Asus vs Panasonic?

Howie

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
230
I'm considering getting the Asus vw266h or the Panasonic L32S1. I don't there is a size and price difference, but the reviews/user comments seem similar. Both monitors are not the greatest for desktop use but are good monitors for gaming among other things.
 
That's funny. Those are the two exact monitors I'm using right now.

The 32s1 has a better panel (ips), but text isn't as nice as it is on the asus. I don't play any games, but movies look better on the panasonic--which isn't surprising.

If you are getting it solely as a computer monitor, go with the asus. It's better all around for computer use. It's also ~$150 cheaper at 200 something. It also has more pixels (1920x1200 vs 1920x1080). If you do use the panasonic, only hdmi (or dvi/displayport with adapter) will give you full resolution.

As a side note, while both panels buzz, the asus is louder (buzz goes away almost completely on both with brightness on full on asus and backlight on full on panasonic).

Here's some links to read about the panasonic:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1147687
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1157191 (37", but talks about the 32")
 
Gonna agree for the most part with what Lancid said. I also have the L32S1 but my other monitor is the I-inc 28" (Hanns-G rebrand)

It's hard comparing a monitor with a TV, each have their strengths and weaknesses. For my diverse use i prefer the panasonic. But if my usage pattern was different i could see favoring the I-inc 28", especially because of the extra pixels; 1920x1200. The L32S1 has the better image quality hands down, the text is pretty good imho, it's the red and middle-blue italic text against dark backgrounds that come up blurry.

I often find that different settings can drastically change how text looks on the panasonic, Lancid are you sure you tried all the tweaks we posted here and at AVS? Because for the most part i would easily classify the text on my L32S1 as "sharp" overall.
 
I've researched the S1 quite a bit. Like you guys said, comparing a TV to a computer monitor is a difficult one. My main use for the monitor will be searching the web and playing PC games. Obviously, the fact that the L32S1 is a TV has its benefits. Both are suppose to be good gaming monitors which is the reason I'm trying to choose between the two (or another computer monitor).
 
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I often find that different settings can drastically change how text looks on the panasonic, Lancid are you sure you tried all the tweaks we posted here and at AVS? Because for the most part i would easily classify the text on my L32S1 as "sharp" overall.

Yeah, I've even adjusted the red gain and red percent in the service menu (also the backlight to see if I could eliminate the hum--to no avail).

While I'll agree that the panasonic looks great and has nice text (except for red and to a lesser extent, blue; bold, italic or normal for me), compared to the asus, it loses out. I spend a lot of time writing code, so I'm usually looking at white text on black or vise versa, and the better dot pitch of the asus gives text a smoother, clearer look. But text that looks great to one person may look pixelated to another. I'll try to take a picture of text on both side by side in the next couple of days.

The panasonic also has more subpixel "bleed", which is pretty noticeable on icons and taskbars.

Here's the settings I'm using on the panasonic--maybe yours are better?
Run win 7 clear type tuner.

STANDARD (I prefer this to the cinema settings below)
back light 26
contrast 100
brightness 62
color 38
tint 4
sharpness 0
color temp warm
everything else off
black level light

CINEMA
back light 35
contrast 85
brightness 38
color 50
tint 4
sharpness 0
color temp warm
x.v.Color auto
everything else off
black level light

And my service menu settings - default (current)
(1 and 2 on remote to navigate, 3 and 4 for sub menus)

----ADJUST----
Color 4C
Tint 00
Sub Brt 800
Backlgt 4CB
B-Y-G 34
R-Y-A 00

----WB-ADJ----
R-GAIN FF (EF)
G-GAIN e0
B-GAIN c0 (c5)
R-CENT aa (84)
G-CENT 80
B-CENT 81


Something kinda interesting, with backlight at 100 and "Backlgt" at 4cb, most of the hum or buzz goes away. But setting "Backlgt" higher or lower makes it come back.
 
Another monitor I'm considering is NEC EA231WMi.

For everyday web use, would I be bothered with the S1 text issues? I'm thinking that the extra size will lend itself well to PC gaming.
 
Consider that some regular LCD's, especially glossy panels, can exhibit slightly blurred text (or have a halo); independent of the connection type and I wouldn't worry too much about the S1. It's most likely to due with the matrix and how subpixels are oriented.

Does anyone know how the scaler is on the 32S1? The scaler in my TCP42S1 is ok, but doesn't seem to easily support resolutions over HDMI other than 480/720/1080p. This is one of the only reasons I haven't fully switched over to my TV or other display yet, as my HP w2408H has an excellent and sharp scaler built in - anything from 320x240 to 1680x1050 is scaled up very sharp and defined; about as close to my old CRT as I can find yet.
 
For everyday web use, would I be bothered with the S1 text issues?

I'm thinking that the extra size will lend itself well to PC gaming.
Opinions on both of your points can vary widely with any display, it's all personal preference. Only you will know if the red+blue text bothers you, or if it's size + resolution will suit you for gaming.


It's most likely to due with the matrix and how subpixels are oriented.
I saw macro shots of the panel, the L32S1 sub pixels have an RGB orientation.
 
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