Official BenQ FP241W Thread !!! Info, Pictures, Reviews

[10e]

I briefly had an FP241W in August of last year, but due to overscan issues I took it back to Costco with their incredible return policy.

They are basically the same screen. FP241VW and FP241WZ added "Perfectmotion" Black frame insertion (ie. where it inserts a black frame between each refresh) to improve motion blur a bit, but otherwise, they are the same monitor with a different stand.

The panel was identical from what I remember in regards to the visuals.

10e,

How would you rate the FP241W against the FP241VW?

 

[ZeroH]

Thanks. That makes my choice a little easier. Now I just need to decide if I should wait for the DS-265W to come out and get reviewed. And hear more about the new 2408 rev.

I briefly had an FP241W in August of last year, but due to overscan issues I took it back to Costco with their incredible return policy.

They are basically the same screen. FP241VW and FP241WZ added "Perfectmotion" Black frame insertion (ie. where it inserts a black frame between each refresh) to improve motion blur a bit, but otherwise, they are the same monitor with a different stand.

The panel was identical from what I remember in regards to the visuals.

 

[10e]

By the way, all the overscan issues and such have been fixed with the new firmware, which is pretty much all you can get nowadays. Just to make it clear.

Thanks. That makes my choice a little easier. Now I just need to decide if I should wait for the DS-265W to come out and get reviewed. And hear more about the new 2408 rev.

 

[ZeroH]

yep. I'm aware of that but thanks for making sure.

 

[Deluxe1]

Well this one (the 4th) has lasted less than a day before dying on me,switched my pc on this morning to find this.

Thought it could of been my drivers so uninstalled them and reinstalled but didnt do any good then thought it was my GTX260 so took that out and put in another card but it was still the same then tried my Dell monitor and everything was fine so has to be the BenQ.

 

[10e]

My dumb question is, is the video card in 32-bit color mode?

Did power cycling the monitor help at all?

Just curious. I've seen weird stuff like this with my nVidia 8800GTS only, but switching connectors or power cycling the FP241VW helped.

Sorry to see that. You are definitely not having much luck with these things

Well this one (the 4th) has lasted less than a day before dying on me,switched my pc on this morning to find this.

Thought it could of been my drivers so uninstalled them and reinstalled but didnt do any good then thought it was my GTX260 so took that out and put in another card but it was still the same then tried my Dell monitor and everything was fine so has to be the BenQ.

 

[ZeroH]

i was thinking the same thing about it being in 8bit color mode.

it could also be the cable. I once had a bent pin on my vga cable back in the CRT days that caused this same effect.

 

[Deluxe1]

Just connected it up again and its in 32bit.

 

[10e]

There's also a very strange effect on the task bar on the bottom. It almost looks like the screen is completely de-laminating or something, and the pixels have gone black.

I guess you have another RMA to perform. Send them this picture and let them chew on it. That's horrible.

Just connected it up again and its in 32bit.

 

[Kee-Lo]

Hi

I got the FP241W and am quite happy about it, but sometimes I do see a lot of motion blur. I see less of it on my new media centre, running Vista, but on my older PC it's worse. Is there any way to sort that and is it a defect? All I hear from people is this monitor is good for video, whereas I think it's carrying too much blur at times.

 

[Rudd]

Meh, ordered one a week ago and I think I got the old revision.

I'm connected via DVI and in PICTURE ADVANCED there's no Overscan option visible.

What exactly were the changes in the new rev? Mine has manuf. date March 2007, then something about Rev: B4-126

EDIT: Although under System I've got Display Mode where I can choose between Full, Aspect or 1:1, I guess this is it right?

 

[cassper1]

Guys, I have a question - which color preset are you using for an xbox over vga? Standard seems to be too washed-out so I'm using the movie mode, but I can't help a feeling it's a bit too bright and oversaturated. One more thing - is you display also running so hot? Not that it's a problem as it's coping well, but my display is running quite hot in operation...

 

[MFerret]

After 2 months of reading through reviews and the 250+ pages of forum posts here, I decided to pick up a Benq FP241W.

Received: 25th August, 2008 from an online dealer here in France. Immaculate condition, zero dead pixels, and no flicker or blackout problems as yet. Manufacturing date is August 2007.

My thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and helped me nail down the perfect 24" monitor. It is an absolute beauty!

 

[LordJezo]

Whoops wrong thread!

 

[Deluxe1]

There's also a very strange effect on the task bar on the bottom. It almost looks like the screen is completely de-laminating or something, and the pixels have gone black.

I guess you have another RMA to perform. Send them this picture and let them chew on it. That's horrible.

I sent it back and got a replacement with 5 dead pixels so they came and picked that one up today and dropped another replacement off.

Worked for a few hours then strangely enough i had the exact same problem as my 4th replacement with all the stange colours on my desktop...

Ive made a note of all the serial numbers of the 6 replacements ive had and its the same monitor i sent back to them which they have sent me back out.

 

[Rayman1968]

OK, I bought one of these back in October of '06. Here's the problem I'm now having...

A few days ago I turn the monitor on in the morning and get 'no signal detected'. I use two 8800GTX's in SLI so I try both video cards but have the same problem. I hook the monitor up to a system with two 7800GTX's in SLI and have the same problem. I buy a new cable, have the same problem. I hook up my backup CRT monitor to the same video card port (with a VGA - DVI adapter) and it works fine.

I get an RMA from BenQ and send it in. They receive it on Monday afternoon and send it back to me Tuesday afternoon. All the packing slip says on it in the comments section is 'repair'. I hook the monitor up and still get 'no signal detected'.

I call BenQ, they say they couldn't find anything wrong with the monitor and sent it back to me (this isn't documented anywhere on the paperwork). I tell them I'm still having the same problem and explain my trouble shooting steps to them again. They tell me to try hooking the monitor up via the VGA connection. I tell them I don't have a VGA connection on any of my video cards. Getting frustrated I ask to speak to a supervisor, they're all gone for the day. I tell them I'll call back tomorrow.

After getting off the phone with them I found the VGA cable and hooked it up to the DVI connection with a VGA - DVI adapter. The monitor works.

Anyone have any idea what the hell is going on with my monitor? And am I loosing image quality using the VGA connection?

Thanks for any help.

 

[10e]

You are likely losing some image quality using VGA. It's not as sharp or accurate as DVI.

I don't think this is fair on their part. When you speak to a supervisor send him a picture of the monitor connected and the screen showing this issue.

You may want to try both ports of each card to see if this continues. Try rebooting in between each port switch, or turn off the PC, switch to another port, and turn it back on.

You might want to go into the OSD of the display and turn off DDC and see if that helps. It is in the right most menu of the OSD where the "information" is as well.

Best of luck.

OK, I bought one of these back in October of '06. Here's the problem I'm now having...

A few days ago I turn the monitor on in the morning and get 'no signal detected'. I use two 8800GTX's in SLI so I try both video cards but have the same problem. I hook the monitor up to a system with two 7800GTX's in SLI and have the same problem. I buy a new cable, have the same problem. I hook up my backup CRT monitor to the same video card port (with a VGA - DVI adapter) and it works fine.

I get an RMA from BenQ and send it in. They receive it on Monday afternoon and send it back to me Tuesday afternoon. All the packing slip says on it in the comments section is 'repair'. I hook the monitor up and still get 'no signal detected'.

I call BenQ, they say they couldn't find anything wrong with the monitor and sent it back to me (this isn't documented anywhere on the paperwork). I tell them I'm still having the same problem and explain my trouble shooting steps to them again. They tell me to try hooking the monitor up via the VGA connection. I tell them I don't have a VGA connection on any of my video cards. Getting frustrated I ask to speak to a supervisor, they're all gone for the day. I tell them I'll call back tomorrow.

After getting off the phone with them I found the VGA cable and hooked it up to the DVI connection with a VGA - DVI adapter. The monitor works.

Anyone have any idea what the hell is going on with my monitor? And am I loosing image quality using the VGA connection?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Myrkul23]

I recently just got FIOS from Verizon, and got an HD set top box. It is connected via HDMI to the monitor, and when I view standard definition content I have no problem. If I change to an HD channel, I get vertical green lines on each side of the monitor (see image):




The strange thing is that other HD content (PS3, Bluray) does not have these green lines... it's just when I watch high def tv (I use HDMI cables for all inputs). This is with overscan off, and if I turn it on the green lines disappear but I lose a lot of the picture's width. Any thoughts?

 

[10e]

That's exactly what the overscan control is for. Unfortunately you will have to either live with the lines or live with the overscan.

I'm surprised how big and prominent the green lines are though. Normally you see some thin lines of noise on the sides and that's about it.

I recently just got FIOS from Verizon, and got an HD set top box. It is connected via HDMI to the monitor, and when I view standard definition content I have no problem. If I change to an HD channel, I get vertical green lines on each side of the monitor (see image):




The strange thing is that other HD content (PS3, Bluray) does not have these green lines... it's just when I watch high def tv (I use HDMI cables for all inputs). This is with overscan off, and if I turn it on the green lines disappear but I lose a lot of the picture's width. Any thoughts?

 

[Myrkul23]

Why then do I not see the lines when playing HD content through my PS3 or bluray? Again, I use HDMI for everything, and yet I only see the lines when I watch HDTV... not while viewing other high def content.

On a side note, it doesn't make sense to me why there would be green lines vertically as in the picture. My monitor's resolution is 1920x1200, and HD is 1920x1080. Therefore, if anything shouldn't there be a cutoff horizontally and not vertically?

 

[zxb107]

Has anybody had any luck mounting their monitor? I just purchased a wall mount (http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10828&cs_id=1082802&p_id=3411&seq=1&format=2), which conforms to the VESA 100 standard. I thought the monitor did too, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to attach it. Any suggestions?

 

[ShadowofBob]

Picked up one from NCIX. My computer looks amazing running through it. Unfortunately It is a April 2007 model. No overscan option. Will BenQ send out an updated one if I call about it?

 

[10e]

No they won't do that any more. I'm surprised you received that old of a firmware.

It's not a big deal, unless you absolutely must have 1080p with absolutely ZERO overscan over HDMI and component.

Picked up one from NCIX. My computer looks amazing running through it. Unfortunately It is a April 2007 model. No overscan option. Will BenQ send out an updated one if I call about it?

 

[Berger]

Sorry if this sounds like a noob question, but is the consensus that it is still safe to buy one these bad boys? I mean since they aren't being made anymore, is it all just "bad stock" left? Anyone have any tips where to buy a good unit from?

 

[10e]

As long as firmware is June 2007 or later, you receive an all around good monitor.

What this firmware fixes is:

1) VGA sizing with 1920x1080 with Xbox 360
2) Adds an overscan control that allows overscan on/off with HDMI and component

Sorry if this sounds like a noob question, but is the consensus that it is still safe to buy one these bad boys? I mean since they aren't being made anymore, is it all just "bad stock" left? Anyone have any tips where to buy a good unit from?

 

[Berger]

Excellent thanks. Hope they don't run out by the time I can buy. I'm tired of making compromises between viewing angle, input lag, and height adjustablility. This seems all around an ideal monitor.

 

[10e]

If worst comes to worst and you can't the FP241VW is still fairly widely available and is (for all intents and purposes) the same display with a different stand.

The only difference is the added "perfect motion" feature which is not required and is (by default) off.

Good luck.

Excellent thanks. Hope they don't run out by the time I can buy. I'm tired of making compromises between viewing angle, input lag, and height adjustablility. This seems all around an ideal monitor.

 

[bardos]

i have the possibility of buying one of these monitors second-hand and i asked the seller for date of fabrication and he says that one of the labels on the monitor has "june 2007'. what does this mean firmware wise?

thx.

 

[10e]

It means you should get an all-around very good monitor with June 2007 firmware.

i have the possibility of buying one of these monitors second-hand and i asked the seller for date of fabrication and he says that one of the labels on the monitor has "june 2007'. what does this mean firmware wise?

thx.

 

[bardos]

is this the updated firmware?

 

[10e]

As far as I know, this is the latest firmware version. September 2007 was the latest for North America, and June 2007 the latest for the rest of the world.

There should be no need to update it.

is this the updated firmware?

 

[bardos]

As far as I know, this is the latest firmware version. September 2007 was the latest for North America, and June 2007 the latest for the rest of the world.

There should be no need to update it.

just by way of informing myself, a firmware update on this monitor can or cannot be done by user at home?

 

[adeboy]

hi,
Hi,

I have an odd issue with my August 07 FP241W (UK). So, i have a Xbox 360 that i wish to connect via HDMI (PC is on DVI). THe cable i have is HDMI 1.3 (does that matter??). I plug one end into the Xbox, one into the monitor, turn the thing on and all i get is a blue screen!

Weird thing is, when i turn the xbox on/off, the screen blinks as if its recieveing some sort of signal, and then it goes stand-by blue again...any ideas anyone? cheers

 

[kmetek]

Is it possible that is cost around 350€ only ?

 

[debaaszelluf]

In holland it is around €420,- so 350 COULD be right, very cheap though.

I just recently bought an HP lp2475 monitor but it turns out that I hate wide gamut color because they just don't look right in srgb images.

So now I'm thinking about getting this Benq monitor.

The options are now:

BenQ FP241W €430,-
NEC 2470WNX €590,-
EIZO s2431w €750,-

Can someone give me some advice please?

 

[10e]

just by way of informing myself, a firmware update on this monitor can or cannot be done by user at home?

Nope. Manufacturer only, and I don't think they do it any more at all. This is why it's important to get the "good" firmware from the beginning, which is why it's good that it is from June 2007, because that is the "good" firmware.

hi,
Hi,

I have an odd issue with my August 07 FP241W (UK). So, i have a Xbox 360 that i wish to connect via HDMI (PC is on DVI). THe cable i have is HDMI 1.3 (does that matter??). I plug one end into the Xbox, one into the monitor, turn the thing on and all i get is a blue screen!

Weird thing is, when i turn the xbox on/off, the screen blinks as if its recieveing some sort of signal, and then it goes stand-by blue again...any ideas anyone? cheers

Your HDMI cable should be fine.

Isolate the problem and check:

- Your cable, by trying another HDMI cable. I've had HDMI cables fail on me after working for days/weeks with no warning.

- Your Xbox 360 by using another display like a TV to see if the 360 is sending out an HDMI signal to that.

- The component connection of your 360 and monitor to see if that works fine together. Both the 360 and that monitor should work at 1080p over component too.

- Your monitor, by disconnecting your computer from DVI and connecting the Xbox 360 to HDMI and seeing if it works.

- Xbox 360 HDMI by connecting it to the monitor via HDMI to DVI (if you have this, or can borrow this type of cable). You can also try this cable with your PC and monitor by going from PC's DVI to monitor's HDMI.

 

[adeboy]

thanks for the reply 10e. I have tried the following:

1. Tried another HDMI cable to the monitor, same thing happens, just a blue screen
2. connected my Xbox to a HDTV, this works!!
3. Tried component, this works also and i can select 1080p, but the picture is terrible, text is not sharp, and the amount of jaggies is rediculous!
4. I disconnected my monitor and only had HDMI from xbox to monitor, still didnt work.
5. I bought a HDMI to DVI cable, from xbox to monitor this didnt work
7. I tried DVI from PC into HDMI monitor and this did not any picture at all
7. VGA works fine!

So would you agree that the HDMI port on the monitor is faulty??

 

[10e]

It sounds like it, though I'm surprised that the 360 did not work going from HDMI to DVI on the screen, but since your computer could not go from DVI to HDMI either, it sounds as though the HDMI port has a problem.

thanks for the reply 10e. I have tried the following:

1. Tried another HDMI cable to the monitor, same thing happens, just a blue screen
2. connected my Xbox to a HDTV, this works!!
3. Tried component, this works also and i can select 1080p, but the picture is terrible, text is not sharp, and the amount of jaggies is rediculous!
4. I disconnected my monitor and only had HDMI from xbox to monitor, still didnt work.
5. I bought a HDMI to DVI cable, from xbox to monitor this didnt work
7. I tried DVI from PC into HDMI monitor and this did not any picture at all
7. VGA works fine!

So would you agree that the HDMI port on the monitor is faulty??

 

[Fia24]

Hi all,

I've been researching mid-range monitors ideal for sRGB work (web design / editing for an intensive site) and have narrowed it down to the BenQ FP241W vs. the Samsung 245T.

I've searched through this thread and reviewed all relevant posts. I'm convinced that the BenQ FP241W standard backlit unit (72% NTSC) is the better choice for my needs. However, I'm leaning towards the Samsung 245T simply because I have an opportunity to "test drive" an open box model, whereas I'd be purchasing the BenQ 241 blindly on reviews & specs alone.

If anyone has input about this, please check out & reply to this thread (post #14 should be of most interest to you): http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1355595

 

[Fia24]

How bad is the gamma shift on the BenQ FP241W, VA panel? Does anyone have some pics? Such as http://i.pbase.com/o5/04/606404/1/67386274.bYbv23lc.angles.jpg

Didn't find any detailed discussion about this matter earlier in the thread. Sorry if I've overlooked...