BenQ new VW2420/EW2420 VA panel with LED backlight.

I've discovered a fun stuff...

Go to this page:
Gradient test (banding test)

Configure your monitor with:
Brightness: no matter
Contrast: 50
Color temperature: "Normal" or RGB ---> 100,100,100

Change the Gamma setting to 2.0...
Now my monitor show a perfect gray scale with no trace of banding.
This panel is factory calibrated for gamma 2.0?
I don't know but the result on gray tones is very nice.
 
During calibration I tried staying close to the presents and measured the gamma being off when I calibrated it to 50 brightness and 69 contrast. Eye one match also showed that there wasn't enough contrast. So I halfed the brightness and set contrast to 90 and got near perfecr results that required only minor tweaking (brightness 25 to 27 contrast 90 to 85). The factory gamma setting of 2.2 is fine.

Its also very easy to tell the gamma/contrast are off when set up next to another calibrated monitor.

I also disabled the ICC profile (calibrated with Eye One) and remeasured in BasICColor to get the same results. This makes the BenQ great for consoles and people without colorimeters sense profiling isn't actually needed to achieve accurate results. Its really to bad that the presents suck especially when most TN panels come with accurate presents these days.
 
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In my opinion this panel has a native gamma of 2.0 and a color temperature of 7000/7100K.
Otherwise, I can't explain the perfect gray scale linearity with gamma 2.0.
And when I say "perfect" I don't want to say "good". :)
The gradient can be really perfect when the panel is in its native condition.
All others settings cause, more or less, banding.

Yes, the color presets are rough...
Maybe that BenQ engineers can't imagine that we will treating this monitor like an Eizo CG.
:D
 
I havent calibrabred any monitor yet but read a lot to find best settings for my EW2420.

I tried (next to my personal settings) different settings which are posted all over the Internet - e.g.:

from NCX:
Brightness 26
Contrast 85
Sharpness 4
Gamma 2.2
Red 78
Green 75
Blue 72
AMA (RTC): ON
Click to expand...


from miomao 1st:
Brightness: 0 (80 cd/m2)
Contrast: 50
Sharpness: 2
Color temperature: "User Mode"
Red: 100
Green: 86
Blue: 87
Click to expand...

from miomao 2nd:
Contrast: 50
Color temperature: "Normal" or RGB ---> 100,100,100

Change the Gamma setting to 2.0...
Click to expand...


from bigjimmyauk
brightness 32
contrast 60
sharpness 3
gamma 2.2
red 88
green 88
blue 86
AMA on
Click to expand...

I honestly have to say that "miomao 2nd" are the best settings for me. I have worked through the lagom tests and almost every test meets that settings. Additional i have set:

brightness 10
contrast 46
sharpness 2
AMA on

miomao, thanx for working this out. It is quiet perfect.
 
If things are like I said... you must say more thanks to AU Optronics.

Brightness: <anything you like>
Contrast: 50
Sharpness: 2/3
Gamma: 2.0
Color: "User Mode" ---> (RGB 100,100,100)

In this way the panel is in its native condition (I think).
This is better for the panel but maybe it is not better for you.
The suggested color temperature is 6500K and gamma 2.2.
So this is the ICC profile:
EW2420_native_to_6500K.icc

It's a good idea to make the color correction all on the software side?
I don't know... but result is not bad.
My EyeOne2 say that the monitor gamma correction is not very accurate, because measure a 2.3 against the 2.2 setting.
 
topcaser said:
miomao,

i dont understand, what are the recommended settings from your point of view?
Click to expand...

You can use the settings I said to put the panel in its native condition.
But the temperature of 7000K with gamma 2.0 is not the suggested thing.

If you want the suggested temperature of 6500K with gamma 2.2...
Use the settings and also install the ICC profile.

This depends from your needings or simply from your personal preference.
This is the reason why there are settings... ;)
 
What influence could make ATI's Catalyst color settings (where you can set the temperature, it defaults to 6500K) or the own monitor icm profile (installed with the driver)?
 
luisito said:
What influence could make ATI's Catalyst color settings (where you can set the temperature, it defaults to 6500K) or the own monitor icm profile (installed with the driver)?
Click to expand...

I think icm profile don't have gamma informations. So it do nothing to correct colors on screen.
Instead, with video card driver you can change colors on screen. But I don't think it's a good idea to make colors correction in a so approximate way.

Now I've understand because the AMA function (overdrive?) is optional.
Because it causes reverse ghosting.
 
I got my BL2400PT yesterday. After few hours of using I noticed something odd at the bottom of the screen. There's some ripple-like pattern that can be seen on lighter tones. I took couple pictures of it. Other than that I actually like this monitor quite a lot. It is a bit slower than 14ms IPS, but it's not too slow for casual gaming. I'm gonna check later if this can do over 60hz.

http://i56.tinypic.com/6xqe5g.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/ruxi60.jpg

You guys have anything like it? Do you thing I could get it changed under warranty?
 
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Atropos said:
I got my BL2400PT yesterday. After few hours of using I noticed something odd at the bottom of screen. There's some ripple-like pattern that can be seen on lighter tones. I took couple pictures of it. Other than that I actually like this monitor quite a lot. It is a bit slower than 14ms IPS, but it's not too slow for casual gaming. I'm gonna check later if this can do over 60hz.

http://i56.tinypic.com/6xqe5g.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/ruxi60.jpg

You guys have anything like it? Do you thing I could get it changed under warranty?
Click to expand...

I'd have that exchanged for sure, and I'm not really all that picky. That would drive me nuts =)
 
Atropos said:
I got my BL2400PT yesterday. After few hours of using I noticed something odd at the bottom of the screen. There's some ripple-like pattern that can be seen on lighter tones. I took couple pictures of it. Other than that I actually like this monitor quite a lot. It is a bit slower than 14ms IPS, but it's not too slow for casual gaming. I'm gonna check later if this can do over 60hz.

http://i56.tinypic.com/6xqe5g.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/ruxi60.jpg

You guys have anything like it? Do you thing I could get it changed under warranty?
Click to expand...

I tried a VW2420H and found the same issue. It is the LED backlight shining through. The backlight is not one continuous tube: it is many small separate LEDs with a gap between each - hence the ripple effect. I returned mine because of this and a dark large smear mark up the centre of the screen. Having used this monitor for a few days I am not sure it is anywhere near as good as the claims made for it. Viewing angles are little better than a TN. I am thinking of buying the Dell U2311H.
 
Well, I guess it's a "feature" then.

If someone is interested I managed to get 72hz using timings in nec ea231wmi -thread and at least I don't notice any frame skipping.
 
Spooky said:
Having used this monitor for a few days I am not sure it is anywhere near as good as the claims made for it. Viewing angles are little better than a TN. I am thinking of buying the Dell U2311H.
Click to expand...

The Nec EA232WMi is coming.
MultiSync® EA232WMi

The U2311H advantage is that it has the overdrive (8ms GTG).
So it's a better choice for gaming purpose.


P.S.
However and personally, I don't think that these BenQ are a failure.
They have their strengths.
Surely the E-IPS panel is a better "all arounder".

P.P.S.
My friend looks very happy with the EW2420.
He navigates the web and use Office, Messenger, Skype, ...
No games or heavy multimedia.
So this monitor is like icing on the cake. :)
 
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Hi guys,

Got my VW2420H over the weekend. Unfortunately its taken me this long to get around to playing with it. I'll agree that the settings out of the box (on mine at least) was very poor and took half an hour of playing with the settings (similar to what everyone else has posted above), before I was semi-satisfied.

It wont be until this Friday before I get to use this monitor in anger but even then, I think I'll be sending it back.

Serious problem with LED lighting ripple at the bottom of the screen, infact its so bad there also a yellow tinge to it when you have a strong white picture being displayed. At first I thought I wouldn't notice but after watching a quick 15 minute HD video, it gets distracting. I'll see if I can get a photo but its significantly worse than Atropos.

My next problem is the quality of the picture over HDMI. I suspect either I've screwed up my settings somewhere or they haven't given 1:1 pixel mapping over this medium. Again, I'll get photos tomorrow but as a quick description, it seems to lose all of its definition.

I've gotta say the blacks and picture quality otherwise are stunning, and I'm pretty hard to impress. Just such a shame BenQ's build quality is letting them down. Although I have to admit that I'm hardly seeing any backlight bleed from the sides like others have reported.
 
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I just got the EW2420 this morning and after about an hour using it I have to say I'm very disappointed. It's a significant downgrade in image quality from my NEC 20WMGX2 in almost every important way. The few positives of this monitor are insignificant in light of the fact overall the IQ of this thing is what I would fairly characterize as terribad.

I am absolutely going to be returning this POS for refund. Unless you have only ever known super cheap and ugly TN panels you will be very dissapointed with this. DO NOT BUY.

I'll write more later but my list of grievances to my eyes is long :(.
 
Atropos said:
I got my BL2400PT yesterday. After few hours of using I noticed something odd at the bottom of the screen. There's some ripple-like pattern that can be seen on lighter tones. I took couple pictures of it.
Click to expand...

Yes, i have it too. That's what i think are the leds at the edge. It doesn't disturb me so much.
 
Atropos said:
Well, I guess it's a "feature" then.

If someone is interested I managed to get 72hz using timings in nec ea231wmi -thread and at least I don't notice any frame skipping.
Click to expand...

Through DVI or DP? I'm thinking about the possibility of getting less vertical refresh (true 50hz), but i don't know if it will damage in any way, shape or form the monitor (i don't think it will, and the specs talk about 50-76hz range, but i don't know if its only input range and the monitor works stubbornly at 60 anyway...)
 
CPhoenix said:
My next problem is the quality of the picture over HDMI. I suspect either I've screwed up my settings somewhere or they haven't given 1:1 pixel mapping over this medium. Again, I'll get photos tomorrow but as a quick description, it seems to lose all of its definition.
Click to expand...

Mine doesn't have HDMI, but has an option about the input signal: overscan, full, or aspect. It sounds like what you report.
 
luisito said:
Through DVI or DP? I'm thinking about the possibility of getting less vertical refresh (true 50hz), but i don't know if it will damage in any way, shape or form the monitor (i don't think it will, and the specs talk about 50-76hz range, but i don't know if its only input range and the monitor works stubbornly at 60 anyway...)
Click to expand...

Through DVI.
 
luisito said:
Mine doesn't have HDMI, but has an option about the input signal: overscan, full, or aspect. It sounds like what you report.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately when connected via HDMI on my VW2420H, I can only choose to switch the overscan on & off.

With overscan on, theres a border of about 5mm from the edge of the screen.
With overscan off, theres a border of about 30mm from the edge of the screen.

Very disappointing.
 
CPhoenix said:
Unfortunately when connected via HDMI on my VW2420H, I can only choose to switch the overscan on & off.

With overscan on, theres a border of about 5mm from the edge of the screen.
With overscan off, theres a border of about 30mm from the edge of the screen.

Very disappointing.
Click to expand...

Beware if you are an ATI owner. There is an overscan setting there, also (i don't know about Nvidia)
 
Oled said:
A real review! 83 %
http://www.pcmonitors.org/monitor-reviews/benq-ew2420

Max brightness 3233:1 :eek:
Click to expand...

There is something seriously wrong with the way they're measuring contrast. I highly doubt those measured black levels are accurate and that the contrast is really that low at higher brightness. I've never seen a display's contrast scale like that, even the worst panels are somewhat consistent across brightness levels.

edit; NCX doesn't offer any other measurements at higher brightness but this is a quote from his earlier review:

Default Contrast/black depth is impressive though @ 253cdm/2 brightness the black value is 0.09cdm/2 which almost every other panel tech to shame as even the best PVA panels struggle to get down to 0.10cdm/2 black depth @ half the brightness.
Click to expand...

Compare that to the results in the review above: 258cdm/2 with a black level of 0.30cdm/2, and something is just off here.
 
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steal said:
..
Click to expand...

Most of that sites measurements are completely inaccurate if not impossible, not to mention there is no standard goal for calibration.

I measured the black level of 0.09cdm/2@ 100% brightness in the standard out-of-the-box preset which is outstanding (except compared to the C-PVA Eizo/Samsungs), 0.06cdm/2 @ 160cdm/2 and calibrated it to get 0.04cdm/2 @ 120cdm/2 brightness. I guess I could have cranked the contrast up as well but it would hardly have made a difference. Maybe with 100% Brightness/Contrast the black level might rise to 0.12cdm/2
 
Hey NCX. The blue tinge in all four corners of the display that you mention in your review, could it be in fact a viewing angle issue rather than actual backlight leaking? ie blacks start to wash out at angles but since we're always viewing the corners at an angle it is visible for centered viewing as well. Like in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFVVBXPCQAU

At 1:22 for the VW2420 and at 3:15 for the EW2420. Both have visible blue tinge in the corners from straight on but it changes a lot when camera angles change too. What I mean is, does the bleeding/tinge go away when you position yourself perpendicular to one of the corners rather than sit right in front? If it does, then that would indicate it's not the backlight uniformity that is poor but rather the viewing angles. If that is in fact the case and you still have the monitor, could you please see how far away do you have to sit for this not to be noticeable anymore since viewing from distance should in theory mean lower angle to the corners

I am in the market for a 1920x1200 or bigger resolution screen but these BenQ displays look VERY tempting with their low price, slim design, semi glossy coating and deep blacks. If it's the viewing angles that are causing the "bleeding" then there's unfortunetaly not much point of those incredibly deep blacks unless the effect stops being visible at a reasonable distance. Or perhaps yours is a defective unit with an actual backlight bleeding problem. Hoping it's the latter :(
 
Danga said:
Hey NCX. The blue tinge in all four corners of the display that you mention in your review, could it be in fact a viewing angle issue rather than actual backlight leaking? ie blacks start to wash out at angles but since we're always viewing the corners at an angle it is visible for centered viewing as well.
Click to expand...
Watch NCX's video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s90Hl8LU75Y

It's clearly back light bleed on his unit.
 
bearbear said:
Watch NCX's video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s90Hl8LU75Y

It's clearly back light bleed on his unit.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I guess you're right, but it's kind of hard to tell for sure from a video. At times it looks like backlight bleeding, then like a viewing angle issue and sometimes even as a reflection. When he pauses the movie at 3:58, the bleeding is clearly visible in the bottom left corner. But when the camera moves to the left, it looks like it's gone and black is now black.
 
No, it is both. It is backlight bleed and it is PVA viewing angle. Even with zero backlight bleed blacks lighten up in a halo around the entire edge of the screen due to PVA viewing angle shift even with your view cone dead centered in the screen. You are exactly right, Danga, it does make the point of deep blacks meaningless. Ignore the black point measurements for this screen, they are equally meaningless as well. They imply image quality excellence just like all the other hyped stats for this monitor such as the 3000:1 contrast ratio but the actual reality is these monitors have terrible image quality.

Pay attention to how many people who have purchased one of these that are returning them. These monitors are dogs and you will be disappointed.
 
aa004 said:
Pay attention to how many people who have purchased one of these that are returning them. These monitors are dogs and you will be disappointed.
Click to expand...
I'll have to disagree with you there.

Most people are returning them because of things like back light bleed and LED problems, largely down to the lacklustre quality control at BenQ. People who have managed to get a decent unit though, do say the image quality is excellent. Take NCX's written and video review of the EW2420, ignoring the fact he measured the contrast ratio to be near 3000:1 or any other measurements, are you saying he wouldn't pick up on this supposedly poor image quality with his own eyes given his experience with monitors and particularly since he owns several good VA and TN monitors?

Also I'm fairly sure the VA viewing angle shift that's creating the "halo" effect in this video is exaggerated by the camera, a human eye won't see it to that much of a degree.
 
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bearbear said:
Most people are returning them because of things like back light bleed and LED problems, largely down to the lacklustre quality control at BenQ.
Click to expand...
Completely agree.
I have one and I'm absolutely stunned by image quality. It's absolutely amazing. I've replaced my Iiyama ES1900 with this and first things which strike my retina was colors and shades which I forgot since my CRT era.
I have no problems whatsoever with blue colors, saw lights from bottom LEDs, backlight bleeding, black crush, nothing.
In fact TBH I see some color shifting but I must tilt my head for that.
I've played only F1 2010 patched Ultra AAx8 and again I'm speechless.
For me is the Holy Grail. I'm 90% an internaut and 10% gamer.
I'm really sorry for others problems. :(
 
burebista said:
I've played only F1 2010 patched Ultra AAx8 and again I'm speechless.
Click to expand...
Have you noticed any ghosting at all in other games, particularly fast motion ones like first person shooters?

Good to know you got a decent unit without any problems :)
 
I don't have any games ATM. Waiting for that new CoD.
Yep, I'm happy too because I saw peoples satisfied (like me) and peoples completely disappointed by this BenQ so I guess it's a matter of QC for BenQ. Or luck?
 
Question for anyone who own this screen.

When using the HDMI input with a XBox 360 or Playstation 3 and connecting my PC speakers (2.1 Logitech system) in the audio output, I get a really bad sound. There is absolutely no bass going through. Those speakers are working perfectly with the audio output of any devices and used to be working perfectly with the audio output of my previous monitor (Samsung 245T), also with HDMI input.

I tried both audio outputs (the one at the rear and the one one the side) and two different HDMI cables.

Am I the only with with this issue with external speakers ?

Edit : I have the EW2420
 
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I'm picking one of these EW2420s up this week. I'll see if I get the same problem as you Bendal as I have both PS3 and XBox 360.

I'll also put it through the normal paces and report back. There seems to be a lot of weird data concerning magically inflated/inconsistent contrast ratios and black levels at various states of brightness, which I want to see in-person.
 
10e said:
I'm picking one of these EW2420s up this week. I'll see if I get the same problem as you Bendal as I have both PS3 and XBox 360.

I'll also put it through the normal paces and report back. There seems to be a lot of weird data concerning magically inflated/inconsistent contrast ratios and black levels at various states of brightness, which I want to see in-person.
Click to expand...
I'd be grateful if you could also test and report back how responsive the unit is (i.e. any ghosting/trailing in FPS games) and and input lag etc.

Thanks.
 
bearbear said:
I'd be grateful if you could also test and report back how responsive the unit is (i.e. any ghosting/trailing in FPS games) and and input lag etc.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. VA panels have always been problematic in terms of dark-on-dark transitions and I am very curious to see if AUO/BenQ have made any progress in this regard, as well as in regular responsiveness. I know this was also a big deal with the Samsung 2380mx screens in the past.

My input lag test will be through the VGA port because I have a VGA splitter, so DVI/HDMI should be as good or better unless they are over processing these inputs vs. VGA.

I'll also see if I can get any higher refresh rates over DVI than normal 60hz with nVidia cards without frame skipping. I also bought a kill-a-watt to see what kind of power usage I see from this screen.
 
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