ASUS VH238H brightness issues

H

harle

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May 17, 2011
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For those of you that own this monitor, have you noticed any noticeable variations in brightness? I bought two of these monitors during the Fry's sale last week. The first thing that caught my eye after hooking them up was that the bottom of the screen was brighter than the top. It is only really evident when looking at websites with a brighter colour scheme. It is a gradual step down in brightness when moving from the bottom to the top of the screen.

I have tried to change the monitor settings, but it does not help. Although I do not like the brightness issue, the rest of the monitor is great. The colours looks absolutely great compared to my old screen. The extra desktop space is nice, and the response time is perfect. It is just this brightness issue that is an annoyance. I may end up bringing them back, but it is a difficult decision, as they were only $110 each after rebate.
 
I dont know about that model in particular. But I have an asus led and I can say there is some backlight bleeding on the edges, mine are fairly even on all sides, but I can see if it is more emphasized on one side it can be annoying
 
i have this monitor.

how did you get it for $110 ?

it was listed for $130 after rebate.


regarding the lighting issue, it has to do with the nature of the TN panel because of color and brightness shifting. If you look at the monitor from a higher vertical angle, you will see that the brightness evens out. Same thing with the samsung tn panel in my laptop.

now my main problem with this monitor is that the antiglare coating seems not to be smooth.
if you look closely at the pixels under a magnifying glass, you'll see that the coating somewhat distorts the light emitted.

so i have an uneven darkness........ You see slightly darker vertical bands.

I am contemplating returning this, but first I'm trying to figure out if this is common among antiglare screens.

11a9y7q.jpg
 
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The Wilsonville, OR Frys had a $50 instant rebate that made this $140 before the $30 mail in rebate. I believe it was the only Frys to have this extra discount.

Your explanation and picture is absolutely spot on for the lighting issue I am receiving. The other problem is that the lighting is so bright near the bottom that the colours get distorted. I am not sure why everyone keeps giving this monitor such great reviews. Hopefully not all LED backlit LCD monitors look this way.
 
harle said:
Hopefully not all LED backlit LCD monitors look this way.
Click to expand...


i know that at least my samsung led TN screen on my laptop has the same problem, that is, the bottom half of the screen is brighter than the top unless your eye level is above the top of the screen looking down at a 30* angle.

so, I'm inclined to write this off as the nature of the beast.

But if anyone else can pitch in their experience with cheap led backlit TN panels, I'd have a better idea.

I'm pretty sure the lcd panel in the asus was sourced from one of the major korean lcd makers, or taiwan AUO. Asus does not make lcd panels. So even if I bought a samsung or LG monitor, I'm guessing I'd get the same results.
You either live with a cheap TN screen, or pony up the cash for an IPS monitor. And even with an IPS screen, you might still have uneven lighting issues.

as for the good user reviews....... I don't think they thoroughly tested the monitor. My eyes are more sensitive to refresh rate on old CRT's, and sensitive to blotchiness on screen. Some people don't seem to be bothered, or are unable to see the flaws.

For $110, I'd definitely keep the monitor. It's not gonna get cheaper than that.

But I would go to Bestbuy and buy one of their matte led lcd screens and compare, then return. Again, i think it's just the nature of cheap lcd panels.
 
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Like you said, i will probably keep both monitors, as they are still pretty good for the price. This is the first LED monitor i have seen in person, and it is the only monitor with a noticeable difference in lighting. Most of the LCD monitors (CCFL) have pretty uniform lighting in my experience. If it becomes a constant issue, i may just sell the monitors and get a couple Dell U2311H displays.

Thanks again for replying. I was thinking that this may have just been an issue with my particular monitor, but it sounds like this may be more common.
 
@OP you are probaly just noticing typical TN gamma shift (inability to display a uniform color from top to bottom) combined with poor backlight uniformity.

Typically laptops come with horrible TN panels. They are horrible compared to your 20"+ TN monitor in terms of viewing angles, responsiveness and contrast/color. Laptops typically have contrast ratios of 250:1 @ 200cdm/2 brightness vs 800:1+ on a monitor.

This picture
http://i52.tinypic.com/11a9y7q.jpg

Shows common poor uniformity of edge lit LED backlit screens. My advice is to se the brightness below 50% in the OSD. Typically the lower the brightness, the deeper the black level, making backlight dis-uniformity less visible. Other wise return it and spend a bit more (250$) for a good 23"+ CCFL screen.

LED Samsung S27A550H

See same thing, this is at a low luminance of 120cdm/2

LED Samsung PX2370

CCFL Acer G245H

CCFL HP 2509p

CCFL LG W2361v

These pictures are all taken on monitors set to 120cdm/2 brightness. CCFL>>>>Edge Lit LED LCD.
 
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That must be it. It is pretty disappointing that the LED backlit monitors have this issue. I took your recommendation and put the brightness to 45. That actually helped a lot more than i thought it would. It is so much easier on the eyes when i read text. The monitor actually looks pretty uniform in brightness. Black levels are noticeably better.

You guys have been extremely helpful. It is only my first week on this forum, but i can already tell the community is great. Thanks again!
 
NCX said:
@OP you are probaly just noticing typical TN gamma shift


See same thing, this is at a low luminance of 120cdm/2

LED Samsung PX2370

CCFL Acer G245H

CCFL HP 2509p

CCFL LG W2361v

These pictures are all taken on monitors set to 120cdm/2 brightness. CCFL>>>>Edge Lit LED LCD.
Click to expand...


yeah, it's definitely gamma shift. Standing 10 ft away, the brightness is even, top to bottom.

damn, all those screens look nasty in the dark, except the HP.

CCFL, led....... they all look like crap.

I'm glad I don't spend much time looking at dark screens. Hardocp is the darkest site I visit.
 
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