- Joined
- Jun 15, 2004
- Messages
- 3,160
Here's some thoughts on my new BL3200PT that I've had about 3 days now.
Initial impressions are VERY positive:
- Just taking the monitor out of the box, I got a sense of the quality materials that went into assembling it. It looks quite impressive sitting on my desk, as opposed to the Korean display I have that looks like a toy.
- It's seriously huge. I don't think anyone can appreciate the sheer size of a 32" display sitting on their desk until they see it in person. The immersion factor cannot be ignored.
- The stand has a wide range of mobility and can lower itself down quite far so I don't have to strain my neck to see the top of the screen.
- Zero backlight bleed. None. Coming from several LG panels that looked like someone was shining a flashlight in from around the bezel, this is like a dream come true.
- No dead pixels. Thank God.
- Color looks amaing, and that's just using the basic calibration settings off tftcentral. There's definately a reason I went with a VA monitor. I've always liked the color and contrast they're capable of.
- Color shifting isn't as bad around the edges of the screen as I thought it would be with a display this big. I'm probably sitting only 2 to 2.5 feet away from it. Honestly, it's not worth mentioning. You'll get far worse color shifting even from a tiny 22" TN display.
I only have one issue with the monitor though (of course):
- Vertical banding. This monitor has it. It's not excessive. I do notice it when I'm on a grey webpage or when I'm playing Diablo 3. It's not as annoying as the backlight bleed on my 27" Korean IPS, but it's there. For $270 on the Korean monitor I could live with bleed, but for $629 + tax for the BenQ, I'm a lot more critical. I haven't decided yet if it's enough for me to want to exchange the monitor because everything else about it is perfect so far. I've still got time to think since I bought it through Amazon. My issue is that I have a feeling if I exchange it, I'll probably either get one back with similar banding, or else get one with backlight bleed, or some other problem. Decisions, decisions.
- Well ok there's two issues, I guess... but I already knew this was an issue... if you consider the motion blur to be an issue. I honestly don't think it's any different than my IPS displays, so I don't actually consider it an issue. It's something I already knew was going to be there, but I wanted a large display and I hate TN panels, so that's just the way it is.
Anyway, this monitor is bad ass. I mentioned the immersion factor, but it just so blows away my 27" display that I have to mention it again. I'm finding myself enjoying it more than I even did my NVSurround setup I had for a while. The black levels are excellent and they're actually black, unlike my IPS that's kind of black but more like grey. The first thing I noticed is when I loaded up Diablo 3 is that the menus actually have a lot more detail and shading to them then I thought they did. I can go into a cave/dungeon now and actually see things. The Korean IPS I have just can't seem to bring those dark details out. And that's not the best part... I actually have the brightness a lot lower on the BenQ and I can still see darker scenes better AND get brighter colors. The 2nd thing was the explosions from my Demon Hunter's elemental arrows. The colors, man, the colors! The fireballs just looks so much brighter. Seeing that bright blast when I'm in a dark dungeon is just... WOW. As good as the IPS was, this monitor is just that much better
Initial impressions are VERY positive:
- Just taking the monitor out of the box, I got a sense of the quality materials that went into assembling it. It looks quite impressive sitting on my desk, as opposed to the Korean display I have that looks like a toy.
- It's seriously huge. I don't think anyone can appreciate the sheer size of a 32" display sitting on their desk until they see it in person. The immersion factor cannot be ignored.
- The stand has a wide range of mobility and can lower itself down quite far so I don't have to strain my neck to see the top of the screen.
- Zero backlight bleed. None. Coming from several LG panels that looked like someone was shining a flashlight in from around the bezel, this is like a dream come true.
- No dead pixels. Thank God.
- Color looks amaing, and that's just using the basic calibration settings off tftcentral. There's definately a reason I went with a VA monitor. I've always liked the color and contrast they're capable of.
- Color shifting isn't as bad around the edges of the screen as I thought it would be with a display this big. I'm probably sitting only 2 to 2.5 feet away from it. Honestly, it's not worth mentioning. You'll get far worse color shifting even from a tiny 22" TN display.
I only have one issue with the monitor though (of course):
- Vertical banding. This monitor has it. It's not excessive. I do notice it when I'm on a grey webpage or when I'm playing Diablo 3. It's not as annoying as the backlight bleed on my 27" Korean IPS, but it's there. For $270 on the Korean monitor I could live with bleed, but for $629 + tax for the BenQ, I'm a lot more critical. I haven't decided yet if it's enough for me to want to exchange the monitor because everything else about it is perfect so far. I've still got time to think since I bought it through Amazon. My issue is that I have a feeling if I exchange it, I'll probably either get one back with similar banding, or else get one with backlight bleed, or some other problem. Decisions, decisions.
- Well ok there's two issues, I guess... but I already knew this was an issue... if you consider the motion blur to be an issue. I honestly don't think it's any different than my IPS displays, so I don't actually consider it an issue. It's something I already knew was going to be there, but I wanted a large display and I hate TN panels, so that's just the way it is.
Anyway, this monitor is bad ass. I mentioned the immersion factor, but it just so blows away my 27" display that I have to mention it again. I'm finding myself enjoying it more than I even did my NVSurround setup I had for a while. The black levels are excellent and they're actually black, unlike my IPS that's kind of black but more like grey. The first thing I noticed is when I loaded up Diablo 3 is that the menus actually have a lot more detail and shading to them then I thought they did. I can go into a cave/dungeon now and actually see things. The Korean IPS I have just can't seem to bring those dark details out. And that's not the best part... I actually have the brightness a lot lower on the BenQ and I can still see darker scenes better AND get brighter colors. The 2nd thing was the explosions from my Demon Hunter's elemental arrows. The colors, man, the colors! The fireballs just looks so much brighter. Seeing that bright blast when I'm in a dark dungeon is just... WOW. As good as the IPS was, this monitor is just that much better