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

Sireal said:
Does anyone know if NCIX's express warranty (30 day pixel policy with 11 months free shipping on RMA's for $38.00) is valid in the US? I assume it is because I can get through the US checkout with it in cart. It seems to me that it's a good deal considering the cost of shipping and the fact that I cannot stand dead pixels or noticable backlight bleeding. The only caveat is that I will probably get a dead pixel after the 30 days is up knowing my luck!
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If you read the fine print it's a bit misleading as they will only ship you a replacement 3 times, after which you will be offered another product or a refund less the cost of 30 day express coverage.

So you aren't really guaranteed a pixel perfect monitor if you have horrendously bad luck.
 
spotpuff said:
If you read the fine print it's a bit misleading as they will only ship you a replacement 3 times, after which you will be offered another product or a refund less the cost of 30 day express coverage.

So you aren't really guaranteed a pixel perfect monitor if you have horrendously bad luck.
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they also wont refund you if you get hit by a train and die
 
Ok, I just received this email:

Dear ********,

I am happy that you have bought a FP241W. I hope you find it to your satisfaction.

There has been wrong information on the forums that there is an upgrade for 241W to get scaling capability. I am sorry but the issue can not be solved with a firmware upgrade.

It is a hardware upgrade and firmware. It can not be done on the existing products. It will be implemented on future products.

Kind regards

** ******
Channel Manager Nordic
BenQ Nordic AB
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Um, could anyone explain just what this is about? Haven't people already received fixed monitors... ?
 
Sounds like either he/she is a clueless douche or is talking about something else other than the 1:1 fix.
 
Yeah Urian,

That's completely wrong. My monitor was firmware upgraded and I received one that was built in November 06. Apparently the firmware exists on units produced after December 06.
 
Probably they are completely aware and just don't care to get the expensive equipment from BenQ HQ or pay the manhours... well minutes to perform the upgrade.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone who has experience with the FP241 has also tried the Acer 26" AL2616WD or Dell 2707? I was wondering how the compare in overall picture quality and real-world response time.

I think I'm likely going to go with a WZ or VW in the end, but might end up going with the W if those two models end up being messes.
 
Ferris23 said:
Sounds like either he/she is a clueless douche or is talking about something else other than the 1:1 fix.
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I guessed so since I've already received the name of a company here in Finland that performs the firmware upgrade from the Nordic section of benq.
 
i dont see what the big deal is you guys, if it doesn't have the firmware fix, you send it in, get the fix, get it back in a week. :confused:

there is no real issue here :)
 
Ronin said:
No, not the nvidia 1:1 mode... i meant the monitor 1:1 mode... :rolleyes:

Did your monitor come with the 1:1 aspect ratio firmware fix?

If yes them you have in the monitor menu the possibility to choose from "Full", "1:1" and "Aspect" modes...

...if you don't :( nevermind, but thank you anyway...

But you are welcome to post some more pics... it's always nice to see the FP241W in "action" :D
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No, I don't have this option. Which is strange since my monitor is 2 days old. Can I get this firmware upgrade done locally in Toronto?
 
Are there any photos posted of 1:1 working? I'd like to have some photos to email the guy who contacted me in case he'll claim that all those people who say they've gotten a fix are lying.
 
ID64 said:
No, I don't have this option. Which is strange since my monitor is 2 days old. Can I get this firmware upgrade done locally in Toronto?
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Check BenQ website or call them, I believe you have to have it sent or take it to a qualified service center that has the firmware fix and equipment to update your monitor.

Most BenQ 24's out there don't have the fix, I only know of NCIX sending out units that they update themselves.

It's a pain in the ass at best, but worth it if you want a functional monitor that supports proper 1:1 aspect ratio.
 
Urian said:
Are there any photos posted of 1:1 working? I'd like to have some photos to email the guy who contacted me in case he'll claim that all those people who say they've gotten a fix are lying.
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This is the only one that i know of: 1920x1080


I again take the oportunity to ask any of you guys outhere that have the FP241W with the 1:1 aspect ratio firmware fix if you could please take and post some pictures of the FP241W running some PC games on resolutions lower than 1920x1200 in the monitor 1:1 mode

I think i can speak for the rest of us... we would really apreciate that... :rolleyes:
 
So are the NCIX/Canada Post shipping ETAs anywhere accurate? It seems like some people got their's in like a week, so I don't know if my stupid ETA of 2/14 is realistic or not. Don't know why it'd take over 2 weeks to get here, but I also hate the idea of not knowing when it will show. I'll end up being paranoid about not leaving the house the next 2 weeks.
 
Dunan said:
i dont see what the big deal is you guys, if it doesn't have the firmware fix, you send it in, get the fix, get it back in a week. :confused:

there is no real issue here :)
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The issue is that BenQ won't pay for the shipping, and most of us don't live near a service center. I'm not about to pay $60 to bring a brand new monitor up to the specifications that were originally advertised on BenQ's website.
 
bitgod said:
So are the NCIX/Canada Post shipping ETAs anywhere accurate? It seems like some people got their's in like a week, so I don't know if my stupid ETA of 2/14 is realistic or not. Don't know why it'd take over 2 weeks to get here, but I also hate the idea of not knowing when it will show. I'll end up being paranoid about not leaving the house the next 2 weeks.
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Mine has been stuck in customs for days... I hope they're having fun with it and havent found any dead pixels.
 
dderkits said:
Not quite sure what to make of this, but I'm now on board with keeping the contrast at 50 (or, no higher than 50), at least when the brightness is set to 30. By the way, for all my testing, I'm using the DVI interface.
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Yes, contrast over 50 blow out highlights too.
 
I too would be interested in pictures of the monitor at non-native 4:3 resolutions. There were some posted earlier but they give 404 errors now.

If, for example, I run a game at 1280x960 on a monitor with the latest firmware, can the monitor scale it to "full screen" with vertical borders and 4:3 aspect ratio? (i.e. touching the top and bottom of the screen, but with black bars on either side)? What about odd aspect ratio resolutions, like 1280x1024?

One other thing, about the "modes" you can select (normal, dynamics, movie etc)... does it remember custom brightness/contrast settings for each? That would be supremely useful.
 
Can someone tell me what settings they're using for their 360? I'm playing through component and it seems a little dark, but that might just be me. I've tried on Standard with contrast at 50 and brightness at 90, and on Dynamics. The colours seem a bit richer with the Standard settings, but it seems dark. Wondering if anyone was using something different.
 
Here is the picture that illustrates how good backlight is on this monitor. Picture is taken in complete darkness. If you see any spots - that's long exposure camera glitch :)

IMG_0275_resize.jpg



COD2 :)
IMG_0276_resize.jpg



IMG_0278_resize.jpg
 
Urian said:
Ok, I just received this email:

...

Um, could anyone explain just what this is about? Haven't people already received fixed monitors... ?
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Well, I sure hope he is just clueless. Before buying the monitor I talked to at least three reps at the BenQ helpdesk, who all confirmed that the fix would be applied. Even more so since I sent my monitor in a week ago. I would be extremely disappointed if I got the monitor back without the fix!

Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you what's what within the next day or so...
 
ID64 said:
Here is the picture that illustrates how good backlight is on this monitor. Picture is taken in complete darkness. If you see any spots - that's long exposure camera glitch :)

http://www3.sympatico.ca/igor.dertkin/IMG_0275_resize.jpg


COD2 :)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/igor.dertkin/IMG_0276_resize.jpg


http://www3.sympatico.ca/igor.dertkin/IMG_0278_resize.jpg
Click to expand...


Congratulations ID64, again great pictures :)

By the way... what do you have for CPU, Ram and graphic card?

Keep on posting those great pics ! ;)
 
I dropped my beast off for a firmware upgrade a week ago in Toronto and still havent heard back yet. grrr so frustraiting.
 
hello,
i would like to ask a question .. so i've found a shop here in slovakia where they are selling FP241W .. they have just received them and the manufacture date on the box is december 2006 .. does anybody know if december 2006 displays have the firmware upgraded or do they have the old firmware?

thank you :)
 
bootstrap said:
The issue is that BenQ won't pay for the shipping, and most of us don't live near a service center. I'm not about to pay $60 to bring a brand new monitor up to the specifications that were originally advertised on BenQ's website.
Click to expand...
i see your point. i guess what we should have done is wait until the firmware fix was in place, then bought. i've heard the term "buyers remorse" somewhere :(

when i spoke to benq they said it would cost roughly $30US to send it there and $15 to ship back, but i'm right next door to them in phx...
 
bitgod said:
So are the NCIX/Canada Post shipping ETAs anywhere accurate? It seems like some people got their's in like a week, so I don't know if my stupid ETA of 2/14 is realistic or not. Don't know why it'd take over 2 weeks to get here, but I also hate the idea of not knowing when it will show. I'll end up being paranoid about not leaving the house the next 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Mine arrived a day before its ETA. Here is my tracking record from Canada Post:

2007/01/29 13:43 23229,USA Item successfully delivered to Receiver
2007/01/29 05:21 23229,USA Item has been received at the delivery office in the destination country
2007/01/25 10:43 International shipment has arrived in the destination country
2007/01/25 03:41 International item has left Canada and is en route to destination
2007/01/24 19:48 RICHMOND, BC Item accepted and entered into sortation plant
2007/01/23 08:50 VANCOUVER, BC Shipping details electronically submitted

- David
 
Dunan said:
i'm curious why you chose that gamma setting, 2.2 is for CRT's 1.8 is for LCD's.
when i calibrated mine with the spyder, after resetting the benq to factory defaults came out to be 1.83, and the picture is damn impressive :)
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I based it on the sRGB standard, which - if I'm reading it right - specifies a gamma of 2.2 and white point of 6500K (for all monitors, LCDs and CRTs). I've read that a gamma of 1.8 is traditionallly associated with Apple monitors in the CRT era.

This is a vendor-published whitepaper, but it looks like a good basic intro to the issue:
http://www.portrait.com/us/products/lc_lcd_whitepaper.pdf

Some other links:
http://www.pantone.com/Pages/Panton...ycreekphoto.com/Learn/monitor_calibration.htm
http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/monitor_calibration_tools.htm
http://www.poynton.com/Poynton-color.html (very detailed, but dated)

- David
 
dderkits said:
Mine arrived a day before its ETA. Here is my tracking record from Canada Post:

2007/01/29 13:43 23229,USA Item successfully delivered to Receiver
2007/01/29 05:21 23229,USA Item has been received at the delivery office in the destination country
2007/01/25 10:43 International shipment has arrived in the destination country
2007/01/25 03:41 International item has left Canada and is en route to destination
2007/01/24 19:48 RICHMOND, BC Item accepted and entered into sortation plant
2007/01/23 08:50 VANCOUVER, BC Shipping details electronically submitted

- David
Click to expand...

i received delivery email the day after i received the monitor. :D
 
Hi All!
Like so many others I've been watching this thread from early on (about page 20), but sitting and not talking. Thanks for all the information been given, it has been very intresting and helpful!

Today I emailed BenQ with this:
-----
hi,
It's now Feb and there are some companies beginning to have stock of the
FP241W again after several weeks of being out of stock. Can you let me
know if these monitors include the 1:1 aspect and pixel mapping fix and
which companies you have shipped the fixed version too?
Thanks
-----

about 5 mins later I got this reply:

-----
Dear Sir,

All new stock that has been shipped to dealers at this moment should
have the 1:1 pixelmapping upgrade. You can check with the dealer if he
has received new stock.

Regards,

BenQ Support
-----

I was amazed that they said they had the fix, and amazed they replied so quickly.
I then looked at some of the sites that I've been monitoring for this monitor:
(all prices inc VAT)

http://www.digitalkind.co.uk/INU_common/INU_searchL8.ASP?searchstr=fp241W&TestFieldLoginArea= (£585 - out of stock (ETA - 1 week))
http://www.technoworld.com/keysearch.asp?Searchstring=fp241w&send.x=0&send.y=0 (£602 - in stock - Free Del (7-10 Days)
http://www.morecomputers.co.uk/extra.asp?pn=9J%2EL2R72.ASE#overview (£607 + £4.95 Delivery - in stock))
I emailed more computers and I got this (again with in about 5 mins):
-----
The stock that we have does have the firmware fix & it is fully black.

Kind Regards
Kerry
-----

http://www.shiroi.co.uk/search.php?search=fp241w&x=0&y=0 (£642 + £3.49 Del - in stock)

I think that I will wait one more week untill Digital Kind have them in stock and see if they have the black/black monitor with the fix as they are quite a bit cheeper than others.
I'll let you know what I decided.

Thanks once again for your help

[edit - link]
 
spotpuff said:
If you read the fine print it's a bit misleading as they will only ship you a replacement 3 times, after which you will be offered another product or a refund less the cost of 30 day express coverage.

So you aren't really guaranteed a pixel perfect monitor if you have horrendously bad luck.
Click to expand...

I think they do this simply to cap their risk, and to limit their exposure to abusive behavior by that very small population who would take advantage of the offer.

I think that a calculation of the odds would show that someone has to be _really_ unlucky (lightning-strike unlucky) to be in bad-pixel-hell even after three exchanges. In fact, the odds are so low that my guess (and this is only a guess) would be that NCIX would try to continue helping an honest/sincere customer in such an unlikely situation.

That said, it's important to post that caveat to this forum, as prospective buyers should be aware of it. I'm glad you did.

- David

P.S. It occurs to me that one could try asking NCIX how often this caveat actually kicks in, based on their actual records. An interesting academic exercise ... putting real numbers to the risk.
 
maybe this will interest somebody .. i've learned that the ones manufactured in december 2006 do have the firmware update .. i'm buying it tomorow .. wheehee :)
 
morecomputers.co.uk have confirmed to me that their new stock has the latest version of firmware.......so i bought one, £608 :D
 
zCobraman said:
OK...still playing with my settings for the 241. I notice what looks like a brightness around the edge on all the characters on my screen. Any time there is a black character on a colored background, it really shows up. I've turned off ClearType in Windows to see if that was it and it still shows. Can anyone explain to me what this is or if this is a problem with the monitor. I don't see it on my IBM laptop at all. It really makes the characters harder to read to me.

Colored text on black or other colors appears to be ok...it's just black text (which of course is mostly what is on my screen right now.)

And in response to an earlier post, I am using bright 20, contr 30 and am pretty happy in the daytime while I'm working.
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On my FP241W, with DVI, brightness 30, contrast 49, and running native 1920x1200, I don't see it.

I assume you've checked "the usual suspects":
- Using D-sub rather than DVI?
- Running in a non-native resolution?
- Does the issue disappear or get worse if you adjust brightness/contrast?
- Video card settings for monitor appearance are at their defaults?

You might want to take a magnifying glass to it to see what is happening at the pixel level.

- David
 
dderkits said:
Mine arrived a day before its ETA. Here is my tracking record from Canada Post:

2007/01/29 13:43 23229,USA Item successfully delivered to Receiver
2007/01/29 05:21 23229,USA Item has been received at the delivery office in the destination country
2007/01/25 10:43 International shipment has arrived in the destination country
2007/01/25 03:41 International item has left Canada and is en route to destination
2007/01/24 19:48 RICHMOND, BC Item accepted and entered into sortation plant
2007/01/23 08:50 VANCOUVER, BC Shipping details electronically submitted

- David
Click to expand...

Right now it's
2007/02/01 08:50 ?????? Still nothing...

2007/01/26 21:02 VANCOUVER, BC Shipping details electronically submitted
2007/01/26 16:46 RICHMOND, BC Item accepted and entered into sortation plant

Yours left the sortation plant the next day... mine has been there for almost a week.... this is making me really nervous (i didnt get insurance, i just got the big box)
 
Juardis said:
Thanks David. Very helpful info. But doesn't LCD brightness diminish with time (like DLP or LcOS HDTV sets)? Also, an article from x-bit labs that I read on LCD parameters said the reason LCDs seem so bright when coming from a CRT is that because it is brighter than a CRT. Give your eyes time and you'll get used to it (or so the article said).
Click to expand...

Indeed, the backlight will degrade over time. In fact, that's one reason that graphic artists run color calibrations on their monitors frequently ... to compensate for that dimming.

There are ergonomic studies that indicate that the "ideal brightness" (to put less strain on the eyes) should be in the 100-140 cd/m2 range. And that ambient lighting should be close to the brightness of the monitor. In my case, I dealt with the brightness of my FP241W by increasing the ambient brightness of my home office.

Some good comments in this article:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/lcd-parameters_18.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/lcd-parameters_19.html

Also:
http://www.galvins.com/designtips/lighting.html
http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ie/lighting/office/tasklighting_e.html
http://www.prad.de/en/news/ergonomics/ergonomic-special.html

- David
 
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