink that seemingly change colour/shade randomly going down the page (starting about 1/4 of the way down).


If a DVI cable doesn't solve the text flickering issue I'll contact BenQ.
 
DragonQ said:
http://dragonq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/IMG_0570.JPG

http://dragonq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/IMG_0571.JPG

Doesn't really show much - the graininess is an artifact of the camera, and the banding doesn't show up (although at normal viewing distance it doesn't show up either).

That picture where you say it looks like a gradient...if you look closely (you don't have to look closely at the real thing) there are bands of red/pink that seemingly change colour/shade randomly going down the page (starting about 1/4 of the way down).


If a DVI cable doesn't solve the text flickering issue I'll contact BenQ.
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Did you try
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/ghosting2.html
 
Yeah, I think there's some slight ghosting, but nothing major. Certainly isn't the cause of the flickering text.
 
I received my WZ yesterday, tried it briefly on a nVidia 8800 gts and it seemed fine, there was a red dominant in some scenes while playing bf2142 as well as some bad darkness. (But I just turned the gamma up in game options)

When I got it home on my ATI x1900xt I noticed that the text on the desktop was 'blurred' (most noticeably on items which where selected with black text on a grey background - such as a desktop icon or in a web page drop down menu) and this only occurs when NOT in standard input mode (i.e. movie, dynamic and photo).

I'm using the same DVI cable that I used with the Dell 24" fpw (or whatever its called) and it didnt have this problem.

You can see exactly what I mean from the following pictures:
Standard http://www.mofakham.co.uk/benq/DSC_0264.JPG
Dynamic http://www.mofakham.co.uk/benq/DSC_0265.JPG
Photo http://www.mofakham.co.uk/benq/DSC_0266.JPG
Movie http://www.mofakham.co.uk/benq/DSC_0267.JPG

When I tried it on the nVidia card I had a high quality DVI cable (worth £35) and didnt notice the text .. but I was mainly playin games and cant even remember if I changed the mode when at the desktop.... It is my brothers gpu/cable but I will try to borrow the cable from him to ensure my cable isnt at fault.

I'm getting a cheapo DVI->HDMI cable on Friday, which I ordered before I received my monitor - hopefully its the cable and it works ok? (fingers crossed)

I've also raised a fault with the Benq helpdesk.

Apart from this I'm still very impressed by the screen showing some great colour and detail compared to the 24" Dell FPW.
 
I bought the BenQ FP241W and the DVI connection does not work with my computer. The VGA works fine.

I took the monitor to the store where I bought it (Canada Computers in Toronto) and they tried the monitor on a different computer with a different DVI wire and it still didn't work.

Worse still, the store opened up a brand new monitor (same model) and it didn't work either.

There must have been a bad batch.

I sent the monitor into to BenQ and they sent it back a week later and it still does not work. They so far are unable to tell me on the phone what was even done when I sent the monitor in - I just got it back without any letter or information at all.

The DVI connection would work on some resolutions, just not on the native 1920x1200 resolution (the screen would go blank for 10 seconds and then revert to a lower resolution if I tried to set it at 1920x1200) and after I got it back from BenQ support, no resolutions work on DVI.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is?

I also have another issue - BenQ was supposed to install the 1:1 pixel mapping firmware upgrade but since I got it back, my Xbox 360 games still display without black bars at the top and bottom of the screen (and so the games are presumably stretched, although I can't tell for sure if they are). Again, BenQ support is unable to confirm so far whether the firmware was put in like it was supposed to be.

Thanks for any help :)
 
To be quite honest all of these problems including those which I don't have (or don't know I have - I haven't used the DVI port for example) are ridiculous.

I've asked eBuyer for a full refund and will be watching this thread to see if they finally fix the 1:1 issue for 1080i/p sources and then I might buy it again in the future. It's a shame that I won't be able to bring my GameCube to Uni though. I am not happy at all - my first monitor to have problems (although none of the 4 I've bought have had dead pixels luckily).
 
Jason Alexandris said:
I bought the BenQ FP241W and the DVI connection does not work with my computer. The VGA works fine.

I took the monitor to the store where I bought it (Canada Computers in Toronto) and they tried the monitor on a different computer with a different DVI wire and it still didn't work.

Worse still, the store opened up a brand new monitor (same model) and it didn't work either.

There must have been a bad batch.

I sent the monitor into to BenQ and they sent it back a week later and it still does not work. They so far are unable to tell me on the phone what was even done when I sent the monitor in - I just got it back without any letter or information at all.

The DVI connection would work on some resolutions, just not on the native 1920x1200 resolution (the screen would go blank for 10 seconds and then revert to a lower resolution if I tried to set it at 1920x1200) and after I got it back from BenQ support, no resolutions work on DVI.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is?

I also have another issue - BenQ was supposed to install the 1:1 pixel mapping firmware upgrade but since I got it back, my Xbox 360 games still display without black bars at the top and bottom of the screen (and so the games are presumably stretched, although I can't tell for sure if they are). Again, BenQ support is unable to confirm so far whether the firmware was put in like it was supposed to be.

Thanks for any help :)
Click to expand...

When I tested my monitor on an ATI 1900gt with cheapo cable, it kept blanking out as well. All I know is that my bro used to have this problem with a 19" Iyama and the corrective action was a better quality cable - I regretably didnt try it as I was pushed for time.
 
FrobinRobin said:
When I got it home on my ATI x1900xt I noticed that the text on the desktop was 'blurred' (most noticeably on items which where selected with black text on a grey background - such as a desktop icon or in a web page drop down menu) and this only occurs when NOT in standard input mode (i.e. movie, dynamic and photo).

Apart from this I'm still very impressed by the screen showing some great colour and detail compared to the 24" Dell FPW.
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Hmm it has blurred text with an ATI card (which is what I would be using) and you recommend it over the Dell? I am really confused now.

I don't know what the hell to buy lol. My aging VX910 seems much realiable and trustworthy than any of these new monitors lol.

Mike
 
dennilfloss said:
That pic also shows the 'coating lumpiness' that been bothering me.:(
Click to expand...

I still can't get to the bottom of that either, would a Dell 2407WFP look the same for you do you think? I think you said you went from a CRT to the BenQ. I am using an LCD at the moment so not sure if it would bother me so much.

Does my VX910 look "lumpy" to you?

http://www.firedome.karoo.net/IMG_0111.JPG (make sure you super zoom it, otherwise it looks like a chess board) :)

Cheers,

Mike
 
I have the BenQ FP241W monitor and when I hook up my Xbox 360 via the Component connections and set the 360 settings to 1080p, the graphics appear blockier than they do when I play the 360 on my friend's 1080p Samsung TV.

Why is this?

The graphics are definitely displaying at the HDTV level and they look great, but they are blocky.

Any solutions to this?

Should I just play with Xbox 360's VGA connection? There is no blockiness with this connection and the picture is sharper, but the downside is that the pictures is not as bright and colorful with VGA. I also do not have a free VGA port on the monitor since I have to use it for my computer since my monitor's DVI port totally doesn't work despite sending in to BenQ to have it fixed (see my post above from earlier today on this problem).

Thanks for any help.
 
HMMM it seems the problem I'm having with the random bands of colour as seen best in this picture:

http://dragonq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/IMG_0573.JPG

also appear on my laptop's screen, although it isn't as pronounced!! What could this mean?? Is it a problem with my graphics card??

Another thing is that the flickery text only happens when the resolution is set to 1600x1200 or 1920x1200 - at 1280x1024 or less, it's fine. So basically what I know is:

- The random colour bands on IE7's "This page cannot be displayed" webpage is either a problem with the actual webpage or the graphics card.
- Any resolution higher than 1280x1024 causes flickery text and pixel clock misalignment patterns (tested using their Auto Test Pattern)
- The colour banding is still quite obvious - when looking at some of Vista's included wallpapers, which look fine on the laptop's screen and on my friend's 19" Dell, there is quite a lot of colour banding on this monitor :(

The resolution thing leads me to think that at least the flickery text might indeed be a problem with the VGA cable - can anyone offer any other suggestions??
 
EasytouchBarBie said:
I got my monitor back from BENQ finally today but as I feared I still have the same problem with it saying "No Signal" being hooked up through DVI. Everything else works but if I try DVI it doesn't. Originally I sent it back for firmware upgrade, and when I first received the monitor, it worked fine. It was only after I received the upgrade that I have had troubles.

I am about to lose my mind. I have tried other cables, computers and DVI monitors(the computer images displayed fine) and it is the BENQ that is not working. I might make the 4 hour drive to Toronto and ask them to try it out for me on their system because obviously they didn't even test the DVI out.

It is a real shame because this monitor is so amazing but if I can't have DVI, then what is the point.

A very displeased customer and has no idea what to try next. I am not waiting another 3 weeks for them to ship it back to me with nothing being done and yet I can't live with a monitor that doesn't work as it should. $1000 and I am feeling extremely ripped off.

Mike
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Ok - I have the same problem (see my post above from earlier today). I could only display some resolutions with a DVI wire but not the native resolution. I sent it to BenQ in Toronto to fix and they updated the firmware (supposedly, although the 1:1 pixel fix in the latest firmware upgrade isn't working) and now the DVI does not work on any resolution setting!

Don't waste your time driving all the way to Toronto. I sent mine in and they just returned it and it still doesn't work. This is after I tried it on my computer and a computer at the tech center at the store where I bought it (BTW, the tech department at this store pulled out a brand new monitor and tested it also and it didn't work either - obviously they are not all screwed up, but there are definitely some bad batches and we both got stuck with them). Chances are, BenQ's tech guys are just testing it on one computer that is very compatible with the monitor and seeing that the DVI works on that computer (this is, BTW, completely BS and a breach of BenQ's warranty conditions).

I am going to try an expensive DVI cable (from a store with a good refund policy) as I have heard that this could work and then try to get BenQ to buy the monitor back from me (this will be a very tough battle).

I will keep you posted on these boards of my progress - try to keep me posted too. If either of us gets somewhere with BenQ, lets let the other person know. If we really get in a fight with them, we can exchange e-mail addresses and info so that we can drop each others names with BenQ to let them know that this is a problem with multiple people.
 
Stormyuk,

That's too close. I do not see the lumpiness if I am very close, like at 6", but it shows at 2'.

It's not overwhelming but it's noticeable on uniform light backgrounds and that is distracting. I saw the same thing on a very large (60") plasma or LCD Sony television last summer.

Don't you see the lumps on his picture?
 
PiracyX said:
Can this monitor display 1080p through Component? or is it limited to HDMI/DVI?
Click to expand...

The monitor can display 1080p through Component. I heard many conflicting opinions on this (even BenQ tech support gave me a "yes" and then a "no" to this question the two times that I called) but now I have the monitor and I hook up my Xbox 360 through the component inputs and it displays in full HDTV 1080p.
 
stormyuk said:
Hmm it has blurred text with an ATI card (which is what I would be using) and you recommend it over the Dell? I am really confused now.

I don't know what the hell to buy lol. My aging VX910 seems much realiable and trustworthy than any of these new monitors lol.

Mike
Click to expand...

There is NOTHING wrong with the Dell 24 FPW, anyone who tells you otherwise is either unlucky to get a bad one or they demand the very best and do not mind having these early adopter issues. (My brother's own 3 24" Dell monitors between them and they are all very good with games and videos - such as BF2142, Half Life2e1, NfS Carbon, Call of Juarez, Call of Heroes and many many downloaded videos).. but I still think the BenQ looks slightly better in games. (but not £250 pounds better ;) )

I personally brought the BenQ because of the HDMI port and BFI (basically to ensure it has 'some future proof' and I wont be tempted to buy another monitor in 12 months) - I also had some money from my last birthday so didnt mind spending a little more.

The last monitor I purchased was a 17" Sony SDM-"somthing", it was one of the first DVI capable LCD's and cost me £500 - it lasted me 4 years-odd. I gave it to a friend 3 months ago and apart from only having 1280x1024 - it was good for another few years at least - this I beleive was due in part to my early adoption of DVI - several graphics cards later and they still use DVI.

If HDMI goes the way DVI did (it will probably do better as it works with other HD devices) ....... I wanted in again but then again I'm a gambling man.

I would recommend the Dell if you want to save a few hundred pounds and arent bothered by the HDMI and Perfect Motions gubbins. Otherwise if you demand the very best, get the BenQ.
 
HMMMM the "This Page Cannot Be Displayed" webpage appears fine on my laptop screen now that the monitor is unplugged.

I'm beginning to feel I'm possessed or something, what in the hell is going on?! I blame Dell, the only reason I bought from them is because you can't build a laptop :p

I think I'll get a decent Desktop in August anyway (with an nVidia HDCP card, I hate ATI so much, never had one of their cards work properly or be any good), and then a 24" monitor with that - whatever is the best at the time (prices should be slightly less then also).
 
For this FP241W monitor, I am seeing a lot of jagged edges in games when my Xbox 360 is hooked up via component cables and set to 1080p.

Should I reduce the "Sharpness" setting? Should I change around other settings to fix this?

Thanks for any advice.
 
For the BenQ FP241W monitor (I got it before the 1:1 pixel update but sent it in and had it updated by BenQ) should I use the "1:1", "Aspect" or "Full" setting?

I use an Xbox 360 plugged in through the Component inputs so "Full" is probably stretching the image vertically. "1:1" creates black bars on all four sides which is really annoying. "Aspect" just has bars at the top and bottom which makes sense (i.e. the black bars prevent the image from being stretched vertically) BUT isn't the "1:1" option supposed to be doing this?

And what does "Aspect" even mean?

Can someone please explain this situation to me in layman's terms.

I have heard that Aspect could possibly be stretching the image horizontally (to avoid the "1:1" problem of having black bars on all four sides) - is this true?
 
In addition to my question of whether I should use 1:1, Aspect or Full to have my Xbox 360 display best, will the same setting work properly for using my computer?

I don't want to have to go into my settings ever time to switch the setting when I switch between my computer and Xbox 360.

I like the idea of Aspect for the Xbox 360 so far - but does it make sense to use Aspect when just using my computer?

Thanks again for any help.
 
Jason Alexandris said:
In addition to my question of whether I should use 1:1, Aspect or Full to have my Xbox 360 display best, will the same setting work properly for using my computer?

I don't want to have to go into my settings ever time to switch the setting when I switch between my computer and Xbox 360.

I like the idea of Aspect for the Xbox 360 so far - but does it make sense to use Aspect when just using my computer?

Thanks again for any help.
Click to expand...

If you're running your computer at 1920x1200, then aspect works just fine. It's exactly how I leave it when I switch between my 360 and computer.
 
JasonAlexandris,

As for the meaning of the Diplay Modes, let's say you want to input a 1024x768 (or anything under 1920x1200).

1:1 would center the input on the screen (you would have a 1024x768 picture with a black border)

Full would mean that the whole screen would be utilised, stretching the 1024x768 to 1920x1200

Aspect would keep the aspect ratio of a non-widescreen input but stretch to the vertical (i.e. in my example you would have black bars on the left and right). Hope this helps!
 
OK All,

I received a phone call from a BenQ rep today, with BenQ's product specialist response for my problem of blurred text.

The response basically said that I "should use the correct modes for the different types of usage". So I should only use standard mode at the desktop, and the others for movies, etc. "The monitor would be at fault if it heppened with all modes".

Hang on.... This must be one of those cop-out answers.... because I'm sure Photo mode isnt meant to display blurred text during Photoshop - it is unuseable!!!

Because I mentioned to the rep that I had quite a bad headache on my first day usage, I was told that if I enable Perfect Motion when at the desktop it could cause me headaches quite quickly... uhm???..... Thanks!!!!!

Can anyone else tell me whether they see blurry text when in anything but standard mode?

Tonight, I'm getting the supplied DVI cable that I left at my bro's house and will also borrow a DVI->Component cable he has, plus I'm gettin a DVI->HDMI cable delivered tomorrow. I would put money down that this problem changes with different cables.
 
1:1 SHOULD work, but it doesn't since the "fix" didn't work properly. They're planning another firmware update to get 1:1 working correctly.

Aspect means it'll stretch the image to fill as much of the screen as possible while maintaining aspect ratio (so nothing gets skewed vertically or horizontally, which I hate).


Thus, Aspect should be the most sensible default option. I'd advise you get the next firmware fix from BenQ when they release it because it's been reported that 1080i/p gets squished (thus why 1:1 has borders at all 4 edges when it shouldn't), and while Aspect fixes this, it also means the image isn't as good as it should be.
 
DragonQ said:
Thus, Aspect should be the most sensible default option. I'd advise you get the next firmware fix from BenQ when they release it because it's been reported that 1080i/p gets squished (thus why 1:1 has borders at all 4 edges when it shouldn't), and while Aspect fixes this, it also means the image isn't as good as it should be.
Click to expand...

As I have already said, and dacalo pointed out (Here), its not really a problem in 1080p because 1080p has horizontal resolution of 1920 pixels, the monitor also has 1920 horizontal resolution. By what dacalo is saying nothing is getting distorted when you use aspect mode with 1080p.

It should be pixel perfect when using 1080p in aspect mode (it is in essence, doing what 1:1 should be doing, 1:1 and Aspect modes with 1080p input should look identical but they don't because the monitor buggers up the 1:1 mode).

Mike
 
Yeah I know they should look the same, but they don't. But there really isn't anyway of knowing whether Aspect is actually stretching the incorrect 1:1 image to 1920x1200 is there??

Oh well, I'd persoanlly leave it on Aspect and Standard all the time.
 
DragonQ said:
Yeah I know they should look the same, but they don't. But there really isn't anyway of knowing whether Aspect is actually stretching the incorrect 1:1 image to 1920x1200 is there??

Oh well, I'd persoanlly leave it on Aspect and Standard all the time.
Click to expand...

Without seeing it in the flesh I don't know, but by what dacalo says, I think aspect mode for the 1080p input signal is pixel perfect, and is what 1:1 would also look like if it was working properly.

There should be no stretching as the input signal resolution is 1920x1080 (1080p), if its stretching to 1920x1200 then aspect mode isnt working either! (because its not maintaining the original aspect ratio, which is what aspect mode is all about)

Mike
 
DragonQ said:
But there really isn't anyway of knowing whether Aspect is actually stretching the incorrect 1:1 image to 1920x1200 is there??
Click to expand...


There is a way of knowing, just look at it. If you can't tell by looking at it, then what is the problem? If you need to be told what to look for there are many websites on that. Aspect mode does what 1:1 should do.

Aspect mode is what the bulk of people will use. People complaining about 1:1 having 4 borders don't even own the monitor and just read that 1:1 has four borders so they jump to conclusions that aren't that accurate.

I'll be the last one to defend BenQ because I think the company is a bunch of screw ups that I wouldn't trust to engineer a paper bag not to mention a multimedia monitor, but the last thing people should do is actually lie and spread disinformation about it, that will just make BenQ think that people on this forum have no idea, and you get ignored by the people who have the power to change things.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
Aspect mode is what the bulk of people will use. People complaining about 1:1 having 4 boarders don't even own the monitor and just read that 1:1 has four boarders so they jump to conclusions that aren't that accurate.
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Well, as dacalo I would prefer 1080p 1:1 to work as advertised and as it should, it clearly isnt. The rest of what you post though I agree 100%.

1080i/p seem not to be working in 1:1 but for those resolutions its not really a big issue imo because aspect mode can be used and it should still be pixel perfect due to the horizontal resolution, although I have not seen it in the flesh and would not put it past BenQ to screw it up. ;)

As higgy's 1080i shot shows, something is a miss with 1080 and 1:1

http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1030737524&postcount=157

dennilfloss said:
Don't you see the lumps on his picture?
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Not really, no. Maybe I am just used to using LCDs at work and home.

Mike
 
You're right I never tried it at 1920x1080 before I had to pack the thing up for being faulty. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, but it's now in my nature to be cautious with BenQ. <_<
 
The firmware is not perfect that is for sure, it also screws up wide screen 480 i/p images as well, those can not display correctly in aspect mode. It stretches vertically. 1:1 does work because I have used test patterns that show any image distortion, and with 1:1 it displays correctly (it shows no pixel image distortion at all)....why it shrinks it is a mystery that I am sure only a engineer at BenQ could answer (not a BenQ call center rep, who are just clueless guys who get hired for customer service experience).

We can go on for 500 pages guessing why this is, it would just be guessing because nobody except the guys/girls that screwed up at the BenQ engineering team know what is going on.
 
BrokenAnimator said:
There is a way of knowing, just look at it. If you can't tell by looking at it, then what is the problem? If you need to be told what to look for there are many websites on that. Aspect mode does what 1:1 should do.

Aspect mode is what the bulk of people will use. People complaining about 1:1 having 4 borders don't even own the monitor and just read that 1:1 has four borders so they jump to conclusions that aren't that accurate.

I'll be the last one to defend BenQ because I think the company is a bunch of screw ups that I wouldn't trust to engineer a paper bag not to mention a multimedia monitor, but the last thing people should do is actually lie and spread disinformation about it, that will just make BenQ think that people on this forum have no idea, and you get ignored by the people who have the power to change things.
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Ok - thanks everyone for all the input (you guys are all so damn knowledgeable on this stuff!!).

My question now is that if Aspect does what 1:1 is supposed to do (which appears to be the case since 1:1 incorrectly has borders on all four sides but Aspect correctly just has them on the top and bottom), is there any difference at all in using Aspect mode versus if BenQ had made the 1:1 option work properly?

I just want to know if I am missing out on something using Aspect instead of having proper 1:1: mapping. Essentially I am asking for a further, more layman's terms explanation of what exactly Aspect mode is (how is it different from what 1:1 is supposed to be, which I understand to be simply adding bars and the top and bottom to prevent having to stretch an image vertically when you are putting a 1920x1080 thing into a 1920x1200 monitor).

BTW - I paused a video game on my Xbox 360 and then switched between the three modes (1:1, Aspect and Full) to see which modes stretch the image and which don't but I could simply not see a difference between any of the modes, probably because any stretching that is occurring (e..g in Full mode, where there must be vertical stretching) is very minimal. I had an inkling that Aspect and 1;1 appeared slightly different from full in the sense of being less elongated, but I am pretty sure it was all psychological).

On another note, any advice regarding the fact that my 360 games look a little too jagged edged through component would be helpful. Is this just normal when using a monitor for the 360, even when its hooked up through component on a 1080p monitor? I think the games appear less jagged edgy on regular 1080p TVs, but I have yet to do a side by side comparison. Aside from the slight jaggedness, the 360 on this monitor is incredible though!
 
Jason Alexandris said:
My question now is that if Aspect does what 1:1 is supposed to do (which appears to be the case since 1:1 incorrectly has borders on all four sides but Aspect correctly just has them on the top and bottom), is there any difference at all in using Aspect mode versus if BenQ had made the 1:1 option work properly? !
Click to expand...

In 1080 aspect and 1:1 *should* look identical because as I said 1920 resolution matches exactly 1920 of the 1080 resolution. So it wont need to stretch anything.

If you used 720p (1366x768 at least in the UK) then using aspect and 1:1 would be very different, aspect would fill the screen as much as it could while maintaining the aspect ratio, while 1:1 would have black borders all the way around and would be pixel perfect. Aspect at 720p would look more blocky than 1:1 but would utilise more of the screen.

Mike
 
Jason Alexandris said:
For the BenQ FP241W monitor (I got it before the 1:1 pixel update but sent it in and had it updated by BenQ) should I use the "1:1", "Aspect" or "Full" setting?
...
And what does "Aspect" even mean?

Can someone please explain this situation to me in layman's terms?
Click to expand...

Jason,

What it comes down to is, 1:1 mode will display exactly the number of pixels oof the signal being sent. So if you were to have an 800x600 image, only that amount would appear in the center of the screen, leaving the remainder of the monitor blank (or barred).

Aspect ratio is just scale. To maintain the aspect ratio os something means to present it in the same proportional scale, no matter the size. Like, to be really basic, how an 8x2 rectangle is the same scale when upsized to 24x6.

On the FP241W/Z, 1920 is the exact maximum displayable pixel width of the screen, so both 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 should have no black bars on the left and right when properly displayed in either mode. Since there's no more room on the monitor to scale up a 1920-pixel-width image, aspect should just leave it alone to maintain the ratio.

Hope that helps, though you've gotten some fine responses already.

-----

And thanks to everyone in this thread who's been helping out. Been lurking here since the first post and got my firmware-fixed FP241W from NCIX a few weeks ago. No dead pixels, and looks great. Very minor tilt to the right, but I attribute that, when looking closely, to the bit of flexing the plastic part of the base does. Since I leave mine in the lowest position, it's possible to leave some styrofoam or other material in the gap on the base in in that position on the side that's leaning down. Hope that helps anyone frustrated buy it. Naturally, this doesn't help if the screen gets raised.

What we need to find out now, as I'd suspect, is if these identical firmware issues also plague the Z and VW models, which I would suspect use the same firmware. Still waiting for a current review of those monitors to see if anyone notices a worthy quality difference with the BFI activated, and to determine if the VW actually does use a higher-quality screen than the W. Still, I'm quite happy with my purchase. Though on the off chance someone proves the VW is _much_ better, I'll let you all know if I eBay my W. Now if only it had a great speaker option instead of the webcam. And, if anyone's wondering, I get the minor 1-second blackouts, but solely on occasion when coming out of sleep mode or something. Never in mid use or while just idling. I'm connected via DVI to my Leadtek GeForce 7800 GTX.
 
For those in the UK

DO NOT send your monitor in for a 1:1 pixel mapping fix because it will be gone for a long time and by the time you get it back it wont have the 1:1 pixel mapping fix on it and it will be even more screwed up than before you sent it.

This is the 2nd time I have sent my monitor back to the UK repaircentre for BenQ, Repairtech, and not a thing has been done in upgrading the firmware.

When i bought my monitor I was well aware of the 1:1 pixel mapping issues and only purposed when there was news that a firmware upgrade was available, when I bought it I contacted BenQ UK about it straight away, within a week I had an email from them telling me the 1:1 firmware upgrade was available within the UK and I could RMA the monitor to get it fixed. The 1st attempt at getting it done took about 2 weeks, when they eventually came and picked it up (3 days after when they said they would, contacted them 3 times as well), I received the monitor back with NO firmware upgrade and major issues on the VGA regarding resolutions and extreme redness. I contacted Repairtech and asks what had happened and was told that the engineers replaced the mainboard on the monitor and must have forgot to do the firmware upgrade and would need to return it, so I did.

It has now been 4 weeks since i sent it back to them for the 2nd time and after numerous calls nothing has been done. I had a go at them last week; telling them the service was appauling and that I wanted something to be done about it as I could no longer return the monitor to where I purchased it since 30 days has passed whilst the monitor has been in there hands. After daily calls asking about it and being told firstly that they "are awaiting the software from BenQ head office", then "i'll put a chase on the RMA and get it done as quickly as possible" and then on friday "the engineers are testing it" I thought the ordeal was over. Contacted them again on monday and was told the same thing that it was being tested and someone should contact me in the next few days.
I contacted them again today and was this time told that they "are awaiting the software from BenQ head office", yet back in January I was told by BenQ UK that the firmware was available in the UK; needless to say I went off the handle with result being my monitor is getting sent back to me in the state I sent it to them 4 weeks ago.

I contacted BenQ UK about this immediately; I had contacted them on previous occasions and was told that they would contact Repairtech and get something done about it, but nothing was. I told BenQ UK that I was not happy with the service I received from them, from repairtech and it was a complete joke that after 6 weeks they have not been able to perform a simply firmware upgrade. I told BenQ UK that I wanted a new monitor to be sent out which has the firmware upgrade and I wanted to speak to a team leader about the entire farce.
He is supposed to contact me tomorrow afternoon; whether that happens is a different issue.

The bottom line is the way BenQ and there repair centres have dealt with this upgrade is absolutely appauling; not only are they at fault for not including the 1:1 option in the first place but the failure to produce a firmware upgrade what does it correctly or even get engineers to perform the upgrade successfully is an absolutly joke.

After reading some of the new posts that a NEW firmware upgrade is expected, worries me as I dont have any confidence in BenQ or Repairtech to be able to successfully perform this upgrade quickly and successfully. So at the minute im stuck with a £600 monitor which I cannot return and has numerous faults.

The quality of service from the repair centres world wide seem to be on the same level as Repairtech in the UK and it looks like BenQ have really put themselves in the S**T. This is the first and last time I will ever buy a BenQ product.

Please share your opinions and experiences.
 
I for one decided not to do firmware upgrade ( 1:1) I am scared that they may do more damage than good. I use dvi only . For desktop use Standard setting and for gaming Dynamics. I will upgrade to nvidia gpu
soon and within their control panel you can successfully lock aspect ratio.
Ati centered timing option does not work at the moment, but from what I read they are aware of the problem. So maybe it will work in the future updates.
 
My question is, does the FP241WZ do correct 1:1 mapping or is it still lacking as in the FP241W w/latest firmware? I have been tempted to get this panel (well the WZ actually) over the 2407 because of the supposedly superior image quality, but if the firmware problems are plaguing the WZ and VW as well then I'm not so sure paying more for the BenQ is worth it. I'd hate to wait on the next firmware release and then (assuming it does fix the 1:1 issue completely) take a gamble on whether I'm getting the newest rev. or not. :(
 
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