Just ordered the Dell UltraSharp 2209WA

hey guys, my replacement has arrived, one thing i notice when i opened the box was the vga port was plugged into the monitor. is it possible that it might returned from user just replace it ? although it doesn't have dead pixel or anyhting, but it seems to me there blacklight bleeding or one's side brighter. any help is appreciated what else should i look into? overall both the orginal and replacement looks pretty much same.
Pretty sure the VGA cable is suppose to come attached, even the picture says so (take a look.)

I returned both my 2209s to UPS today (BTW, the return address is to Trillium, wtf is that?) because of stuck pixel and uneven lighting...though it seems like I'm not the only one.

Perhaps all 2209 suffer from uneven lighting and people just don't notice it or isn't looking hard enough...or am I and a few others here just unlucky?
 
hey guys, my replacement has arrived, one thing i notice when i opened the box was the vga port was plugged into the monitor. is it possible that it might returned from user just replace it ? although it doesn't have dead pixel or anyhting, but it seems to me there blacklight bleeding or one's side brighter. any help is appreciated what else should i look into? overall both the orginal and replacement looks pretty much same.
VGA port wasn't plugged in on your first one? I thought that's how they all came.
 
my 2209wa came with the VGA cable attached as well

my monitor has no uneven brightness issue, tested with 12 different area (divided by square) with result +/- 5 cd/m² , tested on brightness level 15


Some said they see red or whatever color on one side on a white screen, that may be their eyes' retention from looking at a solid color before.

you also have take encounter different vision between human eyes, try looking at the screen with an eye closed and see if you can tell the difference.

after all you can't expect miracle on a less than $300 screen (and it looks like a lot of people on here or other forums do)
 
the first one wasn't hooked to the vga port. I think either of these monitor are good, i guess the uniformity is not that bad unless trying to look for it. when ordering the replacement i thought i would be a different case. ;)
 
my 2209wa came with the VGA cable attached as well

my monitor has no uneven brightness issue, tested with 12 different area (divided by square) with result +/- 5 cd/m² , tested on brightness level 15


Some said they see red or whatever color on one side on a white screen, that may be their eyes' retention from looking at a solid color before.

you also have take encounter different vision between human eyes, try looking at the screen with an eye closed and see if you can tell the difference.

after all you can't expect miracle on a less than $300 screen (and it looks like a lot of people on here or other forums do)
How did you test this? Seems interesting.
 
hey guys, my replacement has arrived, one thing i notice when i opened the box was the vga port was plugged into the monitor. is it possible that it might returned from user just replace it ? although it doesn't have dead pixel or anyhting, but it seems to me there blacklight bleeding or one's side brighter. any help is appreciated what else should i look into? overall both the orginal and replacement looks pretty much same.

VGA cable is always pre-plugged into the monitor

is it possible that it might returned from user just replace it ?

What does this mean?

I would settle for 1 dead pixel over a panel with tinting, backlight bleed, and darkspots
 
If I look really hard I can see some uniformity issues. But again, compared to the Samsung 2252BW and HP w2207h TN panels I had before, its in a different league. I can deal with a little uniformity issues with all of the other pluses that this monitor brings to the table.

I think the first damaged monitor I received looked better than this panel, but it had a torn polarizing filter so what can you do? I'm still stoked to be using it for the price I paid.

Has anyone else used the Dynamic Contrast feature on it? When you turn it on is only affects the Game and Video presents apparently. I fired up HL2: Ep2 and it actually looked pretty decent. The backlight dimming was much softer and less noticeable than on previous units I've seen with Dynamic Contrast and wasn't very distracting at all. I don't think I'd ever use it permanently but it still looked better than any I've personally seen.
 
How did you test this? Seems interesting.
i really don't know, lol. just checked for the usual issue uniformity. Looked closed at it and tried to see if the color seem balanced by checking each sides. i felt i noticed slight color uniformity when checking some webpage with bright color.
 
Would someone be able to make some kind of relative judgement of how badly this screen "sparkles" (that noisy, grainy texture produced by the antiglare finish) compared to an Apple 20/23/30" Cinema Display? I'm quite sensitive to it as I often am trying to judge subtle detail in images, and for reference, I find the level of sparkle in an ACD too disruptive for my tastes. The few posts in this thread about this screen's sparkle haven't quite been in agreement, nor given me a confident idea what it's like on this screen.

The price/feature combination of the 2209WA are strongly tempting me to grab one to replace my CRT, but I'm absolutely breaking my brain trying to make sure I'd really be OK jumping to this (or to LCD at all at this point in time, for that matter). :eek:

Thanks in advance...this is the last piece of info I'm missing.

Hey, for that matter, is there any way I would be able to see one in person before buying? I'm in the California Bay Area. Any stores demoing them (or happy, local owners :D)?
 
During the first few minutes of testing the monitor after unboxing, the anti-glare was very noticeable. This was also on default settings.

Now that it is calibrated, at 0 brightness, its barely noticeable unless Im viewing bright colors or bright whites. Even then I have to look for it.

Its not an issue for me.
 
Would someone be able to make some kind of relative judgement of how badly this screen "sparkles"

I'm switching over from a glossy panel, so the shimmering/marbling effect of anti-glare coat on 2209WA was first thing I noticed when I had two screens side by side. Also noticeable was that small text fonts were not as sharp/crisp as on the glossy panel (HP w2207). 2209WA's better viewing angles, colors, and deeper blacks make it a superior monitor for watching movies. As for the "sparkles" effect you mention, I've gotten used to it. But if I were to just work with text on light background, I think I would prefer a glossy panel.
 
I couldn't find the dell 2209wa on any of the dell website, even in the USA server. Can anyone confirm?
 
I'm switching over from a glossy panel, so the shimmering/marbling effect of anti-glare coat on 2209WA was first thing I noticed when I had two screens side by side. Also noticeable was that small text fonts were not as sharp/crisp as on the glossy panel (HP w2207). 2209WA's better viewing angles, colors, and deeper blacks make it a superior monitor for watching movies. As for the "sparkles" effect you mention, I've gotten used to it. But if I were to just work with text on light background, I think I would prefer a glossy panel.

I really thought I wasn't going to be able to get past the anti-glare stuf... but I don't even notice it anymore.
 
Also noticeable was that small text fonts were not as sharp/crisp as on the glossy panel (HP w2207). 2209WA's better viewing angles, colors, and deeper blacks make it a superior monitor for watching movies. As for the "sparkles" effect you mention, I've gotten used to it. But if I were to just work with text on light background, I think I would prefer a glossy panel.

I also had the HP w2207, and my HDTV is also a glossy panel.

The only downside is glare. Which for me doesn't even begin to take away from sharpness and other PQ gains with non matte screens.
 
I don't know how old your ACD is, but the 23" we bought last year at my company has by far the worst slopping of anti-glare I have ever seen on a panel. You have every reason to be concerned having used that (if you have used the 23" :))

The Dell is not nearly as bad as that "thing". It does have a case of the slightly dirty sparkles, but you have to actually look for it on bright colors. Also because it has a larger dot pitch than the ACD it might not be as large of a problem.

Hope that helps. I wish I could photo graph that effect, but all attempts have failed.

Would someone be able to make some kind of relative judgement of how badly this screen "sparkles" (that noisy, grainy texture produced by the antiglare finish) compared to an Apple 20/23/30" Cinema Display? I'm quite sensitive to it as I often am trying to judge subtle detail in images, and for reference, I find the level of sparkle in an ACD too disruptive for my tastes. The few posts in this thread about this screen's sparkle haven't quite been in agreement, nor given me a confident idea what it's like on this screen.

The price/feature combination of the 2209WA are strongly tempting me to grab one to replace my CRT, but I'm absolutely breaking my brain trying to make sure I'd really be OK jumping to this (or to LCD at all at this point in time, for that matter). :eek:

Thanks in advance...this is the last piece of info I'm missing.

Hey, for that matter, is there any way I would be able to see one in person before buying? I'm in the California Bay Area. Any stores demoing them (or happy, local owners :D)?
 
Well, great. Just got mine and it has a dead pixel.

If I do the advanced exchange, how long will it take to get here? The initial system took a little while, I hope the exchanged one can be faster.
 
I don't know how old your ACD is, but the 23" we bought last year at my company has by far the worst slopping of anti-glare I have ever seen on a panel. You have every reason to be concerned having used that (if you have used the 23" :))
I've seen all 3 sizes (in matte)...my main reference for comparison, though, is a family member's matte S-IPS 20" white iMac, which I believe is the same (or similar enough) as the 20" ACD.

The Dell is not nearly as bad as that "thing". It does have a case of the slightly dirty sparkles, but you have to actually look for it on bright colors. Also because it has a larger dot pitch than the ACD it might not be as large of a problem.
Thanks for the info. Yeah, that was what gave me some hope that this panel might be better than many of LG's matte IPS panels.

Hope that helps. I wish I could photo graph that effect, but all attempts have failed.
That helps, certainly. Thanks for the comparison. It's still maddeningly subjective, though...I wonder if there's any objective way to measure it. Here's something I just came up with:

(Make sure you're viewing it at 100%, no more, no less.)
In which patches (left easiest, right hardest) are you able to tell that the center is a noise texture and the surrounding area is smooth? On my CRT I have the barest impression that there's something different on the rightmost patch, and beginning to have some definition of the noise in the 2nd to right. On the aforementioned iMac, the rightmost patch looks the same all over, with the 2nd to rightmost only having the barest hint of something different in the center than surrounding. I'd be curious to hear what you can tell on your Dell...

(Accusations that I'm being very picky, especially for a screen this cheap, are completely true and well-founded. :p)
 
Well, great. Just got mine and it has a dead pixel.

If I do the advanced exchange, how long will it take to get here? The initial system took a little while, I hope the exchanged one can be faster.

My exchange order was placed on 2/13 and received the replacement on 2/19. Granted, there was a weekend as well as President's day in there, it just took a lot longer to ship than my initial order. Once it ships, however, the advanced exchange replacements are shipped overnight.

And just a note on that, the new one doesn't buzz nearly as loudly as the first. Oddly, it's still considerably louder than my second 2209WA, but at the same time it's not nearly as intrusive as the defective one. It can be heard when everything else is off, but once I boot the computer/home theater system/etc. the ambient noise covers it up easily enough. Also, no pixel defects leave me extremely satisfied with this pair.
 
I can see the left most two squares very easily, and the third one with some effort.

The fourth/rightmost is impossible to see.

You have every right to be picky when staring at it for periods of time.


I've seen all 3 sizes (in matte)...my main reference for comparison, though, is a family member's matte S-IPS 20" white iMac, which I believe is the same (or similar enough) as the 20" ACD.


Thanks for the info. Yeah, that was what gave me some hope that this panel might be better than many of LG's matte IPS panels.


That helps, certainly. Thanks for the comparison. It's still maddeningly subjective, though...I wonder if there's any objective way to measure it. Here's something I just came up with:

(Make sure you're viewing it at 100%, no more, no less.)
In which patches (left easiest, right hardest) are you able to tell that the center is a noise texture and the surrounding area is smooth? On my CRT I have the barest impression that there's something different on the rightmost patch, and beginning to have some definition of the noise in the 2nd to right. On the aforementioned iMac, the rightmost patch looks the same all over, with the 2nd to rightmost only having the barest hint of something different in the center than surrounding. I'd be curious to hear what you can tell on your Dell...

(Accusations that I'm being very picky, especially for a screen this cheap, are completely true and well-founded. :p)
 
I can see the left most two squares very easily, and the third one with some effort.

The fourth/rightmost is impossible to see.

You have every right to be picky when staring at it for periods of time.

I can pick out a difference in the fourth square, but I can't point out definitive borders like I could on the previous three. I couldn't tell you that the shape of the affected area was a square.

That said, I do notice the sparkle on these monitors from time to time, especially on highly contrasting items (like this white text field surrounded by a black border). You can tell the white is slightly distorted in comparison with the darker background, but it doesn't bother me. As soon as I open the windows in the morning and the light starts reflecting off of my white walls, I can forgive the slight disadvantages of a matte finish for the very effective elimination of glare this coating allows. It seems to diffuse external light a bit better than my BenQ FP241VW did, but the diffusion of the display's picture isn't much worse at all.
 
Just got my 2209WA delivered a few days ago as an upgrade to my old Dell 2001FP IPS panel.

I didn't check out this thread until I noticed a few problems with my display. First thing I noticed was that on very light backgrounds (white or light gray/yellow) there was a perceivable difference in color temperature between the left and right sides of the monitor which I'm assuming is due to uneven backlighting. The left side of the screen has cooler blue tint while the right side appears warmer and more yellow.

Also one other thing that's kind of bothering me is that the display has weird kind of fuzzy brightness that I can't dial out through adjustments. My HDTV for movies and games is a heavily calibrated Sony XBR970 CRT so I'm really spoiled when it comes to accurate color reproduction and black levels, but I'm still trying to get adjusted to this new display.
 
I want to reorder this monitor but ARGH!

I can live with the matte sparkle and hell even a stuck pixel, but that uneven lighting is really annoying.
 
I can live with the matte sparkle and hell even a stuck pixel, but that uneven lighting is really annoying.
is it really bad though? if you can, can you upload a pic of it.
 
A coupe of things I have noticed since using both of these monitors is that on one of them (I have two) I believe I do see the effects of some uneven white uniformity. Only really noticeable with glaring white images. However, on this same monitor I think this one isn't as bright as my second one even though they have the same exact settings.

Again, it's not overly noticeable but I believe it's there. Is it common to have the two of the exact same monitor with the exact same settings and not get exactly the same results picture wise?

The last question I have is one I posted earlier but got no response on so I thought I would try again is,

So I have my settings as 0 brightness 74 contrast with 99R 98G and 100B. Looks decent so far but my question is for those of you who have been playing with the settings do you think I should adjust my gamma as well? if so, to what? I have an nvidia 9800GTX+ video card.

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi,

I've been looking for a new monitor as well, back in November I ordered a HP LP2475w, but I had to return it. :(

The HP suffered from serious color uniformity issues, and this seems to be a common problem with the HP (and possibly H-IPS panels).

I decided to order a different screen, and the Philips 240PW9ES seemed like a pretty good alternative, this model also used an H-IPS panel, and Philips warranty replacement service is much better than HP's.
However, the Philips monitor still hasn't been released in Europe, I called Philips about it, but they did not know the exact release date either, only that it was expected to be released somewhere in Q1 2009.

Now, I'm getting rather inpatient, I have been stuck with my crappy 17" Medion TN since November looking for a replacement, and Philips is taking too long to release their H-IPS screen.

Now, this new Dell model seems like a pretty good (and cheap) IPS-based monitor, unfortunately it is not 24" model, but 22" is still pretty good.
The only thing I'm really worried about is whether this Dell monitor suffers from the same color uniformity issues as the HP, since both models use similar IPS technology from LG.

So, will this model be (almost) as good as the HP in terms of picture quality?
And are there any know issues with this screen?
In terms of screen size, is 22" a serious downgrade compared to 24"? (I dont care about the resolution difference, just the actual size of the screen).

Hope someone can help me decide whether to go for it or not :p
 
Just got my 2209WA delivered a few days ago as an upgrade to my old Dell 2001FP IPS panel.

I didn't check out this thread until I noticed a few problems with my display. First thing I noticed was that on very light backgrounds (white or light gray/yellow) there was a perceivable difference in color temperature between the left and right sides of the monitor which I'm assuming is due to uneven backlighting. The left side of the screen has cooler blue tint while the right side appears warmer and more yellow.

Also one other thing that's kind of bothering me is that the display has weird kind of fuzzy brightness that I can't dial out through adjustments. My HDTV for movies and games is a heavily calibrated Sony XBR970 CRT so I'm really spoiled when it comes to accurate color reproduction and black levels, but I'm still trying to get adjusted to this new display.

The two things you mention are precisely the things I noticed about this monitor. I just got a replacement that I'll be checking out today, but from the ongoing feedback I am not optimistic that the new one is going to be any better.

Post calibration with an i1 Display LT and BasicColor, the fuzzy brightness is somewhat better but the screen uniformity issue is still there.

CrypticHorde, see my earlier posts regarding calibration. You definitely need to calibrate this monitor if you want a consistent 2.2 gamma from 10-90 IRE.

I agree that you can't expect miracles at this price point, and there's a lot to like about this monitor. However, for me these issues are deal killers.
 
You don't need to spend US$150 for a colorimeter. Spyder 2 basic model ("express" - about US$70?) is the same hardware as the "pro" model, but with limited software. However, you can get around that by using (freeware) Colimetre HCFR to set monitor brightness/contrast and RGB gain levels, then calibrate using the basic spyder software, then verify using HCFR. Better colorimeters (ie spyder 3, others) are mainly more sensitive for measuring very deep grey levels.

I don't know about screen uniformity problems. I'd be careful to ensure that monitor has been on for a while before looking though, as the backlights take a while to warm up. If it wasn't acceptable, I'd return it, as mine (and others report) very consistent results. Brightness on measurable area of the screen is +/- <5% when set at about 120cd/m2.

Sure, you can get a cheaper colorimeter than an i1 Display LT, but the general consensus is that it's considerably better than a Spyder 2.

The i1 Display LT colorimeter is the same device that NEC supplies with their SpectraView package. I got mine for $127 back in December. They're readily available even though X-Rite has discontinued the LT package.

Choice of calibration software is also important. Even X-Rite advised me to buy the SpectraView software if I got an NEC monitor rather than use the Eye One Match3 software that's bundled with the LT.

I also like the free ColorHCFR software ... I use it to calibrate my plasma TV.
I got much better results calibrating this monitor with BasicColor than Eye One Match3.

You're probably right about the brightness being pretty consistent. The issue is that there's a definite orange hue on a white background or light grey desktop on the right side of the screen. I haven't tried to measure it.

I'm no expert, so there's no South Park 'respect my authorita' message meant here. I have some practical experience and I'm just trying to help people make a decision.
 
Please help.

What OS?

In XP you can install the profile by right-clicking on the .icc file. You will then need an application to load it. Check out the Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet. Its free and simple to use.

Not sure in Vista, as I'm running Win7beta instead. But should be the same. In which case MS provided color management software. You should be able to find it in Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Color Management.

Mac I have no idea.
 
OK I'm now using my replacement monitor. First impressions (it's still uncalibrated) ...

It's better than the first one in a couple of respects ... the right side of the screen doesn't have quite as much of an orange tint as my first one, and it isn't as crazy bright as my first one. I think I'll be able to use this one at a higher contrast setting than my first one without feeling like I'm staring into the sun.

It's possible I've just gotten a little more tolerant on the screen uniformity issue ... there is still an obvious difference to the look of the left and right halves of the screen. This is something you would never see in gaming, but you would notice it on a spreadsheet or web page. The degree to which it's noticeable depends on your contrast setting.

On the new monitor, it's very obvious that the contrast is non-linear. Somewhere in the mid-70's bumping up contrast by even one notch makes a huge difference. My first one didn't behave like that.

I'm going to need to wait till tonight to calibrate, I like to do it in total darkness.

I also have the impression that the off-angle 'white glow' typical of IPS screens on a black background isn't as pronounced on the new monitor ... but I'll have to wait till nighttime to see whether I really believe it.

The new monitor has a new problem. I use a light grey desktop, and I can see bands (both vertical and horizontal) that are kind of subtle and move around in a kind of ebb and flow so that you question whether your eyes are playing tricks on you. I've only seen this before on plasma TV's. Anyone else seeing this? I definitely did NOT see this on my first monitor.

I found a terrific way to quickly check for dead/stuck pixels and backlight bleed. In the OSD under Other Settings, enable LCD Conditioning. The monitor will start displaying full screens of various colors. It's exactly like the break-in images some people use on brand-new plasma TV's to get the phosphors to stabilize before calibration. The OSD menu says LCD Conditioning is to get rid of image retention, but I've sure never had a problem with image retention on an LCD monitor.

I'm pretty sure this new monitor is going to measure and calibrate differently than the first one. I will report back. If so, you can forget about using someone else's profile, there's just too much variability from unit to unit.

Dell shipped the replacement Standard Overnight Fedex. Dell customer service has been terrific to deal with ... I ordered as a small business customer, I don't know whether that makes any difference.
 
and it isn't as crazy bright as my first one. I think I'll be able to use this one at a higher contrast setting than my first one without feeling like I'm staring into the sun.

Crazy brightness with the brightness control on zero? Because if you don't have it turned down to the minimum, what are you complaining about? That is what a brightness control is for. Setting the brightness to a comfortable level.

If brightness is at zero and it is still too bright that is unusual for this monitor. 10e showed it was only around 120 cd/m2 at zero which isn't too bright for 99.8% of people.
 
I found a terrific way to quickly check for dead/stuck pixels and backlight bleed. In the OSD under Other Settings, enable LCD Conditioning.

I used the 2209WA for a few days and didn't notice any problem pixels. But i did what you suggest and noticed quite a few "stuck" pixels under various colors. So far all of them became "unstuck" after slightest tapping with a pointy object (note: use plastic or wood - nothing scratchy). One advantage of non-glossy screens is that it doesn't take much force to get pixels un-stuck. With a glossy pane it's hard to put enough pressure on underlying LCD matrix.

BTW i really like the OSD design.

BTW2 subjectively i haven't noticed any color uniformity issues. Maybe, maybe one can say there is a very slight decrease in brightness on right side of panel and a few places around the edges - nothing that's obvious unless really straining to find it.
 
Snowdog, sounds like you take me for an idiot. Have a look at my previous posts for some context.

Brightness controls the minimum luminance level ... like making sure you're not crushing shadow detail by using a pluge pattern. It's the contrast control that sets the peak luminance level. The terminology is confusing but that's the way it works.
 
If you are using 2.2 gamma you pretty much have to expect the first couple of dark values are going to be crushed. People really are wasting their time obsessing if they can differentiate 0,0,0 from 3,3,3. This barely matters to extreme pros. It certainly doesn't to most home users.

In the daytime right now on my calibrated NEC 2490, the first block I can differentiate is 5,5,5 (just barely).

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php
 
If anyone is interested I have this display for sale... $260 shipped... it has ZERO dead pixels, ZERO stuck pixels, AND the best part... the backlight is completely uniform!!! :)

If anyone is interested just PM me!

Oh, I am selling cause in the end, 22" just isn't quite big enough for me...

By the way, it's a gorgeous display! After taking it out of the box, I simply adjusted the colors to Cool in the options and then surfed and gamed on it for a few hours... I was impressed... but in the end, it just isn't quite big enough!

Send a PM if interested!
 
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